Kenji Ekuan (榮久庵 憲司, Ekuan Kenji; September 11, 1929 – February 8, 2015) was a Japanese industrial designer, best known…Kenji Ekuan (榮久庵 憲司, Ekuan Kenji; September 11, 1929 – February 8, 2015) was a Japanese industrial designer, best known for creating the design of the Kikkoman soy sauce bottle.
Tōru "Tohl" Narita (成田 亨, Narita Tōru; pronounced [nəˈriːtə]; September 3, 1929 – February 26, 2002) was a Japanese…Tōru "Tohl" Narita (成田 亨, Narita Tōru; pronounced [nəˈriːtə]; September 3, 1929 – February 26, 2002) was a Japanese visual artist. He is best known for creating the characters and mechanics for the television programs in the Ultra series: Ultra Q, Ultraman, and Ultraseven.
Hiroshi Awatsuji (粟辻 博, Awatsuji Hiroshi; 1929 – 1995), was a Japanese textile designer. After World War II, he…Hiroshi Awatsuji (粟辻 博, Awatsuji Hiroshi; 1929 – 1995), was a Japanese textile designer. After World War II, he produced numerous innovative designs which inspired the beginning of a new era. His works are characterized by the use of vivid colors and daring compositions which combine Japanese traditional arts and Western textile design.
Kazumasa Nagai (Japanese: 永井 一正, Nagai Kazumasa; Ōsaka, April 20, 1929 – February 23, 2026) was a Japanese printmaker…Kazumasa Nagai (Japanese: 永井 一正, Nagai Kazumasa; Ōsaka, April 20, 1929 – February 23, 2026) was a Japanese printmaker and graphic designer. He attended the Tokyo University of the Arts to study sculpture, and withdrew due to health problems. Nagai was a founding member of the Nippon Design Center (NDC, established in 1959), and was its president. His first works were abstract, then he changed to handmade designs of animals and plants in the 1980s. Some of his works appeared on the cover of LIFE. His work is held in museums including the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum of New Zealand, the British Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, and the Museum of Modern Art. Nagai died on February 23, 2026, at the age of 96.
Kiyoshi Awazu (Japanese: 粟津 潔, romanized: Awazu Kiyoshi, February 19, 1929 – April 28, 2009) was a Japanese graphic…Kiyoshi Awazu (Japanese: 粟津 潔, romanized: Awazu Kiyoshi, February 19, 1929 – April 28, 2009) was a Japanese graphic designer, active in the post-WWII era in the fields of poster design, architecture design, set design, filmmaking, and illustration. A self-taught artist, Awazu possessed an eclectic and variegated graphic style that employed vibrant color palettes, appropriated and subverted motifs from both traditional Japanese art and design as well as contemporary pop culture, and incorporated supergraphics and expressive typography across a range of scales and spatial contexts. Believing that design was a basic function of human life, and that it was the social role of the designer "to extend the rural into the city, foreground the folklore, reawaken the past, summon back the outdated," Awazu worked with collaborators across genres and culled references from a vast array of sources to produce works that were intensely transdisciplinary and expressive, all while resisting the essentializing and universalizing tendencies of the modernist tradition. Beginning with his award-winning 1955 poster Umi o kaese [Give Back Our Oceans], an expression of solidarity with disenfranchised fishermen who were banned from conducting their activities by American Occupation forces, Awazu's work also displays a keen engagement with political activism and an emphasis on the capacity of visual communications to reveal injustices and expand awareness through affective means. Awazu worked with diverse collaborators across the fields of film, performance, and the visual arts to produce promotional posters, book designs, illustrations, and other graphic materials. Awazu also worked with numerous modern architects—notably as a member of the Metabolism movement—to integrate structural design with other applied arts and foreground the role of design as a conduit for promoting civic engagement in urban contexts. Within the field of architecture, he is best known for producing the bold supergraphics on the exterior of the Nibankan building, which was famously featured on the cover of Charles Jencks' The Language of Modern Architecture (1977).
Tarō Bonten (梵天太郎, Bonten Tarō) (5 January 1928 – 30 June 2008), pen name of Kiyomi Ishii (石井 きよみ, Ishii Kiyomi) was a…Tarō Bonten (梵天太郎, Bonten Tarō) (5 January 1928 – 30 June 2008), pen name of Kiyomi Ishii (石井 きよみ, Ishii Kiyomi) was a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, tattooist and designer. He was author of shōjo and gekiga stories, published between the 1950 and 1970s. Some of his stories have been adapted into film.
