The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions
What:
The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions
Where:
Folio Books or online here
How much:
$27.95
Meet Kenji Kawakami, designer, pathological mail-order enthusiast and author. Kawakami is the founder of Chindogu, the art of the unuseless idea and the premise of this book. Kawakami has developed an entire philosophy around bizarre gadgets. There are ten tenets of Chindogu, but basically: it cannot be for real use, but it must exist; Chindogu are man-made objects that have broken free from the chains of usefulness. They are not for sale – if you accept money for one you surrender your purity and it’s not all about humour.
Chindogu is not propaganda, it is never taboo, it cannot be patented and finally, Chindogu is without prejudice. Inventions are designed to solve many of the niggling little problems of modern life, at home, at work and incidentally, while commuting between the three. But if you invent something that which turns out to be so handy that you use it all the time, then you’ve failed.
I’m sorry Mr. Kawakami, I beg to differ that the ‘Dust and Shake’ isn’t a handy invention, I imagine I would be very pleased to sit down to gin martini after a spot of light dusting, it would certainly put some ‘woo-hoo!’ into household chores. Some other favourites are the ‘Hay Fever Hat’ , the Drive-by Drier and Self-lighting Cigarettes. You owe it to yourself to open up to the world of Chindogu.
Format: Book
Genre: Other
Keywords: Kenji Kawakami, Folio Books
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