was a Japanese

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

er, best known for creating the design of the Kikkoman

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

bottle.

Biography

Born in Tokyo on September 11, 1929, Ekuan spent his youth in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he moved to

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

, 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". Later he attended

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music or is a school of art and music in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, crafts, inter ...

(present-day Tokyo University of the Arts). In 1957, he founded . "GK" stood for "Group of Koike", as Koike was the name of an associate professor at the university. 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 The World Design Organization (WDO) was founded in 1957 from a group of international organizations focused on industrial design. Formerly known as the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, the WDO is a worldwide society that ...

. 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 The ArtCenter College of Design is a private art college in Pasadena, California. It was incorporated in 1930 as a degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual arts and design. ...

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

Selected works

Products that Ekuan oversaw the design of included the following. * Kikkoman soy sauce bottle, 1961 * Yamaha VMAX motorcycle, 2008 File:Kikkoman soysauce.jpg, Kikkoman soy sauce bottle File:Yamaha V-Max .jpg, Yamaha VMAX

Railway vehicles

* 253 series ''Narita Express'' train, 1991 *

E3 Series Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type built for ''Komachi (train), Komachi'' services which commenced on 3 June 1997, coinciding with the opening of the new Akita Shinkansen "mini-shinkansen" line, a regular Narrow-gauge railway, ...

''Komachi'' train, 1997 * E259 series ''Narita Express'' train, 2009 *

E233 series The is a commuter and suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type developed by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) from the earlier E231 series and the E531 series design. The first train was introduced in December 2006 for use on the Ch� ...

commuter train, 2006 File:Narita express.jpg, ''Narita Express'' 253 series File:E3-Komachi-R20-131109.JPG, E3 Series Shinkansen File:JRE Series-E259-Ne007.jpg, ''Narita Express'' E259 series File:JRE Series-E233-T1.jpg, E233 series

Logos

Tokyo Metropolitan Government The is the government of the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 47 Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, headquarters build ...

logo, 1989 * Ministop convenience store logo *

Japan Racing Association The Japan Racing Association () is a public company established in Japan under a law to operate Chūō Keiba (中央競馬 Central horse racing) and to manage racecourses, betting facilities, and horse-training facilities in the country. It was ...

logo File:Flag of Tokyo Metropolis (symbol).svg, Tokyo Metropolitan Government logo File:Ministop.JPG, Ministop store logo File:Japan Racing Association logo.svg, Japan Racing Association logo He also served as co-general producer for the World Design Exposition 1989 held in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

Honors and awards

* 1979: Colin King Grand Prix -

* 1995: Sir Misha Black Medal * 1997:

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

- French Minister of Culture * 2000: Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette * 2003: Lucky Strike Designer Award - Raymond Loewy Foundation * 2004: Commander in the Order of the Lion of Finland * 2014: Compasso d'Oro for Lifetime Achievement -

Associazione per il Disegno Industriale Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI), is an Italian professional organisation of about 1,100 architects, designers, manufacturers, trade journalists, academics, and design universities. Its primary purpose is the promotion of good des ...

Published books

References

External links

GK Design website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekuan, Kenji 1929 births 2015 deaths Japanese industrial designers Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Commanders of the Order of the Lion of Finland Tokyo University of the Arts alumni Artists from Tokyo Japanese motorcycle designers Lucky Strike Designer Award recipients