Japanese industrial designer who created the iconic Kikkoman bottle
Japanese industrial designer Kenji Ekuan, whose most famous work was the red-capped Kikkoman soy sauce dispenser, has died aged 85, his company said.
Japanese industrial designer Kenji Ekuan, whose most famous work was the red-capped Kikkoman soy sauce dispenser, has died aged 85, his company said.
A former monk, Ekuan crafted the elegantly tapered tabletop bottle for Kikkoman in 1961, winning international popularity both for the handy, flask-shaped dispenser and of course for the salty brown condiment flavouring many Asian cuisines.
He said he wanted to design a small bottle because of his childhood memory of his mother pouring soy sauce from a big bottle to a tabletop dispenser.
Other renowned works include the Yamaha VMAS motorcycle, the Komachi bullet train connecting Tokyo and northern Japan, the Narita Express airport liner, as well as audio equipment and company logos.
His said his designs originate from the sights of Hiroshima's devastation after the US atomic bombing of the city 70 years ago. He heard the voices of street cars, bicycles and other objects mangled and abandoned, saying they had wished to have been utilised more, he is quoted as saying in a company pamphlet for his Hiroshima exhibit last year.