Yanagi Sori

Biography

Yanagi was born in Tokyo, being the son of Yanagi S?etsu, founder of the Mingei (Folk Craft) Movement. Yanagi studied at Tokyo Arts School and developed an interest in modern design, becoming influenced by the work of Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, whose office he worked in during the 1940s.

In 1952 he founded the Yanagi Industrial Design Institute which created a prolific number of items for daily use and home furnishing. In 1977, Yanagi S?ri was named Director of the Japanese Folk Art Museum in Tokyo.

In addition to household products, his designs also include metro stations, bridges and the torch for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.