Sounds, Scents, and Tastes That Resonate in Memory

I love the "sound of water." The babbling of a river in nature or the distant sound of waves seems to awaken memories of days gone by, triggering something in my brain. I also like the sound of a tuning fork, which is used to tune musical instruments. It produces such a clear tone, yet its function is singular, its form beautiful and pure.



Scents, too, have the power to evoke a whole range of scenes in an instant. What I like, though it's hard to describe, is the "smell of the air." That scent that makes you feel, "Ah, spring has arrived," or "Winter is here." As someone who loves winter sports, when I detect the arrival of winter through its scent, I instantly recall the image of snow-capped mountains and the exhilaration of gliding down them, and just that thought makes me excited.

And, without fear of misunderstanding, the "scent of people." Whether it's body odor, perfume, shampoo, or perhaps a mixture of all of them, it's something that makes me turn my head even in a crowd. It truly feels like my DNA is reacting. Of course, this only happens when I pass a woman (laughs).

When it comes to taste, the first thing that comes to mind is probably "consommé." The broth, painstakingly extracted from a fine cut of meat over a long period, makes me feel as if its nourishment is reaching every corner of my body, and I deeply appreciate its deliciousness. Things that vanish the moment they pass—sounds, scents, tastes—my brain must be working hard to retain them in memory. That's why their impression is so intense.

Design is an Accumulation of Unconscious Memories

These "intangible things," which cannot be touched, must be influencing my design to no small degree on a subconscious level.

After all, design is an accumulation of what one has been interested in and what one has seen over time. Various pieces of information enter the mind over a long period, are shuffled, and even if the specific details aren't remembered, they are stored somewhere in the unconscious, eventually emerging in a tangible form.

I believe that design is not about creating something entirely new from scratch, but rather a culmination of mixed memories, where my own preferences are multiplied by the new combinations of parts, resulting in a single image.



Therefore, a particular form might be something I encountered somewhere, sometime, something that touched my five senses, and which reappeared as an image years later. And my dream is that when I can finally express a wonderfully beautiful form with a pleasant impact, it will become a design as unforgettable as an "intangible thing"... I'm actually thinking about this quite seriously.

In any case, I love objects, so while I'm glad I chose to be a designer, I also, like many others, aspire to be a musician (laughs). To have people go wild over your songs or performances—that must feel incredible, right? (laughs).
Also, I think people who create ephemeral, fleeting things are somehow wonderful.