5 beautiful toy brands from Japan
DESIGN, Toys
You probably have the impression that Japanese children are always stuck behind a screen or any other electronic toy. Today we want to help you with the prejudice and show you some very excellent, non electronic, toys from Japan.
All are really fun and different. Some you may discover for the very first time here today. We love to inspire you and please enjoy our selection:
Primomo
The Japanese brand Primomo wants to promote the creativity of children with their products. The egg-shaped crayons can be grabbed by very small hands, even before they can held a pen or paint brush. In addition, they are slightly perfumed and put together they do form the funniest patterns.
Amaury Lemal
The characters of Amaury Lemal are the reminiscence of the Japanese understanding of cuteness. Often a little strange and cranky but always unique in design. With his predilection for old vinyl toys and vector graphics, Amaury creates colorful worlds, that do not only inspire children. In his biography he writes fittingly: “I make my dreams come true by making others laugh.”
Yoskay Yamamoto
Born and raised in Toba, Japan, graphic designer Yoskay Yamamoto lives on the west coast of the USA since he is 15 years old. In his exceptionally beautiful toys he tries to connect the two cultures. He alienates iconic pop characters from the USA with traditional Japanese details and thus creates a whole new form of modern pop art.
Chigo
The Japanese design – shop Chigo (and yes, they ship worldwide) sells in addition to cute children ‘s clothes some very chic wooden toys too. Most are made especially for the shop. The restrained design is completely subordinate to the Japanese aesthetic – the beauty is always found in the simplicity. Definitely try Kendama. A popular Japanese children’s ball game in which you catch a wooden ball on a plate. Since there are a lot of possibilities and combinations due to the construction of the Kendamas, there are no limits to the imagination of the rules.
Rocca
Derived from the Japanese word for hexagon (rokakku) you can create incredible 3D effects with these 2-D shapes. The goal of Rocca is very simple: Build a tower and be the first player who has no more cards. But you can also play traditional card games if you like, poker is one of them for example. The unusual design of the cards won the 2012 Good Design Award for toys.
This article was first published on Lunamag.de
