kawaii Managa 3 : Yotsuba&! (Yotsubato!)

Yotsuba&! (as known in Japanese “Yotsubato!”) is a very popular manga series by Kiyohiko Azuma. Not only Japanese girl, many people love them.

Yotsuba is a main character. She is 5 years old young girl. This story are depicted her daily summer holiday life with her father and neighborhoods.

Most of Japanese people love summer vacation at the best in a year, so I think it might be why this manga is attractive to Japanese.

Some of products born from Yotsuba&! are also released.

This is “Danbo” (cardboard robot). Danbo was represented on the story that Yotsuba and her friends made a robot with cardboard on summer homework (incruded in vol. 6).

Amazon co.jp reproduced Danbo with their delivery box. It’s funny idea.

(Amazon.co.jp)

LED blinking tote-bags (8tote at Make: Tokyo Meeting 02)

This weekend we joined Make: Tokyo Meeting 02 at Tama art university. We exhibited LED blinking tote-bags like Mexican day of the dead festival. Because we are also running tote-bag brand 8tote (Japanese name “みつばちトート“).

“Make:” is new type tech magazine to enjoy DIY published in US. Japanese edition team held this event. And Make:’s sister brand is “Craft:” that is featuring the newest creation of craft. We are loving “Craft:” since their birth. So we were very happy to participate in Craft:’s corner of this event.

We made our bags controlled with LilyPad Arduino (kawaii microcontroller board designed for wearables and e-textiles), we were enjoying to succeed blinking our products.

A lot of gallery came to see our exhibition.

Digital Art Festival

Every week, interesting rising “digital artists” are introduced in NHK digista the TV show.

Some of most popular “interactive installation” artists came to Digital Art Festival.

We enjoyed their friendly works! I became tiny shadow & flew in the long narrow stages, flipped picture books, or more…. All of these are unique experience!

Digital Art Festival Tokyo 2008
NHK digista

Shibuya Shugeibu

Shibuya Shugeibu held their exhibition at Art-book, a craft book store. They exhibited each crafted pieces and had craft workshop. Many people came there to have fun.

Shibuya Shugei-Bu is a craft group to teach crafting technic each ather. They are gathering around Shibuya or somewhere. I heard they sometime go on picnic to craft.

Shibuya Shugei-Bu
MAKE: Japan: 渋谷手芸部文化祭は14日まで開催！
art-book shop & cafe

Ado Mizumori : kawaii illustrations like 1970’s

Ado Mizumori is known as an famous illustrator. She is as an actress, singer, and writer, too. She performed painting with singing on TV show for children in 1970’s.

Recntly, kawaii movement has focused on her works. Numbers of products printed her illustrations are released.

Now, she seeme to be about 70 years old. but she is painting kawaii illustrations.

Ado Mizumori

Junie Moon Autumn window

Autumn comes to the show window of Junie Moon the Blythe doll shop :)

now we can enjoy the exhibition “Trash or Bear” inside shop Gallery LELE.

I got the special color eyes for my Blythe Peony… she will be operated on…

Junie Moon & Gallery LELE
Google Maps

MANGART (”Manga” + “Art”) BEAMS T

I went to the opening reception of “MANGART BEAMS T” brand in Daikanyama. “MANGART” means “Manga” + “Art”. This brand is selling mainly T-shirts printed with Manga.

Osamu Tezuka (as known “Astro Boy“, “Princess Knight“), Kazuo Umezu (as known “Orochi: Blood”, “The Drifting Classroom“) , Takehiko Inoue (as known “Slam Dunk“,) and so on., Many manga artists’ characters are on T-shirts.

New BEAMS Daikanyama store has three buildings of 2 floors. One of them is “MANGART BEAMS T”.

BEAMS TOPICS

Great Ukiyo-e in Harajuku!!

How do you imagine or know about Harajuku?
Yeah, it is very exciting young people’s fashion sacred place.

But this time I recommend you Ukiyo-e Ota memorial museum of art!
The museum is at the back of Laforet Harajuku.

You can see a lot of beautiful Ukiyo-e. just like into Japanese house,
you need to take off your shoes to enter the Museum. Unbelievably calm & serene place.

You can get some Ukiyo-e printed stationery at the reception.

Ukiyo-e Ota memorial museum of art