The design by Sori Yanagi

Sori Yanagi (1915-2011) is one of Japan's most famous designers and a key figure in the development of Japanese design in the post-war period. Internationally, he is particularly known for the Butterfly Stool (1956) and the Elephant Stool (1954), both designs produced using the latest materials and technologies of the time. Besides numerous pieces of furniture, Yanagi also designed cooking utensils, tableware, glassware, technical devices, cars, motorcycles, playgrounds, bridges, and bus stops.

Through his father, Soetsu, Yanagi came into contact with Japanese craftsmanship at an early age. Soetsu was an art critic, philosopher, and co-founder of the Japanese folk art movement Mingei , which valued the craftsmanship of ordinary people and sought beauty in everyday objects.
During his painting studies at the Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts, Yanagi was exposed to the design principles of the Bauhaus. Le Corbusier's ideas on functionalism profoundly influenced him, leading him to switch from painting to design. After graduating in 1940, he worked for a time for the Japanese Ministry of Commerce, which was responsible for developing export goods. At the same time, Charlotte Perriand, a furniture designer and collaborator of Le Corbusier, was invited to Japan by the Japanese government and tasked with advising domestic companies on design matters. Yanagi assisted her from 1940 to 1942.

When the Pacific War broke out, Sori was posted to the Philippines as a member of the press team, where fierce fighting was taking place on the southern front. Upon returning to his devastated homeland in 1946, he saw it as his duty to meet the needs of Japanese society and to boost the Japanese economy. At a time of material and commodity shortages, and fuel scarcity, he began working with clay, one of the few available materials. His first creation was a mass-produced white dinnerware set. Initially dismissed by retailers as austere, it wasn't long before Yanagi's clear and unadorned design language gained popularity. In 1952, his design for a record player radio won the Mainichi Design Award. Shortly thereafter, he founded the Yanagi Industrial Design Institute , which went on to produce a wide variety of everyday objects and interior design items.

Deeply impressed by Ray and Charles Eames' LCW chair made of molded plywood from 1946, he traveled to the USA in 1952 to visit the two furniture designers and learn about molded plywood technology. Back in Japan, he worked for over three years with plywood researcher Saburo Inui and furniture manufacturer Tendô Mokkô on the Butterfly Stool. This proved to be a great success: at the Milan Triennale in 1957, Yanagi's Butterfly Stool was awarded the gold medal, sparking international interest in Japanese design. Today, over 60 years later, the unique stool—made from two curved plywood sheets connected by a metal rod and screws—continues to fascinate. The chair has been manufactured by Tendô Mokkô since 1956, and since 2002, Vitra has also been a licensed manufacturer.