Introduction

Background of Shinto

"Shinto gods" are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami.

In contrast to many monotheist religions, there are no absolutes in Shinto. There is no absolute right and wrong, and nobody is perfect. Shinto can relate to post-modernism, there's no specific rule or guide to follow, and there are no absolute answers to our questions. Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits. Consequently, the purpose of most Shinto rituals is to keep away evil spirits by purification, prayers and offerings to the kami.


One of the biggest differences between Shinto and other religions is that Shinto encourages people to learn and take the positiveness from other religions. Back when Buddhism was first introduced into Japan, there was a religious fight between the two beliefs, however, they eventually integrated into one and developed a new model to fit the people, fit the time period, and fits with the culture. Because of this spirit, the culture of Japan not only has the wisdom from Japanese ancients, but also the intelligent from eastern and western cultures and that is one of the reasons why Japan, a little country on an island, can be so shine to the world. Shinto's characteristics are a lot like post-modernism in this way, where it's ideologies are developed from the effects of the culture around it and it is altered by the ever changing world.

What is Japanese Device Art?

The term "Device Art" was coined by Machiko Kusahara who is a researcher in media art and theory. Device Art is a concept that pushes the boundaries of media art and inherits the legacy of the experiments artists have been conducting with media technologies. In terms of design, device art exists less for the user's needs for function or commercial value as it does for the producer's desire to communicate a message. The background of Japanese Device Art started in the early 20th century with art movements such as Dada and surrealism. More recently, interactive art has redefined forms of art and the role of artists. When we call device art is a form of media art that integrates art and technology as well as design, entertainment, and popular culture.
The Bitman project by Maywa Denki represents the quintessential Device Art object.

Japanese Device Artist: Sachiko Kodama

Sachiko Kodama

Sachiko Kodama is a Japanese artist who is also a physicist. Sachiko began work on a ferrofluid art project that she named "Protrude, Flow". The dynamic movement of liquids is the theme of this project.

“I wanted to convey and portray dynamic energy; flowing, metamorphosing
texture; and shapelessness...I wanted to ask ‘What is life?’” - Sachiko Kodama

Sachiko has taken this idea of liquid architecture more literally with these stunning sculpture made from Ferrofluid, which changes its state by the introduction of electro-magnetic waves into the fluid turning it solid.

Japanese Device Artist: Toshio Iwai

Toshio Iwai

Toshio Iwai is a japanese interactive media and installation artist who has created a number of commercial video games. He began by producing installation art that combines pre-cinema animation. His work is sincere, and all consists of equal doses of seriousness and play, pathos and humor, intricacy and simplicity.

Tenori-On

The Tenori-on is a digital musical / visual instrument by Toshio Iwai, and consists of a 16 x 16 matrix of LED switches that allows everyone to play music. The presentation of media art and some forms of visual art is often reliant on the use of audio, visual or some form of electronics to display the content. With device art, this hardware is the content. The technology is celebrated, interfaces of many forms that permit interaction, joy and response. Above all they serve to widen the prospective audience.

Japanese Device Artist: Maywa Denki

Maywa Denki

Maywa Denki is an art unit formed by Japanese brothers Masamuchi and Nobumichi Tosa, and named after a company their father ran in the seventies.

The toys of Maywa Denki has characteristics of mechanic and cuteness. Maywa Denki sells “products” and exhibitions or live performances are referred to as “product demonstrations”.

Its unique style is indicated by a term he uses: for example, each piece of Maywa Denki's work is called "a product" and a live performance or exhibition is held as "a product demonstration." The products produced so far include "NAKI Series," fish-motif nonsense machines, "Tsukuba Series," original musical instruments, and "Edelweiss," flower-motif objet d'art. Although Maywa Denki is known and appreciated as an artist, its promotion strategies are full of variety: exhibition, live stages, performances, producing music, videos, writing, merchandising toys, stationery, and electric devices.