Masahiro Mori (森 正洋, Mori Masahiro; November 14, 1927 – November 12, 2005) was a Japanese ceramic designer born in Saga…Masahiro Mori (森 正洋, Mori Masahiro; November 14, 1927 – November 12, 2005) was a Japanese ceramic designer born in Saga Prefecture, Japan. The well known "G-type Soy Sauce Bottle" he designed in 1958 won the 1st Good Design Award in 1960 and its production and sales have continued until today (as of December 11, 2011). He won the Good Design Award more than 110 times in his life. In describing his design philosophy, he stated, "My pleasure as a designer is to conceive of forms for daily use, and to create pieces for production in the factory, so that many people can appreciate and enjoy using them". He worked to design ceramic dishes suitable for the Japanese lifestyle in post-World War II.
Hanae Mori (Japanese: 森 英恵, Hepburn: Mori Hanae; , 8 January 1926 – 11 August 2022) was a Japanese fashion designer.…Hanae Mori (Japanese: 森 英恵, Hepburn: Mori Hanae; , 8 January 1926 – 11 August 2022) was a Japanese fashion designer. She was one of only two Japanese women to have presented her collections on the runways of Paris and New York, and the first Asian woman to be admitted as an official haute couture design house by the Fédération française de la couture in France. Her fashion house, opened in Japan in 1951, grew to become a $500 million international business by the 1990s.
Yasuji Mori (森康二, Mori Yasuji; January 28, 1925 – September 5, 1992) was an animator who worked with Toei Animation…Yasuji Mori (森康二, Mori Yasuji; January 28, 1925 – September 5, 1992) was an animator who worked with Toei Animation, while it was still known as Toei Doga. He was also a famous illustrator of children's books. Mori was responsible for one of the major animation styles within Toei Animation. In The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon Mori was the first to be credited as animation director in Japan, although Akira Daikubara had the same post on The Tale of the White Serpent but was not credited as that. As a senior animator he formed many of the great animators of the next generation (including Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Yasuo Ōtsuka, and Yoichi Kotabe). He later left Toei Animation to work with Nippon Animation.
Yūsaku Kamekura (亀倉雄策, Kamekura Yūsaku; April 6, 1915 – May 11, 1997) was a Japanese graphic designer, the leading…Yūsaku Kamekura (亀倉雄策, Kamekura Yūsaku; April 6, 1915 – May 11, 1997) was a Japanese graphic designer, the leading figure in post-World War II Japanese graphic design. His stature in the field led to the nickname "Boss".
Jun'ichi Nakahara (Japanese: 中原淳一; February 16, 1913 – April 19, 1983) was a Japanese graphic artist and fashion…Jun'ichi Nakahara (Japanese: 中原淳一; February 16, 1913 – April 19, 1983) was a Japanese graphic artist and fashion designer born in Higashikagawa. He was also a French doll maker. He became famous as an illustrator in the 1920s when his work appeared in the magazine Shojo No Tomo. According to the scholar Nozomi Masuda, Nakahara "greatly developed the eyes of shojo manga characters". Nakahara was married to the actress Kuniko Ashihara. The couple had four children, including the painter Shuichi Nakahara.
Kenichi Kuriyagawa (栗谷川健一, Kuriyagawa Ken'ichi; 28 February 1911 – 12 August 1999) was a Japanese painter and graphic…Kenichi Kuriyagawa (栗谷川健一, Kuriyagawa Ken'ichi; 28 February 1911 – 12 August 1999) was a Japanese painter and graphic designer. He is known for tourism posters depicting Hokkaido, for designing the flag and emblem of Hokkaido Prefecture adopted in 1967, and for founding the first design school in Hokkaido. The Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art has described him as the "father of Hokkaido design".
Hiroshi Ohchi (Japanese: 大智 浩, Hepburn: Ōchi Hiroshi; 1908 – 1974) was a Japanese graphic designer as well as a visual…Hiroshi Ohchi (Japanese: 大智 浩, Hepburn: Ōchi Hiroshi; 1908 – 1974) was a Japanese graphic designer as well as a visual designer best known for his work as the first art director of IDEA magazine. He also designed the logo for Idemitsu Kosan.
