# Japanese Postwar Modernism

> Building on the New Typography that Hiromu Hara and the Nippon Kobo circle had absorbed in the 1930s, Japan's postwar graphic designers fused the grid, sans-serif and objective photography of European modernism with indigenous traditions of family crests (kamon), asymmetry and charged emptiness (ma). From the Graphic '55 exhibition and the Nippon Design Center to Yusaku Kamekura's Tokyo 1964 Olympic posters, it produced bold emblematic symbols, luminous flat colour fields and photography of startling precision.

- Period: 1950–1990
- Where: East Asia
- Origin: Tokyo and Osaka, Japan
- Branch: Rational modernism
- Also known as: Japanese Modern Graphic Design, Nihon modern design
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/japanese-postwar-modern/

## How it works

- Build the poster around one emblematic geometric symbol (a disc, a crest, a stylised figure) set against a large empty field.
- Treat emptiness (ma) as an active part of the composition, not as leftover margin.
- Combine flat fields of saturated colour, especially red, black and gold, with precise photography or geometry.
- Set Latin and Japanese text with the same modular discipline, letting vertical and horizontal lines coexist.
- Reduce traditional motifs (crests, textile patterns, theatre masks) to geometric primitives rather than quoting them literally.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (characteristic)
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (characteristic)
- [Dynamic asymmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dynamic-asymmetry/) (characteristic)
- [Modular grid](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/modular-grid/) (characteristic)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (defining)
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (defining)
- [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (characteristic)

### Typography
- [Grotesque & neo-grotesque](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/grotesque-and-neo-grotesque/) (characteristic)
- [Rotated & vertical setting](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rotated-and-vertical-setting/) (characteristic)
- [Geometric sans](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-sans/) (occasional)
- [Brush & pen calligraphy](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/brush-and-pen-calligraphy/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Limited spot colours](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/) (defining)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (defining)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Dark ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dark-ground/) (occasional)
- [Jewel & metallic](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/jewel-and-metallic/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Geometric primitives](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/) (defining)
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (characteristic)
- [Pictogram](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pictogram/) (characteristic)
- [Non-representational](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/non-representational/) (characteristic)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (defining)

### Ornament
- [Emblems & badges](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/emblems-and-badges/) (characteristic)
- [Restrained accents](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/restrained-accents/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Straight photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/straight-photography/) (characteristic)
- [Icons & pictograms](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/icons-and-pictograms/) (characteristic)
- [Typography only](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/typography-only/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Offset printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/offset-printing/) (characteristic)
- [Screen printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/screen-printing/) (characteristic)
- [Architecture & signage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/architecture-and-signage/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Calm & contemplative](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/calm-and-contemplative/) (characteristic)
- [Rational & objective](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rational-and-objective/) (characteristic)
- [Authoritative & institutional](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/authoritative-and-institutional/) (occasional)

Avoids: Horror vacui, Abundant decoration, Collage & layering, Photocopy & distress, Eclectic mixing, Ornamented display, Rebellious & subversive

Palette: #f4f1ea, #111111, #d7261e, #c8a24a, #1d3c78

Typefaces: Gothic (kaku gothic Japanese sans), Mincho (Japanese serif), Helvetica, Futura, Univers

Known for: Yusaku Kamekura (Tokyo 1964 Olympic emblem and posters); Masaru Katsumie & Yoshiro Yamashita (Tokyo 1964 Olympic pictograms); Ikko Tanaka (Nihon Buyo poster, 1981); Kazumasa Nagai; Hiromu Hara; Graphic '55 exhibition (Takashimaya, Tokyo, 1955); Nippon Design Center (founded 1959)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Die Neue Typographie](https://stylogeny.com/styles/new-typography.md) (1923–1940)
- Influenced by: [International Typographic Style](https://stylogeny.com/styles/swiss-international.md) (1950–1975)
- Influenced by: [Bauhaus](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bauhaus.md) (1919–1933)
- Influenced by: [Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints](https://stylogeny.com/styles/ukiyo-e.md) (1670–1900)
- Influenced by: [Ma & Wabi-sabi Aesthetics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/wabi-sabi.md) (1500–present)
- Alike in its design choices: [Corporate Identity Modernism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/corporate-modernism.md) (1955–1990), 79% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Indian Institutional Modernism (NID)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/indian-modernism.md) (1961–1990), 79% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Hong Kong East–West Graphic Modernism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/hong-kong-modernism.md) (1964–present), 78% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Munich 1972 Olympic Design (Otl Aicher)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/munich-72.md) (1966–1972), 65% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Minimalist Graphic Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/minimalism.md) (1965–present), 65% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Penguin Paperback Design (Three Bands to the Marber Grid)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/penguin-paperback.md) (1935–1972), 61% alike

## Real works

- [Tokyo 1964](https://www.moma.org/collection/works/8780): Yusaku Kamekura, 1962, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1482.2000)
- [On Children's Day](https://www.moma.org/collection/works/4976): Shigeo Fukuda, 1955, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (80.1990)
- [Poster for the Japan Tourist Association](https://www.moma.org/collection/works/192362): Hiroshi Ohchi, c. 1960–1965, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (883.2015)
- [Nihon Buyo](https://www.moma.org/collection/works/7848): Ikko Tanaka, 1981, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (649.1981)

## Sources

- Richard S. Thornton, The Graphic Spirit of Japan (1991)
- Philip B. Meggs & Alston W. Purvis, Meggs' History of Graphic Design
- Nippon Design Center, History (https://ndc.co.jp/en/about/history)

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Japanese Postwar Modernism”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/japanese-postwar-modern/