Kenji Ekuan

Kenji Ekuan (榮久庵 憲司, Ekuan Kenji, September 11, 1929 – February 8, 2015) was a Japanese industrial designer, best known for creating the design of the Kikkoman soy sauce bottle.

Kenji Ekuan
榮久庵 憲司
Born	(1929-09-11)September 11, 1929 Tokyo
Died	February 8, 2015(2015-02-08) (aged 85) Tokyo
Nationality	Japanese
Alma mater	Tokyo University of the Arts
Occupation	Industrial designer
Website	www.gk-design.co.jp

Biography

Born in Tokyo on September 11, 1929, Ekuan spent his youth in Hawaii.^[1] At the end of World War II, he moved to Hiroshima, where he witnessed the atomic bombing of the city, in which he lost his sister and his father, a Buddhist priest. He said the devastation motivated him to become a "creator of things".^[2][3] Later he attended Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (present-day Tokyo University of the Arts). In 1957, he founded GK Industrial Design Laboratory (ＧＫインダストリアルデザイン研究所).^[1] "GK" stood for "Group of Koike", as Koike was the name of an associate professor at the university.^[4]

In 1970, he became president of the Japan Industrial Designers' Association and five years later he was elected as president of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design.^[5]

During his lifetime he served as chair of the Japan Institute of Design, dean of Shizuoka University of Art and Culture was and a trustee of the Art Center College of Design.^[3]

Ekuan died in the hospital in Tokyo on February 8, 2015, at the age of 85.^[1]

Selected works

Products that Ekuan oversaw the design of included the following.

• Kikkoman soy sauce bottle, 1961^[6]
• Yamaha VMAX motorcycle, 2008^[6]

• 
  Kikkoman soy sauce bottle
• 
  Yamaha VMAX

Railway vehicles

• 253 series Narita Express train, 1991^[6]
• E3 Series Shinkansen Komachi train, 1997^[6]
• E259 series Narita Express train, 2009^[6]
• E233 series commuter train, 2006^[7]

• 
  Narita Express 253 series
• 
  E3 Series Shinkansen
• 
  Narita Express E259 series
• 
  E233 series

Logos

• Tokyo Metropolitan Government logo, 1989
• Ministop convenience store logo^[8]
• Japan Racing Association logo^[9]

• 
  Tokyo Metropolitan Government logo
• 
  Ministop store logo
• 
  Japan Racing Association logo

He also served as co-general producer for the World Design Exposition 1989 held in Nagoya.^[10]

Honors and awards

• 1979: Colin King Grand Prix - International Council of Societies of Industrial Design^[10]
• 1995: Sir Misha Black Medal^[11]
• 1997: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres - French Minister of Culture^[5]
• 2000: Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette^[10]
• 2003: Lucky Strike Designer Award - Raymond Loewy Foundation^[12]
• 2004: Commander in the Order of the Lion of Finland^[13]
• 2014: Compasso d'Oro for Lifetime Achievement - Associazione per il Disegno Industriale^[14]

Published books

• Kenji Ekuan (1 March 1998). The Aesthetics of the Japanese Lunchbox. Diane Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7567-7620-6.

References

1. 栄久庵憲司氏が死去 工業デザインの草分け [Pioneering industrial designer Kenji Ekuan dies]. Nikkei Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: Nikkei. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
2. "From Soy Sauce To Bullet Trains: Famed Japanese Designer Dies At 85". NPR. 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
3. "Design World Mourns the Loss of Kenji Ekuan". Industrial Designers Society of America. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
4. "History". Outline. GK Design Group. Archived from the original on 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
5. "Japanese designer of soy sauce bottle, Kenji Ekuan, dies aged 85". The Straits Times. 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
6. "The Works of GK Design Group". GK Design Group Inc. Archived from the original on 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
7. "栄久庵憲司さん死去 山手線や中央線、「こまち」などの車両デザインに関わる" [Kenji Ekuan, involved in the design of Yamanote Line and Chuo Line vehicles, dies]. Traffic News (in Japanese). 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
8. 工業デザインの第一人者 栄久庵憲司さん死去 [First industrial designer Kenji Ekuan dies]. NHK News Web (in Japanese). Japan: NHK. 2015-02-09. Archived from the original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
9. "Industrieel designer Kenji Ekuan overleden". The Art Server (in Dutch). 2015-02-09. Archived from the original on 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
10. "Japanese designer behind iconic soy sauce bottle dies at 85". ABS-CBN Corporation. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
11. Angus Montgomery (2015-02-10). "Kenji Ekuan, designer of bullet trains and soy sauce bottle, dies aged 85". Design Week. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
12. "2003 Lucky Strike Designer Award - Kenji ekuan". Raymond Loewy Foundation. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
13. "Kenji Ekuan - Chairman, GK Design Group". Hong Kong Design Centre. Archived from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
14. "Kenji Ekuan, designer of the classic soy sauce dispenser, dead at age 85". Japan Times. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2015-02-11.

External links

• GK Design website