DESIGN TALKS

In olden times, when the people of Japan faced natural disasters, disease or other misfortune whose cause they could not understand, they sought to attribute it to something ayashi... to anything that felt unsettling or frightening... the supernatural. And so in their imagination they conjured ayashi creatures like ghosts and goblins. This time on DESIGN TALKS, guest Koichi Yumoto, a leading researcher on the Japanese fairies known as yokai, discusses how the concept of ayashi is reflected in design.

Nukumori is a Japanese word which means "warmth". And like the English word warmth, nukumori can express physical heat as well as "warm" feelings of gentleness and security. In parts of Japan where the winters are especially cold, various items and methods devised in ancient times to keep warm are still used today. This time, we invite industrial designer Fumie Shibata into the studio to discuss the concept of nukumori and designs that warm the body and soul.