A few decades ago, I first discovered Japan at an all-girls high school in London (which was actually where most people from my country lived). It was during that time when I started experimenting with different foods and drinks, because they had never tasted something like sushi or yakitori at home before. However, just for fun, one particular event in our local library brought me back to Japan. Not only did we try this amazing dish that is known worldwide as takigami, but also learned how important art and culture were in their daily lives.

The museum behind the artwork of the famous Takigami artist, Hiroshi Chiba, is currently open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more information, visit the website here.

In December 2018, Subway opened its newest restaurant called Kaya in Kyoto, and, since then, it's been featured internationally as well as being named one of the top tourist spots in Japan! One of the interesting aspects about this new place is how you can order a steaming hot cup of tea to your table, just by writing 'Kaya,' not knowing that this is based off of a common stereotype in Japan. But why? Because Subway, through its creative team has really taken inspiration from Japan to create one of the world's most delicious sandwiches.

How do you think Japanese would have known what came after reading that statement? If you're familiar with Kanji, a syllabic alphabet that literally means “writing or drawing”, you may be surprised that such an iconic word as kawaii could be translated into English, meaning cute instead of chubby. This little story is definitely true and shows how close relationships between artists and consumers can bring unique ideas to the market, even if the two aren't related to each other. Moreover, this partnership between companies like Subway, Yoko Ono, and Hiroshi Chiba, who created the masterpiece, will inspire future collaborations with artists like them in the same way. So, without further ado, let's go check out the new Starbucks collaboration that inspired us for today.

The Famous Tatsuburger And Tea Shop

In December 2017, Starbucks unveiled the largest art installation in their history during their celebration festival and showcased some of the best works by renowned American artists including Daniel Polachek and Keith Haring, whose work adorns various parts of the store. To pay homage to these artists, the company invited artist Hiroshi Chiba to design three pieces of art in his signature style - Takigami. Each artistic piece is hand carved from wood using Chiba’s traditional technique, making use of every inch of raw material from trees, grasses, bark, and even tree roots to produce the finished product. These 3 pieces titled The Man With The Yellow Hat, A Star Shimmering Through Time, and The Blue Bell Jar bring together both the past and present in the heart of downtown Tokyo, creating a moment from memory and transporting visitors to another age altogether. The striking illustrations are available at the shops on Mainstreet in Downtown Tokyo.

The Man With The Yellow Hats

First up is The Man With The Yellow Hats: This sculpture depicts Chiba himself surrounded by a group of men dressed in colorful outfits. All the figures are drawn with ink while the hat is made of real fabric and handwoven in order to depict intricate details. In addition to painting blue and yellow hues, Chiba uses red ink to depict faces and detailed details such as eyes, eyebrows and noses. He uses this technique to capture an image of light, shadows, depth, and movement. As a result, the man with the black hat gives a sense of harmony and balance to the scene, giving a feel of warmth and serenity to those walking by. From what I've seen so far during my trip to Japan this summer, the colors and patterns used in this painting are very subtle, which makes the overall effect even more impressive.

A Star Shimmers Over Time

The next installment is titled A Star Shimmers Across Time, and this sculpture depicts a star in flight, moving toward Earth. It begins a long journey by casting a shadow across the sky like a storm. Similar to Hiroshi Chiba’s previous creation, this piece features vibrant colors that draw attention to specific details, such as streaks of brown across the sky, which is reminiscent of clouds and rain, as well as bright green highlights throughout. The fact that it comes full circle after flying away from earth is what creates a special atmosphere - a feeling of freedom and transcendence of consciousness, just like Chiba wanted this piece to be. Also, the shape of this sculpture is completely symmetrical, like Chiba’s previous creations, which also helps contribute to the unified and harmonious tone of the artwork. Just looking at this artwork is breathtaking, especially among the thousands of others scattered throughout downtown area of Tokyo’s main square, Shibuya.

The Blue Bell Jar

Lastly, we come to the last and final piece, which stands at over 20 inches tall and depicts the title - Blue Bell Jar, a tea jar engraved with two words, “A flower blooming.” The object itself, though seemingly simple, represents much more than just a glass container. While the original bottle, consisting of clear plastic and colored glass, seems to perfectly represent the concept, the new canvas allows for more nuanced and realistic representations of flowers. They appear almost translucent, or maybe you could say transparent due to the fact that the color seems to appear brighter than they really are. Furthermore, the lines on the edge of the jar have been embossed with silver foil, which adds an extra layer of sophistication to the texture and appearance of the object. Ultimately, this artwork presents a thought-provoking idea about nature, beauty, life, love and death. Indeed, the whole thing is an eye-opening experience and you'll be thinking of this artwork throughout the day. So, this isn't a typical coffee shop artwork, and neither is it a typical Japanese artwork. Instead, it becomes a form of art that anyone can relate to, and you have to admire how creative that team was with such an unusual yet brilliant idea!

Overall, having this collaboration with two prominent brands, Subway and Hiroshi Chiba, helped promote the idea of combining arts and consumer products, even if the two aren’t related to one another. Since the majority of people in Japan know nothing about this subject, sharing an international artist’s creation with the public means everyone gets to see the fruits of human imagination, despite their differences. Nowadays, technology provides a lot of opportunities for global collaborations thanks to social media and the Internet, but the concept of connecting humans even beyond borders wasn’t ever done before; hence, Subway’s latest collaboration with Hiroshi Chiba is something truly remarkable.