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ABOUT


In 1928, Japan’s first national “Design Research Institute (hereafter referred to as Kogei Shidosho) ” was established in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture. For about 41 years, top-level technicians gathered from across the country to conduct research and development on design, materials, and technology in order to promote the “industrial arts (industry)” era, which was the new age for “artistic crafts” that had been one of the pillars of Japan’s national industries until then. Kogei Shidosho, which studied “design” from world-renowned designers and architects of the time such as Bruno Taut and Charlotte Perriand, left behind numerous prototype designs that served as models (Mustermodell) for private companies. MUSTERMODELL “revives” timeless and universal designs from among those prototypes that remain relevant in modern living, widely communicating the history and value of the “Kogei Shidosho,” considered the origin of Japanese product design.





HERITAGE


Kogei Shidosho gathered top-level woodworkers, lacquerware artisans, blacksmiths, and other technicians from across the country over a period of about 41 years, from 1928 to 1969, conducting day and night research and development on designs and technologies for the new era, while also disseminating global design trends. Kogei Shidosho produced many excellent designers who were at the core of modern Japanese design, such as Isamu Kenmochi, Kappei Toyoguchi, Saburo Inui, Yoshio Akioka, and Mosuke Yoshitake. At a time when Japanese companies had not yet established design departments, Kogei Shidosho took the lead in design research, developing models for the designs of the new era, as well as promoting education, popularisation, and export of these designs.

However, despite this significant history, there are few people who know of Kogei Shidosho’s existence, even in Sendai City where it was located. Its presence is also thin in the historical context of design. A major factor for this is that after its dissolution in 1969, there is almost nothing left to trace its footsteps today. Additionally, there are few remains or records of Kogei Shidosho, and a shortage of people to research and connect its history. While there are about 250 valuable prototypes and materials remaining from that time, they are all housed at the Tohoku History Museum in Sendai City, making it difficult for the general public to access them. MUSTERMODELL aims to carry on the existence of Kogei Shidosho, which is the origin of Japanese product design and holds great historical significance, connecting it to the future and making it a foundation for considering the way forward for design and crafts.

Unfortunately, there is no organisation today that directly inherits the lineage of Kogei Shidosho. The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tohoku Centre (commonly known as AIST) in Sendai City operates as an organisation inheriting its roots, but it does not conduct design research like in those days. AIST inherited materials, prototypes, and other items from Kogei Shidosho's era, which are now transferred and housed at the Tohoku History Museum.





CANISTER
Size (Shape - photo left): φ90, H185.5 mm, approx. 250ml
Size (Tapered - photo right): φ95.5, H185.2 mm, approx. 400ml
Material: Beech laminated plywood / Plant-based oil varnish finish
Price: ¥36,300 (tax incl.)
Manufactured by: Woodwork (Tendo Mokko Co., Ltd.), Processing (Saga Woodcraft), Metal Handles (Tohoku Materials Co., Ltd.)

* Made-to-order. Please enquire regarding lead times.
** Selling price and manufacturers are subject to change due to circumstances.

This wooden canister featuring an “artificial woodgrain” technique is believed to have been produced in the late 1950s. No records remain regarding the original drawings, intended purpose, or usage at the time, with only a few similar prototype materials still existing. The “artificial woodgrain” technique involves colouring the adhesive layers of laminated plywood, causing a woodgrain-like pattern to appear when cut. This technique was researched as a solution to issues such as the depletion of high-quality wood resources with beautiful grain and the instability of solid wood materials. Records indicate that this product was the subject of research by staff members like Saburo Inui (who also served as technical director at Tendo Mokko) during their time at Kogei Shidosho, where Inui helped establish molded plywood technology at Tendo Mokko. Contemporary records suggest applications were considered not just for canisters but also for wooden plates and furniture. For the reproduction, we received co-operation from Tendo Mokko for creating the laminated plywood components.

*** As far as possible, we have replicated the dimensions and materials of the existing prototype resources.
**** While no artificial woodgrain prototype remains for the shape types, we reproduced them as a series estimated to have been produced concurrently based on the time period.






WOODEN BOWL
Size: W120.7, H56, D121.2 mm
Material: Zelkova / Urethane coating
Price: ¥22,000 tax incl.
Manufactured by: Woodwork (Zelkova from Miyagi Prefecture), Processing (Woodmaster Co., Ltd.)

* Made-to-order. Please enquire regarding lead times.
** Selling price and manufacturers are subject to change due to circumstances.


This wooden bowl (individual dish), believed to have been produced in the early 1950s, utilises a “non-circular lathe processing” technique. No original drawings, production intentions, or usage records remain, with only a few similar prototype materials still existing. To increase the design freedom of wooden vessels’ shapes beyond the circular forms limited by conventional lathe (wood-turning) processing, Kogei Shidosho developed a “non-circular lathe” machine (cutting lathe). This enabled mass production of triangular, rectangular, oval, and other shapes, with many normative prototypes (model samples) created. However, safety and stability issues when operating the machine likely made it difficult to proliferate the technique widely, causing it to eventually be forgotten. Today, CNC cutting (computer numerical control cutting) allows for even greater shape freedom, but this product is a reproduction showcasing the foresight and high technical prowess of Kogei Shidosho over 70 years ago through the ingenuity and efforts to transcend the conventional notion that vessels must be circular.

