In March, with the opening of the Design Museum Holon, Israel added its name to a long list of countries that have at least one full-fledged museum dedicated to design. Japan, despite its reputation as a design powerhouse — hard-earned during the 20th century by innovative work such as Sony's Walkman, Issey Miyake's Pleats Please fashion, buildings by architect Tadao Ando and much more — is not on the list, and it is unlikely it will be joining anytime soon.
But, there's no rule against dreaming. And it was the dream that Japan will eventually establish such a museum — and thus join the ranks of Britain, the United States, Finland, Israel and many other countries — that was the catalyst and the guiding principle for an exhibition now being held at Mikimoto Hall in Tokyo's Ginza district.
"Design: '60s vs. '00s," as the exhibition is called, is organized by D-8, or the Japan Design Association Meeting — an umbrella group of eight national designers' associations that represent practitioners working in the fields of graphic, industrial, interior, display, craft, jewelry, package and sign design. D-8 started back in 1966 and it was in 2001 that they began discussing what they now call the "Japan Design Museum Plan."