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ABOUT

Mono Japan

MONO JAPAN is a celebration of contemporary Japanese craft and design. It is an event and a platform devoted to sophisticated beauty grounded in tradition, enriched with contemporary thinking, and refined to perfection with uncompromising skills. MONO JAPAN represents the design that defies the gravity of the mundane and brings joy to the simplest rituals of every day.

 

What we do

MONO JAPAN started as an organisation that introduces carefully curated selection of modern Japanese artisanal products and makers to the Dutch and European audience. Its activities consist of organising a yearly artisanal design fair from products of Japanese craftspeople and (small) companies as well as holding workshops, lectures and discussions to initiate and facilitate collaboration between Japanese and European artists and designers.

 

MONO JAPAN Fair in Amsterdam

The first MONO JAPAN Fair took place in 2016 in the Lloyd Hotel Amsterdam.
Since then, more than 70 Japanese participants have exhibited, most of them for the first time in Europe, and numerous collaborations between Japan and the Netherlands have been born. For our previous events, see archives.

The fifth edition is planned in September 2022. Read more about the MONO JAPAN Fair.

Participants of MONO JAPAN fair

All 76 exhibitors (2016 - 2019 )
2016/ Arita | 830 design lab | Aizu Creative Japan | ALIMANO | Asemi Co. | Awaji City Society of Commerce and Industry | AZMAYA | Based on Roots | BP. | BLUEVOX! | C& | CERANIS | Coelacanth Shokudo | Connecting the dots -Tradition and Creativity of Saga- | EN TEA | Fukumono shop | gift by gifted l HiHiHi | Hyogo Prefecture Incense Cooperative | Ichiro Mori | In Praise of Shadows | ISSHINDO | i ro se l Idea books | IZUMONO | KANAIKOUGEI | Kapoc | KATALOKooo | KATAYAMA BUNZABURO SHOTEN | KIMURA` | kitta | knot | KODAMA TOKI | Kyoto Craft Session | KYO-TO-TO | List: | MAKER KAMER | marru | Maruhiro | mature ha. | MGNET | Mio Heki | Misc-Store | MUJUN | Nagasakirinne | Nagasaki Prefecture | N STORE. | Nankei Pottery | NISHIGUCHI KUTSUSHITA | Nombre | Okamotoya Monzaemon | Ooyama Seichaen | orit. | Pfütze | POLS | PULL + PUSH PRODUCTS. | SAGA | Saga Prefectural Tourism Federation Craft Tourism | sasimonokagu takahashi | schop | Shimpei Arima | Snow Peak | Studio Chikufusha l STUDIO SHIKUMI | Sweet Hirado | SyuRo | Taguchi Craftec | TAKARAJIMA SENKOU | TAKUMI Craftworks | tamaki niime | TIME & STYLE | TSUNAGU SONOGI TEA FARMERS | Ukiha City | Utsuwa Shoken | Yama no Katachi | YAMAKOSHI | Yamma Sangyo & Harappa


MONO MONTHLY

From December 2020, MONO JAPAN launched a new opportunity to connect you to the Japanese craftsmanship and design through a new online event. 

The MONO MONTHLY event is held online every month, making it possible to introduce you to the carefully curated selection of high-quality Japanese products and makers even during this pandemic. Learn more about MONO MONTHLY here.

Bridging Creative Partnerships

In the spring of 2019, MONO JAPAN ran its first Artist in Residence program, MJ AIR. The program has been made possible with generous contributions of Stimuleringsfonds, Embassy of the Netherlands in Tokyo and Municipality of Amsterdam.

In November 2019 the organisation became a foundation under Dutch law and works now under the name of Stichting MONO JAPAN. Stichting MONO JAPAN functions as an active platform moderator in establishing new Dutch-Japanese creative partnerships.

In 2020, MONO JAPAN moved its Artist In Residence (AIR) program for designers/artists in The Netherlands and traditional craftspeople/artisans in Japan to a digital platform. MJ ONLINE AIR was held from October 2020 to April 2021, the online meetings were archived on YouTube channel. 

This program is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL and The Embassy of The Kingdom of The Netherlands.

 

Our Vision

MONO JAPAN connects the cultural sectors in Japan and Europe through the celebration of contemporary craft and design.

Our Mission

MONO JAPAN facilitates the discovery of authentic Japanese crafts and design in Europe through the creation of a fair business model that enables craftspeople and their techniques to survive.

Team



Director, Founder Emiko Chujo | Account Manager Hanako Matsunaga  | Strategic Designer Emi Tsutsushio | Graphic Design & Art Direction Masaya Takeda | Webdesign & Development Jeroen Schippers

In collaboration with

Lloyd Hotel

Supported by

Kingdom of the Netherlands Stimuleringsfonds Nationale-Nederlanden NN Life Insurance Company, Ltd.

Special Thanks

Our profound gratitude to the many people who helped us realise this event.

Bas Valckx (Embassy of the kingdom of the Netherlands, Press & Cultural Officer), Bas Kosters, Bonne Reijn & Justus Cohen Tervaert (Bonne Suits), Chitose Ohchi (C&), Daan Kok (Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen), Erik van der Molen (Netherlands-Japan Association), Femke Riel (het Werkvan), INAMATT, Judith de Weert, Katsuhiko Ae (Ae Handkerchief), Kosuke Oho & Michiru Sasaki (WOW inc.), Maki Nakata, Ryosuke Matsuzaki (Qurosio), Marion Poortvliet (Crafts Council Nederland), Monique Zevenhuizen, Nana Yamazaki (Yamma Sangyo), Ranti Tjan (EKWC), Rie Nagasawa, Rieko Ishida, Ryutaro Yoshida (TIME & STYLE), Sabine Gimbrere (City of Amsterdam, International Office), Saga Prefectural Government, SAWANOTSURU CO., LTD. brewing SAKE in Nishigo, Samira Boon, Shinya Kobayashi (Coelacanth Shokudo / MUJUN), So Kubota (Kubota Sekishu Washi Paper), Suzanne Oxenaar, Shunji Ohashi, Yoshitoku Takahashi (JETRO), Yuiko Yokota (MUJUN), Yutaka Endo (LUFTZUG CO., LTD. / LUFTZUG EUROPE).