From hazy Shanghai Pudong to clear Tokyo Narita

For my research I wanted to know more about the pictograms of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The revered Japanese design critic Masaru Katsumie influenced the graphic design of these games, and was involved with the design of the pictograms. A Japanse colleague of mine told me that Katsumies assistent–Michiyoshi–was still alive. He was perhaps the only person who had direct knowledge of the graphic design of Tokyo ’64.

This led to a very friendly invitation to visit Japan, interview Michiyoshi and speak at a meeting of the Design History Workshop–the society for Japanese design history–that was dedicated to the pictograms. To my great luck most of the Japanese design historians I met were reasonable English speakers, convenient since my Japanese is non existent! What struck me in particular during the meeting was how respectfully people treated each other, especially in regard to respect for elderly.

Also I was also able to interview the Yukio Ota, the famous dean of Japanese sign design. In the 1970s he designed the known well known ISO-emergency exit pictogram. Also he invented in 1964 LoCoS ( Lovers Communication System), a pictorial language to facilitate universal communication. A general overview of the development of signs–especially those in Japan– can be found in his book ‘Pictogram Design’

Mr. Ota was very much interested in preserving and carrying on the legacy of LoCos. It was fascinating to hear that his interest in symbols was already stirred in his youth. His father traded in textiles. For this he needed to be aware of thousands of mons, Japanese family symbols that were depicted on the textiles. Symbols that Yukio saw on a daily basis

Wibo Bakker and Yukio Ota

Dutch newspaper article about LoCos