ANIMISM OBJECTS -Japan Artisans Design-

There is a place called SAN’IN, where Japan’s creation myths have lived on for more than a millennium. In this landscape, nature is not simply a resource but a presence woven into everyday life, memory, and ritual. It is also home to materials and techniques refined over centuries: WASHI, formed by hand from natural plant fibres; AIZOME, the traditional Japanese art of indigo dyeing; YAKISUGI, a woodworking technique in which the surface of cedar boards is charred to enhance durability and fire resistance. These traditions share an intimate relationship with nature and the human hand. Their surfaces preserve the passage of time, the labour of their makers, and the subtle variations unique to handcraft. Their making is guided by care, accumulated knowledge, and a sense of prayer. Each carries its own presence. This exhibition begins with a question: can a contemporary reinterpretation of ANIMISM—the understanding that people, nature, and objects exist in relationship—bring new meaning to the things that surround us? By bringing these practices into dialogue with technology and design, the project explores how knowledge from the past can become an active force in contemporary life rather than remain solely an object of preservation. The works on view include audio products unveiled here for the first time, garments that combine Western and Eastern perspectives, and Mingei (folk craft) pottery from the SAN'IN region. Together, they invite visitors to encounter washi, aizome, and yakisugi anew, and to imagine new relationships between craft and technology, past and present, nature and human life.