Kenkichi Sugimoto (杉本健吉) (September 20, 1905 in Nagoya – February 10, 2004 in Nagoya) was a Japanese artist. He was…Kenkichi Sugimoto (杉本健吉) (September 20, 1905 in Nagoya – February 10, 2004 in Nagoya) was a Japanese artist. He was known as an oil painter, illustrator, and graphic designer. In 1987 the Meitetsu railroad company opened the Sugimoto Art Museum in Mihama, Aichi.
Isamu Noguchi (野口 勇, Noguchi Isamu; Japanese: [noꜜgɯtɕi isamɯ], English: ; November 17, 1904 – December 30, 1988) was…Isamu Noguchi (野口 勇, Noguchi Isamu; Japanese: [noꜜgɯtɕi isamɯ], English: ; November 17, 1904 – December 30, 1988) was an American artist, furniture designer and landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, Akari light sculptures, and furniture pieces, many of which are still manufactured and sold. His work is displayed at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in New York City as well as many other museums.
Kitasono Katué (北園 克衛, Kitazono Katsue; October 29, 1902–June 6, 1978) was a Japanese poet, photographer, editor, and…Kitasono Katué (北園 克衛, Kitazono Katsue; October 29, 1902–June 6, 1978) was a Japanese poet, photographer, editor, and graphic designer associated with Dada, Surrealism, and visual poetry. He founded the VOU Club and its journal VOU in 1935, and later became especially known for his photographic "Plastic Poems" or "Plastic Poetry".
Tomoyoshi Murayama (村山 知義, Murayama Tomoyoshi; 18 January 1901 – 22 March 1977) was a Japanese artist, play writer…Tomoyoshi Murayama (村山 知義, Murayama Tomoyoshi; 18 January 1901 – 22 March 1977) was a Japanese artist, play writer, novelist and drama producer active during the Shōwa period in Japan.
Hisui Sugiura (杉浦 非水, Sugiura Hisui; May 15, 1876 – August 18, 1965) was a Japanese graphic designer who was a pioneer…Hisui Sugiura (杉浦 非水, Sugiura Hisui; May 15, 1876 – August 18, 1965) was a Japanese graphic designer who was a pioneer of modern Japanese graphic design.
Shingo Adachi (Japanese: 足立 慎吾, Hepburn: Adachi Shingo) is a Japanese animator, character designer, and director. He is…Shingo Adachi (Japanese: 足立 慎吾, Hepburn: Adachi Shingo) is a Japanese animator, character designer, and director. He is best known for his work on Sword Art Online, the anime series based on the light novel of the same name.
Ippo Yamada (山田一法 Yamada Ippō) is a video game music composer. He has contributed music to such titles as Mega Man Zero…Ippo Yamada (山田一法 Yamada Ippō) is a video game music composer. He has contributed music to such titles as Mega Man Zero (2002), Mega Man ZX (2006), Mega Man 9 (2008), and Azure Striker Gunvolt (2014). He is a founding member of Inti Creates, a Japanese video game development company formed by ex-Capcom staff in May 1996.
Fumie Shibata (柴田 文江, Shibata Fumie) is a product designer who is actively based in Tokyo. She handles designs for a…Fumie Shibata (柴田 文江, Shibata Fumie) is a product designer who is actively based in Tokyo. She handles designs for a wide range of products, from electronics to household items, medical equipment, and even total direction duties for hotels. She is recognized for her gentle and elaborately detailed expressions of form, and she has received very high acclaim primarily throughout Asia. She is one of the most influential female designers in Japan, and she served as Chair of the Judging Committee for the Good Design Award from 2018 to 2020. She is a Japan Design Committee member.
Miyuki Okumura (奥村 心雪, Okumura Miyuki) is a character artist and manga artist from Saitama Prefecture. She is well…Miyuki Okumura (奥村 心雪, Okumura Miyuki) is a character artist and manga artist from Saitama Prefecture. She is well known as the character illustrator and artist for Sanrio's Cinnamoroll and Jewelpet franchises.
Hoichi Kurisu (栗栖宝一, Kurisu Hōichi) is a Japanese-American landscape architect who designs Japanese gardens in the…Hoichi Kurisu (栗栖宝一, Kurisu Hōichi) is a Japanese-American landscape architect who designs Japanese gardens in the United States.
