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Added : April 02, 2011
Last Updated: April 04, 2011
Tags: design, ephemera, illustration, japan, labels, matchboxes, packaging, vintage
Topic: Graphic Design
11688 4 1 comments
TOPIC / Graphic Design
Japanese Safety Match labels
“...The traditional Japanese feeling for design, with which the world has been familiarized through the media of calligraphic art, ikebana and katachi, is however a very different thing from the spirit of these matchbox labels, which reflects instead a marriage of Eastern and Western sensibilities. Yet both of these forms of expression are in their way typically Japanese...” —Hideyuki Oka, author of How to Wrap Five Eggs, excerpt from Graphis (No 144, Volume 25)





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The informative, yet opinionated piece written by Hideyuki Oka implies that the designs from this period were heavily influenced by Western culture and often carried animal motifs to be favorable as an export. Even if these designs aren't indicative of high-end Japanese graphic design, I gravitate to them for their aesthetic appeal.


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