Disney, “wa”, and the Japanization of Mickey

One of the bigger trends of the last year has been the resurgence of Japanese-ness in all kinds of products. The reasons aren’t so clear, but a reemergence of pride in Japanese tradition and style most certainly plays a role, with wa (harmony) as a central theme. The idea of wa (和) is embedded in things that are specifically Japanese, such as wafuku (和服 – Japanese clothing) and washoku (和食 – Japanese food), and carries with it a very specific meaning and feeling. Recognize anything in the picture below?

What about now? The paper used to create the lamps and backlit wall is beautiful and stylish, yet pulls it off while simultaneously incorporating (of all things) a cartoon mouse!

This trend has gone both ways, with traditional items infused with modern elements, but also modern items given the wa treatment. Kyoto design house Wa-Qu did this with Disney, and managed to take an image that typically seems corny and childish and gave it some real style.

In this exhibit, entitled Disney+Wa-Qu, typical Japanese items such as chopsticks, lacquer ware, fabric, and other household goods were created with a mouse ear element whose subtle curves actually lend themselves quite well to the project. Often, as with the objects below, Mickey’s presence may be overt, but it doesn’t jump out and scream “commercial!” at you or cheapen the items (not too dramatically anyway).

The Disney+Wa-Qu display ended last week, but we’ll be keeping our eyes open for future exhibits or commercial releases of these items.

Photos used with permission from Flickr user Tomicwu.
Here’s his website as well.
Scanned picture from here