Japanese fascinated by laid-back Finland

Finnish design and craftsmanship trendy in Tokyo again

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By Sami Sillanpää in Tokyo
     
     The famous Fiskars scissors appear to be of interest. The dishes, jewellery, and furniture also attract Japanese customers in the Ozone Gallery in Tokyo.
      A pair of soapstone blocks that look like ice cubes cause a serious bustle.
      "This product is a true sensation", Keiko Takahashi tells his friends.
      Under the glass lies the product called On the Rocks, crafted by Ari Turunen. It can be used like an ice cube. Takahashi imports them into Japan, and they are sold in design shops and on the Internet for EUR 20 per set.
      "There are more buyers than products. We have people on a waiting list."
     
Marimekko, Iittala and Arabia have long been well- known in Japan, but the popularity of craftsmen is evidence of a wider interest in Finnish design. An exhibition presenting the work of Finnish designers and artisans from the artist cooperative of Fiskars is currently touring Japan.
      "Nordic and Japanese design have a similar temperament. Wood, nature, simplicity, and an intricate finish," says emeritus professor Makoto Shimazaki.
      Shimazaki studied in Denmark in the 1950’s, and has been an advocate of Nordic design in Japan ever since.
      Shimazaki also personally knows the big Finnish names. Over the years he has accumulated a collection of 1,300 pieces of Nordic design, for which he is planning to set up a museum.
      The Fiskars exhibition is also Shimazaki’s handiwork. "I have been to Fiskars often. I think it is a very stimulating place."
      The community of artists has created a thriving culture in a remote village. Shimazaki wishes that the Japanese had something similar.
      "I want to introduce Fiskars, since such places do not exist in Japan. The depopulation of villages in the countryside have become a problem for us as well."
     
The Finnish-Japanese Design Association was founded in 2000. Finnish designers have become much more popular in Japan ever since. This autumn, there has been something related to Finnish design going on practically every week in Tokyo.
      Many Finnish artists and companies were present at the Tokyo design week. Finnish fashion designers have a show and exhibition in Tokyo in mid-November. An Alvar Aalto exhibition just began.
      Professor Yrjö Sotamaa was the head of an EU design competition in Japan. The winner received a free enrolment in the University of Art and Design Helsinki.
     
It would be exaggeration to talk of a Finland boom. It is more of an increase in enthusiasm in Nordic design that Finland is part of.
      "The Scandinavian design magazine is now the most popular in its field", says design merchant, Junichi Kabusaki.
      Scandinavian Life and Design is a 150-page, glossy magazine. The publication is full of pictures of Nordic products, from salty liquorice to skis.
      Kabusaki is working for Nordic Form, a company which sells only Nordic design products. Nordic design and materials have formed a subculture among the rich and trend-conscious. Ikea is now a big hit, and Nordic goods are being sold en masse in specialised shops.
      According to Professor Shimazaki, the products’ style is not the only thing that appeals to the Japanese. "The Japanese have begun to see behind Nordic design – the Nordic way of life and the role that nature plays in people's lives appeal to them."
     
The Japanese see Finland as a highly-developed but quiet country.
      "The image of the Finnish lifestyle pleases the Japanese. The unhurried life and closeness to nature appeals to them", says Heli Lampi of the Finland Institute in Tokyo.
      However, life has been anything but unhurried for the man who has risen into the favour of the Japanese. Jewellery craftsman Ari Turunen answers his phone in Fiskars.
      "I have not been able to make as many as have been ordered from Japan", he says.
      Turunen created On the Rocks already in the 1980’s. The product made its Japanese debut in 2000 when a businesswoman took one with her for show. Now Japan is the largest market for Turunen’s rocks. This year already about 8,000 pieces are being sent. "There is something strange about these rocks that appeals to them."
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 29.11.2006

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Links:
  Fiskars Village website

SAMI SILLANPÄÄ / Helsingin Sanomat
sami.sillanpaa@hs.fi