Japanese industrial designer Kenji Ekuan died

Japanese industrial designer Kenji Ekuan died on 8 February 2015 following the heart failure in Tokyo, Japan. He was 85.

Ekuan was famously known for crafting a tabletop bottle for Kikkoman Corporation in 1961, winning international popularity both for the handy, flask-shaped dispenser.

Ekuan was a widely lauded designer whose work shaped products closely associated with modern Japan, including Yamaha motorcycles and a bullet train used in the country’s Shinkansen high-speed rail network.

Kenji Ekuan
• Born in Tokyo in 1929, Kenji Ekuan graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1955.
• In 1957, he established the firm GK Industrial Design Associates and took the office as President of the firm.
• Kenji Ekuan crafted a red-capped and elegantly teardrop-shaped soy sauce bottle for Kikkoman Corporation in 1961.
• Other of his renowned works include the Yamaha VMAX motorcycle, the Komachi bullet train connecting Tokyo and northern Japan, the Narita Express airport liner as well as audio equipment and company logos.
• He had been honoured with various awards for his work including the Award for contributions to Design Promotion in 1992, The Order of the Rising Sun in 2000, Lifetime Achievement Award by Hong Kong Design Centre, 2010.
• In 2014, Ekuan received a prestigious Italian industrial design prize, the Golden Compass Award.