Katsuji Wakisaka’s Idea Box – Living Every Day While Creating

This book is an illustrated collection featuring works by Katsuji Wakisaka, the first Japanese designer to work for Marimekko. It includes his Marimekko designs from about 50 years ago, as well as his drawings, ceramics, and current textile works for SOU・SOU.

In Kyoto, there is an 80-year-old textile designer who continues to create while cherishing the rhythm of daily life. Who is Wakisaka, who draws shirts, pencils, chairs, and flowers with gentle lines?
In recent years, he has taken on new challenges, such as collaborations with Studio Ghibli and Hello Kitty, but he continues to create with a sense of excitement, always valuing the rhythm of life.
What did he see, how did he move, and what did he value as he continued his work for so long, from Finland and New York back to Kyoto after turning 60? What does he think now, at the age of 80?

[Table of Contents]
・Mr. Wakisaka
・Finland, Helsinki, 1968, Age 24
(To Finland / “You are empty now” / “BE YOURSELF” / Leaving Marimekko / Mr. Cricket)
・America, New York, 1976, Age 32
(Larsen and Wacoal / Life in New York / Textile design with “quality” / “I want to become soil” / Moratorium)
・Japan, Nishinomiya, 1986, Age 42
(Designer and Artist)
・Japan, 1986, Age 42–
(Continuing / A Letter a Day)
・Japan, Kyoto, 2002, Age 58–
(SOU・SOU / Kyoto Again / More Pop / Still Creating Today / “BE YOURSELF” at Age 24 and 80)