was a Japanese

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical 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 advance of the manufactu ...

er, best known for creating the design of the

Kikkoman is a Japanese food manufacturer. Its main products and services include soy sauce, food seasoning and flavoring, mirin, , and sake, juice and other beverages, pharmaceuticals, and restaurant management services. Kikkoman has production pla ...

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' As ...

bottle.

Biography

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

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 ...

, 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 (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 t ...

. During his lifetime he served as chair of the Japan Institute of Design,

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Shizuoka University of Art and Culture The is a public university in Hamamatsu, in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Its mission is to foster the exchange of ideas between the fields of cultural studies and design by having the two combined at one relatively small institution. It is one o ...

was and a trustee of the

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred ...

. 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. *

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 53 may refer to: * 53 (number) * one of the years 53 BC, AD 53, 1953, 2053 * FiftyThree, an American privately held technology company that specializes in tools for mobile creation and visual thinking * 53rd Regiment Alabama Cavalry * 53rd Regiment ...

''Narita Express'' train, 1991 * E3 Series Shinkansen ''Komachi'' train, 1997 *

E259 series E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...

''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 C ...

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 Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan governme ...

logo, 1989 * Ministop convenience store logo *

Japan Racing Association The Japan Racing Association ( ja, 日本中央競馬会 Nippon Chūō Keiba Kai, or JRA) is a public company established to operate Chūō Keiba (中央競馬 Central horse racing) and to manage racecourses, betting facilities, and horse-training ...

logo File:Symbol flag of Tokyo.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, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

Honors and awards

* 1979: Colin King Grand Prix -

* 1995: Sir Misha Black Medal * 1997:

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (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 ...

French Minister of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

* 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 ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) is an association of about 1.100 designers, manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological p ...

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