Katachi: Japanese Sacred Geometry

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Takeji Iwamiya Photographer

Compiled by Kazuya Takaoka

PIE International, Tokyo, 2012, Japanese and English

Nonfiction, Product/Industrial Design

5.9 x 1.3 x 4.1 inches, paperback, 480 pages

ISBN: 9784756241573

Japanese sacred geometry—paper, wood, bamboo, fiber, clay, metal, and stone. The word katachi, roughly sense of form, is difficult to define in other languages. This handy book features about 600 objects and forms made by the materials that have been passed down for over a thousand years, such as paper, wood, bamboo, fiber, clay, metal, and stone. Examples of uniquely Japanese katachi include shoji, sliding panels of paper on wooden frames; uchiwa, flat fans; geta, wooden clogs; boxwood combs; bamboo birdcages; tatami mats; fude, calligraphy brushes; sword blades; kanazuchi, a hummer, and more.

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