Two years after Tokyo-based designer Sori Yanagi had created the Elephant Stool in 1954, the Japanese furniture manufacturer Kotobuki began production. In 1960, the stackable stool won the Gold Medal at the XII Triennale di Milano, where it was displayed alongside Yanagi’s Butterfly Stool and a school desk and chair from Kotobuki. The Japanese Triennale exhibit sought to showcase the country’s emerging skills in plywood and plastic manufacturing following World War II. Like designers in Europe and the United States who were exploring plastics for chairs, inspired by Charles and Ray Eames’ plastic chairs created from 1948 onwards, Japanese companies and Japan’s Industrial Arts Research Institute (IARI) had been researching furniture plastics since the mid-1950s. The Elephant Stool was one of the first mass-produced models emerging from these initiatives. Although initially conceived as a children’s stool, it soon became popular as general outdoor seating thanks to its waterproof material and easy to stow shape. The Elephant Stool exemplifies the interest shown by Yanagi and other post-war Japanese designers in incorporating the organic curves of 1950s art and aesthetics into objects for everyday life in Japan.
Text: Sarah Teasley