*** As far as possible, we have replicated the dimensions and materials of the existing prototype resources.
**** The zelkova wood maintains its natural grain colour without staining, though colour variations may occur between batches.



COLOPHON


Refences

1. “Compendium of Modern Japanese Design Volume 29 ‘A 30-Year History of the Industrial Arts Research Institute’” (2010), Industrial Arts Research Institute, Author: Hitoshi Mori, Published by: Yumina Shobo Co., Ltd.
2. “Special Exhibition Inherited Crafts: The Origin and Present of Japanese Industrial Design from Tohoku” (2018), Edited by: Shingo Hidaka, Ryusuke Kodani, Published by: National Museum of Ethnology
3. “The Dream of Modern Living from the Activities of the Industrial Arts Research Institute” (2017), Published by: Musashino Art University Museum & Library, Musashino Art University Formative Arts Center
4. “The Crafts of Bruno Taut” (2013), Written by: Akiko Shoji, Tatsuaki Tanaka, Published by: LIXIL Publishing
5. “The Complete Works of Taut Volume 3 Art and Crafts” (1943), Edited by: Hideo Shinoda, Published by: Ikuseisha Kodokan, Edited by: Green Chair Reproduction Research Group
6. “Bruno Taut’s Green Chair: The Reproduction and Mass Production Process of a Single Chair” (2018), Published by: Opa Press
7. “Charlotte Perriand and Japan” (2011), Edited by: “Charlotte Perriand and Japan” Research Group, Published by: Kashima Publishing
8. “Japanese Modern: Isamu Kenmochi and His World” (2005), Edited by: Hitoshi Mori, Published by: Kokusho Kankokai Corp.
9.  “From Kata Gura Studio: Kappei Toyoguchi and Half a Century of Design” (1987), Edited by: Groupe 5, Published by: Bijutsu Shuppan-Sha Co., Ltd.
10. “AIST TODAY 2005-06 The Footsteps of ‘Monozukuri’ Inherited by AIST 1, 2”, Published by: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tohoku Center
11. “Visit to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry’s Industrial Technology Institute Product Science Research Institute 1970”, Author: Gisaku Takahashi
12. “The Early People of the Institute of Industrial Art - Around a Photograph with Bruno Taut -” (1998), Author: Akiko Shoji, Design Studies Special Issue Vol. 6 No. 2 pp. 49-51
13. “Opening of the ‘Craft Prototype Exhibition Room’ at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tohoku Center - Introducing the Achievements of the Tohoku Branch of the Institute of Industrial Art and the Industrial Arts Research Institute -” (2005), Author: Akiko Shoji, Japan Society for the Science of Design, 52nd Research Presentation Conference, p. 76
14. “Tohoku Crafts Industry Promotion Measures during the Sendai Headquarters Era of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Institute of Industrial Art” (1994), Author: Akiko Shoji, Design Studies Special Issue Vol. 2 No. 1 pp. 6-9
15. “Woodcrafts from Colored Laminated Wood” (1957), Authors: Saburo Inui, Kazumasa Kimura, Published by: Industrial Technology Institute, Industrial Arts Research Institute
16. “Interview: The Roots and History of AIST Tohoku” (2021), Miyagi Newspaper, https://shinbun.fan-miyagi.jp/article/article_20210830-4.php
17. “Crafts News Volume 20, Issue 4” (1952), Edited by: Crafts Technical Agency, Institute of Industrial Art
18. “Translation and Examination of Bruno Taut's March 5,1934 Document : Report on my Works for the National Research Institute of Industrial Arts in Sendai” (1997), Author: Akiko Shoji, Journal of Design Research, Volume 44, Issue 3, pp. 51-58

Contributors

Tohoku History Museum
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tohoku Center
Sendai City Creative Project Grant (FY2021 Activity Expenses)
Tendo Mokko Co., Ltd.
Woodmaster Co., Ltd.
Tohoku Materials Co., Ltd.
Saga Woodcraft Akiko Shoji (Professor Emeritus, Tohoku Institute of Technology)
Yuichiro Kondo (Professor, Tohoku Institute of Technology)
Tsutsujigaoka Community Center, Miyagino Ward
Tohoku Kogei Seisakusho Mono Mono Co., Ltd.
Public University Corporation, Miyagi University

*Includes co-operation through interviews, lectures, material provision, etc.






MUSTERMODELL

“Mustermodell” is a German word meaning “model,” “sample,” or “prototype.” We named this project in honour of German architect Bruno Taut (Bruno Julius Florian Taut, 1880-1938), who laid the design foundations of Kogei Shidosho, deriving it from the “normative prototype” design methodology (involving a process largely equivalent to modern design, with research / prototyping / evaluation / completion stages) that he imparted. Taut’s “normative prototype” approach and the philosophy of shifting “from crafts for viewing to crafts for use” became the core principles and basis for Kogei Shidosho thereafter, greatly contributing to the development of modern Japanese design. Currently, the prototypes from that era exist as valuable materials conveying Kogei Shidosho’s work. Unfortunately, they are normally housed in a museum, out of public view. However, by reproducing these prototypes using modern technology and showcasing the “models” or “samples” of these historic “prototypes,” we aim to widely communicate the value of Kogei Shidosho to the general public.


The text on this site was translated by Claude.

This project run by Daichi Komatsu from TORCH with Kogei Shidosho heritage.© 2024 MUSTERMODELL. All rights reserved.