Core77

It is rather curious that a nation that pays as much attention to design--industrial, graphic, fashion--as Japan does lacks a single museum dedicated to design. As a Japan Times article reveals:

Fashion designer Issey Miyake recalls that the idea of a national design museum first developed in conversations between himself, architect Tadao Ando, graphic designer Ikko Tanaka and the late sculptor Isamu Noguchi way back in the late 1970s and '80s.

"People overseas would ask me where they should go to learn about Japanese design," he recalled at a recent symposium in Tokyo.

In 2003--a year after Tanaka died--Miyake revived the idea in an Asahi Shimbun article. "Design museums exist in London, New York, Berlin, Zurich and Helsinki. How much longer must we wait for one in Japan?" he asked.

While we wait, Japanese designophiles might find some solace at 21_21 Design Sight.

Miyake's 2003 article was...picked up by property developers Mitsui Fudosan, who promptly incorporated a design facility in their Midtown project in Roppongi (which was then in the planning stages) and handed Miyake the reins.

Ando agreed to design a building, and two younger designers--industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa and graphics specialist Taku Satoh--accepted Miyake's invitations to join him as directors of the new 21_21 Design Sight, which opened in March last year.

In Miyake's characteristically evocative words, 21_21 Design Sight is like the "ring in pro wrestling." That means it's a place where designers come together and hold exhibitions and workshops in order to experiment and exchange ideas.

21_21 Design Sight just opened last month; info about the institution is available here.