Isamu Kenmochi

Isamu Kenmochi (Japanese: 剣持勇, 1912 - 1971) was a Japanese modernist designer significant in the development of Japanese industrial design after World War II.[1]

Round Rattan Chair (1960)

Isamu Kenmochi was born on 2 January 1912 in Tokyo.[2] Kenmochi graduated from the Tokyo College of Industrial Arts (Japanese: 東京高等工芸学校, now Chiba University Faculty of Engineering) in 1932. After his graduation, Kenmochi worked at the Industrial Arts Research Institute in Tokyo.[1]

Kenmochi met artist and designer Isamu Noguchi in the summer of 1950 on Noguchi's first trip to Japan.[3] Together, the two developed a number of furniture designs, pioneering the Japanese Modern style which integrated the material culture of Japanese furniture with modernist styles.[4][5]

In 1952, Kenmochi visited the United States, later writing about the visit in the Industrial Arts Research Institute's publication, Kogei Nyusu.[6] Later that year, Kenmochi became a founding member of the Japan Industrial Designers Association.[1]

Basket Chair by Isamu Kenmochi and Isamu Noguchi

In 1964, Kenmochi's 1958 design for a lounge chair commissioned by the Yamakawa Rattan Company was added to the design collection of the MoMA. The design additionally won the G-Mark Prize (Good Design Selection System).[1]

Kenmochi committed suicide on 3 June 1971 in Shinjuku, Tokyo.[2]