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.