2017

A word of thanks to Mr. Takashi Kanome

It was late last year when we finished a group exhibition called “Christmas of Package Koufukuron” here at 5610. Mr. Kanome struck us with a thunderbolt.

He said, “This is what ‘package’ means to me! This is what 'package design' means to me! This is what 'design' means to me! I can't have an exhibition without expressing that I thought !

Nine years ago, Mr. Kanome gathered in-house designers working for companies and invited them to create works with free ideas and hold an exhibition without any restrictions.

At that time, he invited me, who had been his friend since before he came to Tokyo, to “Shinya-kun, lead everyone and be the director of the exhibition. That was the beginning of the “Package Koufukuron.

The first exhibition, in which I just created everything without thinking, went well, but as each exhibition went on, the professor's face became more and more severe. Then, last year, the eighth exhibition, I think his frustration peaked.

I think it was an expression of his strong sense of crisis that our work of design and creativity, which is so important and precious to him, had become nothing more than a servant of industry.

We were more excited than ever to present an exhibition that would win Mr. Kanome's approval for the ninth time.

But before the exhibition could begin, Mr. Kanome left for a distant place.

We were again shocked and devastated by his exhibition at Motegi, where he gave his all, and his exhibition here at 5610, where he gave his all, and we realized how small we are. But it is also true that we received tremendous energy from his last two exhibitions.

We will miss the sight of him scolding us with a glass of wine in his hand. But he is still alive and well in our hearts. The message he gave us is strongly engraved in our hearts as words that will never fade away.

We will continue to do our best to live our lives as creators under your gaze and never let you down.

Thank you very much, Kanome-sensei. And I look forward to working with you in the future.

［Designers]　
　Naoko Akai (KOSÉ)
　Kiyoshi Ishida (underline graphic)　
　Hiroyuki Ishiura (Suntory)
　Taiki Inoue (Sony)　
　Kazushige Oue (Kanome Design Office)
　Takashi Kagotani (Dai Nippon Printing)
　Kaori Kondo (Shiseido)
　Yuki Sugiyama（Hakuhodo)　
　Kenichi Tanaka (Cotori Design Standard)
　Yuka Nagasaki (Shiseido)
　Kenichi Hirose (Sony)　
　Sumiko Matsuda (Tiger & Design)
　Shigeru Yamazaki (KOSÉ)
　Itsuro Yumoto (Kao)

［News of 2017]
　Inauguration of U.S. President Trump
　Torrential rain disaster in northern Kyushu
　Moritomo, Kakei, and Nippo issues