Dreams of Life Connected by Modern Design

Taut came to Japan in 1933 after accepting an invitation from the Japan International Architecture Association, which included members like Isaburo Ueno and Seigo Motono. He had made this decision in part to flee the rise of Nazism in his native Germany. Taut spent three-and-a-half years in Japan before leaving for Turkey. During this time, he taught craft art design—first in Sendai, then in Takasaki—and published books on the subject, greatly influencing the Japanese intelligentsia. The displays in this section include household products designed by Taut and sold at Miratiss—the legendary shop that Inoue opened in Tokyo’s Ginza district and the resort city of Karuizawa—as well as a 1934 book he wrote on the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. Visitors will also be introduced to the old Hyuga Villa, a Taut-designed building that was constructed while he was in Japan.

The section delves into Inoue’s other famous relationship: that with Czech-American architect Antonin Raymond—whose self-designed Tokyo residence, built in 1924, was the world’s first béton brut house—and his wife, the French interior designer Noémi Raymond. The couple’s joint projects included wood houses that embodied what came to be known as the “Raymond style”: wide, flat surfaces providing great spatial freedom, innovative approaches to courtyards, and the incorporation of traditional Japanese architectural elements. These elegant structures received widespread acclaim and admiration. In this section, the Raymonds’ best-known works—including their Tokyo home, a replica of the home that is the former Fusaichiro Inoue House, and their Karuizawa studio—are presented with beautiful architectural drawings produced before the Second World War, as well as several pieces of furniture.

Kenmochi was working at the Industrial Arts Institute when Taut arrived there as an advisor in 1933. From Taut, Kenmochi learned the origins of furniture design. In his interactions with designers around the world following the Second World War, Kenmochi began to espouse something he called “Japanese modern”—a design style best suited to modern Japanese lifestyles, industries, and handcrafting techniques. He gave shape to this concept in his work through the exploration of new materials and the incorporation of tactile pleasure, bold designs, and fine details. In 1955, Kenmochi opened his own design office. He set up a shop on the first floor, which he designed to look like a living room furnished with his own products—an acknowledgment that the products were designed to be functional and to add something new to one’s lifestyle. This section will introduce visitors to Kenmochi’s furniture designs, as well as the major projects he undertook later in life with architects and artists.

After studying architecture in the U.S. and France, George Nakashima, a 2nd-generation Japanese American, traveled to Tokyo in 1934 and worked for five years at Antonin Raymond’s architecture office. During this time, he served as on-site director for the St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Karuizawa and the Golconde Dormitory in Puducherry, India, which was designed for the yogi Sri Aurobindo. Nakashima then left architecture and turned his attention to furniture. By overseeing every step of the process from brainstorming to production, Nakashima successfully developed an industry model for handcrafted furniture. His Conoid Chair (1960) was revolutionary for its sculpture-like design, featuring intricate angles and a seat supported at only one end. In 1964, Nakashima joined the Sanuki Minguren, a group of artists and craftsmen based in the southern Japanese city of Takamatsu and who specialized in traditional tools. This section includes a display of the Minguren series of furniture Nakashima produced in Takamatsu through a streamlined woodworking process.

Born to the Japanese poet Yonejiro Noguchi and an American mother, Isamu Noguchi spent his life exploring his identity through his sculptures, as well as his stage set, garden, and furniture designs. This section will introduce visitors to Noguchi’s early 1950’s work in Japan. Thanks to an introduction from artist Genichiro Inokuma, in 1950 Noguchi met Kenmochi, who was then working at a temporary workshop in Tokyo operated by the Industrial Art Institute. Kenmochi provided Noguchi with a workspace, where he produced furniture and sculptures. The following year, Noguchi designed the interior and garden and produced outdoor sculptures for the Banraisha, a building designed by Yoshiro Taniguchi for Keio University (where Noguchi’s father taught). This section will focus on the Banraisha, as well as the Akari series of light sculptures that Noguchi modeled after traditional Gifu paper lanterns. Through these displays, visitors can appreciate how Noguchi’s observations of Japanese culture and his approach to space influenced his views of sculpture, an artform he began to see as inextricably tied to lifestyle.