Sori Yanagi

Background

Sori Yanagi (柳 宗理, 1915–2011) was born in Tokyo, the son of Soetsu Yanagi, founder of the mingei folk-craft movement and of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum. He entered Tokyo Art School (now Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1934, studying art and architecture, and joined Junzo Sakakura's architectural office in 1942. He was influenced by Le Corbusier and by Charlotte Perriand, for whom he translated in Tokyo in the early 1940s and who introduced him to product design.

Signature Style

Yanagi merged modernist simplicity and practicality with elements of traditional Japanese craft. He believed that true beauty is not made but born naturally, and worked by making models and early versions by hand, over and over, rather than relying on drawings.

Notable Works

After founding the Yanagi Industrial Design Institute in 1950 he designed the Butterfly Stool, presented in 1956 at Matsuya, Ginza, made by Tendo Mokko and selected for MoMA's permanent collection in 1958; it won a gold prize at the Milan Triennale XI. Other works include the Elephant Stool (1954), stainless-steel kettles, Tendo's T-3035 stacking chair and the torch for the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics.

Legacy

Yanagi helped found the Japan Interior Architects/Designers' Association in 1958, became director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in 1977, was named a Person of Cultural Merit in 2002 and an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry (UK) in 2008. He died in 2011 at 96.