The Butterfly Effect: Sori Yanagi and the Art of Appreciation

The saying goes that you shouldn't meet your heroes, but what about celebrating them? In November last year, a diverse group of people working in the UK's design industry gathered at the Vitra showroom in London to launch the Sori Yanagi Appreciation Society (SYAS).

Industrial designers worldwide and most Japanese households know Yanagi's work. So why did British designer Jasper Morrison once call him "the best designer you've never heard of"? This question prompted Michael Marriott and Duncan Riches to establish SYAS in summer 2024.

Growing up with a father who founded the Mingei folk craft movement gave Yanagi an appreciation for handcraft and honest materials. His interactions with Charlotte Perriand in the 1940s, when she advised the Japanese Ministry of Commerce and Industry on modernising Japanese design, shaped both designers profoundly. Sori later served as the Mingeikan (Japan Folk Crafts Museum) director for 29 years. Currently, the Mingeikan operates under Naoto Fukasawa, who has an affinity to Yanagi's philosophy of design, craftsmanship and simplicity.

Naomi Pollock's book Japanese Design Since 1945: A Complete Sourcebook captures Yanagi's essence: "Bridging the gap between Japan's Mingei folk art movement (launched by his father, Soetsu) and international Modernism, Yanagi (1915-2011) occupies a unique position among Japanese designers. He embraced machine-driven mass production yet approached each project like a traditional craftsman. Relying on his hands as much as his eyes, he had an intuitive feel for form and championed its relationship to function. For Yanagi, form was not something to be created; it was something to be coaxed out through the design process."

The founders of SYAS argue that Yanagi hasn't received the European recognition afforded to contemporaries like Italian architect Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007), despite his profound impact.

"Anyone can start an appreciation society"

In the SYAS book's preface, they write: "Anyone can start an appreciation society, and a cursory search will inform that there are many, appreciating a great variety of things, from objects, places and people, to specific foods, obscure music and ancient methodologies. Our intention in creating one for Sori Yanagi, is both with the aim of increasing awareness and discussion of his life and work, but also to advocate for the notion of appreciation itself."

Marriott notes how "Sottsass made things that were mostly collected by museums and rich collectors. [...] Whereas Yanagi's stuff is sold in kitchen shops in the back end of wherever. [...] he didn't design for show, he designed for use." Yet ironically, Yanagi's iconic Butterfly Stool from 1954 won the Gold Medal at the 1957 Milan Triennale, the city where Sottsass developed his career.

Yanagi’s use of unadorned materials and commitment to harmony between form and function parallels the work of American contemporaries Ray and Charles Eames. His prominence in Japan was such that he designed the Olympic Torch for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, yet his name remains unfamiliar to many outside design circles.

It's worth noting that Japanese designers weren't without recognition. The Memphis Group (1981-1987), co-founded by Sottsass, featured Japanese designers Shiro Kuramata, Masanori Umeda, and Arata Isozaki. So why hasn't Yanagi received similar acclaim in Western design circles? Perhaps his focus on utility over showmanship kept his name from the spotlight, even as his ideas spread widely.

Yanagi's legacy continues, with about 20% of his household goods still in production. His approach permeates MUJI products (with Fukasawa shaping MUJI's catalogue significantly), though one wonders whether Philippe Starck's 'Alla Occasional' table pays homage or simply copies. 

Why Yanagi matters today

"True design lies in a realm counter to trends," Yanagi once said. His philosophy that "traditional style exists for the cause of creation. Design without tradition and creation is inconceivable" and that "true beauty is 'born', not created" offers guidance in turbulent times driven by technological change.

To me, Yanagi's most vital contribution was his ability to connect craft and industry. As Morrison writes, he succeeded in "reconciling the two worlds of craft and industry by adapting the benefits of the handmade with the advantages of industrial production, with a mind and an eye trained from an early age to know how to do it."

This connecting role resonates powerfully in today's design landscape. Yanagi linked the handmade era with the machine age, preserving the human essence while embracing technological progress. As we transition from human thinking to artificial intelligence, we urgently need designers with Yanagi's sensibility, those who can honour tradition while navigating radical change, maintaining our humanity in increasingly digital experiences.

Yanagi understood that "design cannot be achieved alone" and that good design requires what he called "productmanship", business leaders who value their products as highly as handcrafted articles. Perhaps this collaborative spirit offers guidance for our AI-augmented future.

Is there someone whose work you admire that deserves wider recognition? Consider starting your own appreciation society! Share who it would be and why - email me or comment on Instagram, LinkedIn or Bluesky.

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