Knockman Family , Cha Cha

Knockman Family

Idea #1: Muyu and Cellphone

Background of Muyu


Muyu is a instrument that is used for the Buddhist minority during a chant. It is also known as "Drum Fish", "Fish Plate", or "Drum Muyu". It is designed as a round fish shape with empty space in the center and functions as a metronome. The space enables the Muyu creates certain drum sound when knocking with a wooden stick. It is inspired by fish because the ancients thought fishes never close their eyes which symbolize as self-cultivation forgotten body, improving unremitting encouragement. It is symbolized as focus, spirit, and respect and often being seen hanging on a door, in front of a chant class, and during a funeral.

On the one hand, it allows the people to chant the heart against the voice of Muyu, to avoid falling into the hands of their lethargy and paranoia. On the other hand, the law also knocks on Muyu's rhythm. It recites the scriptures with rich sense of rhythm, and maintain offensive. The agreement does not slow the pace, just as spiritual heart of this study is continuously dense to hold on in the track line to improve the long-term heart.

Our Design Idea:

When we came up with this idea, we thought of how we can take two things that are completely different and make a design out of those two ideas. We thought of how we can use an everyday object, such as the cellphone as a metaphor for the wooden block. The cellphone ring tone in some ways is similar to the sound produced by the wooden fish, a repeated knocking rhythm. Instead of having a usual ringtone, we thought that it would be interesting if a cellphone can act as a wooden fish as well as a regular cellphone as well. The cellphone can be placed on a cushion and an accompany wooden stick will be used to hit the surface of the cellphone.

Idea #2: Buddha and Lightbulb

Background of Shinto

"Shinto gods" are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami.

In contrast to many monotheist religions, there are no absolutes in Shinto. There is no absolute right and wrong, and nobody is perfect. Shinto can relate to post-modernism, there's no specific rule or guide to follow, and there are no absolute answers to our questions. Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits. Consequently, the purpose of most Shinto rituals is to keep away evil spirits by purification, prayers and offerings to the kami.


One of the biggest differences between Shinto and other religions is that Shinto encourages people to learn and take the positiveness from other religions. Back when Buddhism was first introduced into Japan, there was a religious fight between the two beliefs, however, they eventually integrated into one and developed a new model to fit the people, fit the time period, and fits with the culture. Because of this spirit, the culture of Japan not only has the wisdom from Japanese ancients, but also the intelligent from eastern and western cultures and that is one of the reasons why Japan, a little country on an island, can be so shine to the world. Shinto's characteristics are a lot like post-modernism in this way, where it's ideologies are developed from the effects of the culture around it and it is altered by the ever changing world.

Background of the Lotus


The lotus in Buddhism expresses as a process from chaos to pure. The idea came from the living environment of lotus; growing in the sludge and mud, then bloom on the surface of the water. The lotus signifies that even the dirtiest water can not cling on the lotus and therefore the lotus is pure in the soul. Lotus lives in cool water but opens in the hot summer; hot represents annoyance, the troubles, and the cool water bringing the realm of cool, this is characterized by the virtues of Lotus. Therefore, the analogy to be free from trouble and was born in the Pure Land Buddhist people are Lotus metaplasia. The clean Lotus means foundational and intelligence.


Design Idea: Buddha, Lotus, and a Lightbulb



Our idea is to create a light bulb using a Buddha and a lotus. The Buddha would be inside the light bulb, taking the shape of the stem of the light bulb. The light bulb would then sit on top of a lotus which pedals are big enough to hide the light bulb inside of it. When the light bulb is off, the lotus flower is closed and takes the shape of a flower bulb. Once the light bulb is on, the lotus flower opens up and bright light shines out from the Buddha. This is the metaphor for the idea behind how the lotus emerges from the dark under water and opens up in the bright light in the summer and symbolizes the fact that pureness can be formed even in the roots of the dirtiest and darkest areas and that enlightenment can block out all darkness and evil.