Sori Yanagi, Butterfly Stool, Tendo Mokko Edition, Circa 1980

Butterfly stool designed by Sori Yanagi in 1954 for Tendo Mokko, Japan. This iconic stool, one of the most celebrated creations of Japanese design, was born from the intuition and ingenuity of Sori Yanagi. Composed of two press-molded plywood sheets and bolted together, it perfectly combines traditional Japanese craftsmanship and modern industrial techniques. During a research trip abroad funded by the Japanese government, Yanagi discovered the use of molded plywood, a technique experimented with by Charles and Ray Eames for the design of their splint. Upon his return to Japan, he proposed the idea of the Butterfly Stool to the Sendai Institute of Industrial Art, where engineer Saburo Inui helped him create the prototype. The Butterfly stool is composed of two sheets of molded plywood pressed with Brazilian rosewood veneer and bolted together with a brass rod. It is distinguished by its ergonomic and functional shape. Edition: Tendo Mokko, Japan circa 1980. Bibliography: Japanese Design since 1945, Naomi Pollock, Editions de la Martinière, October 2020, p. 142.