Hunting for design inspiration in Kanazawa (Ishikawa Prefecture)
One of the places I really enjoyed in Japan was Kanazawa (not to be confused with Kanagawa, this place is near-ish the Noto Peninsula). It’s known as ‘Little Kyoto’ and didn’t disappoint. You’ll find ample information on the main attractions on YouTube and my go-to site japan-guide.com so I just want to focus this post on some places you may also like to check out if interested specifically in design books and crafts.
Ishikawa Prefectural Library (near Kanazawa)
This is the most gorgeous library I’ve ever seen. It had a grand vibe without feeling stuffy or pompous. It’s cozy, peaceful, and inspires reflection. What’s unique is the lower sections are organized based on themes like ‘Thinking about Work’ and ‘Being Curious‘ which is such a refreshing way to browse and expand your perspectives on a topic. There is a good collection of design books, although mostly in Japanese, so just get your Google Lens and charger ready! I spent the entire day there, solid bliss!
https://www.library.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp/category/aboutlibrary/2983.html
Tips:
You can find books from Kenya Hara here, and I’d also highly recommend to check out Axis - it’s full of really insightful interviews with various types of designers, is conveniently bilingual, and is a very expensive book if you were to buy it yourself.
Check out the cafe on the ground floor of the library as well, it’s equally stylish and has a good menu. Situated opposite the Kanazawa University of Art, it’s a wonderful spot to watch students with giant rulers poking out of their bags and wonder what amazing things they will create.
You can take the local bus from Kanagawa city which doesn’t take too long. I am not sure why, but this is the second time in my life that I’ve accidentally found myself on the local school bus?? Anyways, aren’t they cute!!
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.
This modern art museum had a fair amount of design content (more interactive art focused, but that was cool), a pretty decent library, and had 2 gift shops that had a really fun collection of books. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of reading content here particularly in the gift shop.
Yoshiro and Yoshio Taniguchi Museum of Architecture, Kanazawa
If you like architecture, you may like to check this place out if you’re in Kanazawa city. It’s small, and a little out of the way, so I won’t oversell it, but did have a nice showcase of modern minimalist architecture by the father-son duo Yoshiro and Yoshio Taniguchi and I enjoyed it. I didn’t enjoy the basement exhibit but it rotates so perhaps you’ll have a different one, they gave something to scan to get the English translations and was just a bit translated out that day, but regarding the permanent exhibit, there were good explanations around their design decisions behind lighting, ventilation, sound, privacy, and function. There are also some bilingual booklets explaining the design concepts behind different architectural projects in Japan on the ground floor which I found most interesting and will do a separate post on soon.
https://www.kanazawa-museum.jp/architecture/english/index.html
D.T. Suzuki Museum
This is one of the buildings Yoshio Taniguchi designed. I wanted to check it out, but since the Noto Peninsula earthquake was so recent, many places in Kanazawa were still being checked by structural engineers. The architecture looks so peaceful.
Image from Japan-Guide.com, read more here: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4211.html
Yanagi Sori Design Memorial
Sori Yanagi was a highly influential Industrial Designer that shaped a lot of the simplistic design aesthetic seen in Japan today. He was strongly influenced by Le Corbusier, and this small exhibit is suitably filled with many… chairs! There isn’t too much depth of information, but it’s worth a quick peek on your way towards the old town area on your way to eat gold leaf soft serves. The Sonograph museum is also nearby and looks cool too, unfortunately it was closed when I was there. The Ohi Museum is also nearby - an art museum with a lot of ceramics - I didn’t get a chance to go, but thought I’d mention this other green flag on my map.
https://www.kanazawastation.com/yanagi-sori-design-memorial/
The infamous Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi made of moulded plywood.
Origami shop - Arakigami (near Omicho Market)
Origami paper galore and tons of models showing you the final results of what you can achieve with some of their origami and paper art kits.
You can see that it’s opposite Tsutaya Bookstore, I didn’t check that branch out since there are many in other parts of Japan, but if you had some spare time, it’s bound to have some nice design books. I don’t think you’d have spare time in Kanazawa though, there’s so much to see!
Kanazawa Castle - Japanese Carpentry
I don’t get hugely excited about castles, but I did enjoy seeing the woodworking exhibits the very long storehouse. I’d say there are definitely much better places to learn geek out on Japanese joinery (like the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum in Kobe - my all time favorite) but it was quite nice to see it here.
It seems Japan has always had beautiful wallpaper too