Travel Takeaways: Design Inspiration From Japan

I was just 21 and had freshly graduated from college when I moved to Japan to teach English in Sendai. (Yes, the site of 2013’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.) The six months I spent in this rural community were an unforgettable visual experience, a lesson in compelling contrast and an encouragement to embrace beauty in every aspect of life.

This was the Japan I expected. And in spite of a thin veneer of westernization, this was what I got. Japan’s aesthetic was like no other I had ever encountered.


I had my first exposure to Zen gardens, which many believe inspired minimalism. These gardens, with their perfectly placed rocks set in immaculate gravel that is raked into swirling patterns, are pure simplicity and balance.


This modern interior beautifully illustrates that Japanese commitment to balance and purity of design.

Minimalist? Yes. Boring? Absolutely not.


The minimalistic aesthetic reigns in traditional Japanese homes, where space is valued as much as decoration, and where tranquility, stillness, solitude and calm are the goal.


Can you see how this space harks back to those Japanese ideals?


Because square footage comes at a premium, the Japanese are adept at creating flexible spaces. Shoji screens fitted with rice paper slide open or closed, based on whether the need of the moment is for privacy or open space. These screens also diffuse light in the softest way possible.


This row house is only 18 feet across, so the homeowners have adopted the Japanese solution of sliding screens to keep the rooms feeling open and airy but separate when needed.


I found astounding and wonderful the contrast between the subdued palette with minimal decoration common in interiors, and the ravishing mix of color, pattern and texture used in the 12 layers that make up a kimono.

The traditional kimono is an unparalleled lesson in how to mix. The silk was often handwoven, hand dyed, hand painted, hand embroidered and hand sewn.

All I can say is that when a Japanese woman approached me on the street dressed in her kimono, it was all I could do not to waylay her while I took notes on all the fabrics she was wearing.


Even the traditional male Samurai kimono is a riot of color and pattern. This abandonment of strictures in mixing has — along with nature’s use of color — been critical to my approach to color.


The variety of patterns and fabrics in this room rivals that of the Samurai kimono. For me this room’s touch of genius is the completely unexpected use of pink and gold on the throw pillows. It’s just like the obi (sash) and vest on a kimono.


Another lovely surprise was how the color pink is embraced in Japan. I guess it should be no surprise, since the cherry blossom is Japan’s unofficial national flower. In Japan pink has a masculine association. The cherry tree’s pink blossoms appear and then fall to the ground so fast each spring, they’re said to represent the young Japanese warriors of old who fell in battle in the prime of life. So pink is used — to my great delight and instruction — liberally and well.


Here we see that Japanese sense of pink working so very successfully in this contemporary room, which pulses with life while not feeling one bit feminine.


Have you ever heard of netsuke? You cannot tell from this picture so kindly supplied by the Buddha Museum, but these intricate carvings are generally no more than 2 or 3 inches tall; they are one of my favorite illustrations of Japan’s ancient commitment to beauty in the littlest detail. Netuske were invented in 17th-century Japan to serve a practical function: Male kimonos had no pockets, but the men who wore them needed a place to store their personal belongings, such as pipes, tobacco, money, seals and medicines. Their solution was to place such objects in containers hung by cords from the obi.


The fastener that secured the cord at the top of the sash was a carved, button-like toggle called a netsuke. Over time netsuke evolved into objects of great artistic merit and extraordinary craftsmanship. I would linger over them in Japanese antiques shops, fingering them, imagining the stories they could tell. Netsuke were carved as rabbits, dogs, masks etc., and each was a masterpiece of design. Imagine my astonishment when I returned stateside to discover that my soon-to-be husband collected netsuke!


Bringing that Japanese attention to detail to our homes marks the difference between good and great. Like the beveled glass and starburst knobs on these doors …


… or the passementerie and trimming on this bedding ensemble …


… or the beautifully executed dentil molding on this ceiling. The Japanese knew — it’s all about the details.


I love this print. It is so evocative of Japan. I stare at it, drinking in the kimono, with its rich color and pattern, set against the neutral, minimal landscape — all with that unstinting commitment to detail. It has been more than four decades, but the design inspiration I found in Japan stays with me today.

Next: More design inspiration from Japan

URL: Travel Takeaways: Design Inspiration From Japan http://decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-24051.html