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CHOPSTICKS 箸 | Unbroken by we+

Chopsticks arrived in Japan from China during the Yayoi and Kofun periods, evolving alongside the country’s climate and food culture. In Japan’s warm, forest-rich environment, lacquered chopsticks emerged through layers of urushi applied to wood, creating durable, antibacterial surfaces suited to meals centred on rice, fish, and soup. Disposable chopsticks, by contrast, spread during the Edo period with the rise of eating out, valued for hygiene and convenience. This work brings these opposing forms together: permanence and disposability, care and consumption. Lacquer is applied before the chopsticks are split apart; only when separated does the original disposable form emerge, quietly questioning where value resides.

箸は、弥生・古墳時代に中国から日本へ伝わり、日本の風土と食文化の中で独自の進化を遂げてきました。森林資源が豊富で、温暖湿潤な気候をもつ日本では、木地に漆を塗り重ねる漆箸が発展。一方、割り箸もまた、江戸時代に始まった日本独自の文化です。外食文化の広がりとともに、衛生と利便性を理由に普及しました。本作品は、この正反対の性質をもつ漆箸と割り箸に着目。永続性と廃棄性。丁寧さと即物性。保護と消費。二つの箸に内在する相反する価値を、一つの物質に重ね合わせることで、日本文化に潜む矛盾そのものの可視化を試みます。割ることで初めて機能を獲得する割り箸。工芸的な表層をもつ箸が、機能を獲得する瞬間に不完全なものへと変化する。その行為を通して本作は、「価値はどこに宿るのか？」という問いを投げかけます。

@s3.site @cultural.associates @manifestofair @missyoko

Collaborated with Shitsugei Yoshikawa @shitsugei_yoshikawa (Yoshikawa Kazuyuki)
Photo @kenichi.murase

CHOPSTICKS 箸 | Unbroken by we+

Chopsticks arrived in Japan from China during the Yayoi and Kofun periods, evolving alongside the country’s climate and food culture. In Japan’s warm, forest-rich environment, lacquered chopsticks emerged through layers of urushi applied to wood, creating durable, antibacterial surfaces suited to meals centred on rice, fish, and soup. Disposable chopsticks, by contrast, spread during the Edo period with the rise of eating out, valued for hygiene and convenience. This work brings these opposing forms together: permanence and disposability, care and consumption. Lacquer is applied before the chopsticks are split apart; only when separated does the original disposable form emerge, quietly questioning where value resides.

箸は、弥生・古墳時代に中国から日本へ伝わり、日本の風土と食文化の中で独自の進化を遂げてきました。森林資源が豊富で、温暖湿潤な気候をもつ日本では、木地に漆を塗り重ねる漆箸が発展。一方、割り箸もまた、江戸時代に始まった日本独自の文化です。外食文化の広がりとともに、衛生と利便性を理由に普及しました。本作品は、この正反対の性質をもつ漆箸と割り箸に着目。永続性と廃棄性。丁寧さと即物性。保護と消費。二つの箸に内在する相反する価値を、一つの物質に重ね合わせることで、日本文化に潜む矛盾そのものの可視化を試みます。割ることで初めて機能を獲得する割り箸。工芸的な表層をもつ箸が、機能を獲得する瞬間に不完全なものへと変化する。その行為を通して本作は、「価値はどこに宿るのか？」という問いを投げかけます。

@s3.site @cultural.associates @manifestofair @missyoko

Collaborated with Shitsugei Yoshikawa @shitsugei_yoshikawa (Yoshikawa Kazuyuki)
Photo @kenichi.murase

CHOPSTICKS 箸 | Unbroken by we+

Chopsticks arrived in Japan from China during the Yayoi and Kofun periods, evolving alongside the country’s climate and food culture. In Japan’s warm, forest-rich environment, lacquered chopsticks emerged through layers of urushi applied to wood, creating durable, antibacterial surfaces suited to meals centred on rice, fish, and soup. Disposable chopsticks, by contrast, spread during the Edo period with the rise of eating out, valued for hygiene and convenience. This work brings these opposing forms together: permanence and disposability, care and consumption. Lacquer is applied before the chopsticks are split apart; only when separated does the original disposable form emerge, quietly questioning where value resides.

箸は、弥生・古墳時代に中国から日本へ伝わり、日本の風土と食文化の中で独自の進化を遂げてきました。森林資源が豊富で、温暖湿潤な気候をもつ日本では、木地に漆を塗り重ねる漆箸が発展。一方、割り箸もまた、江戸時代に始まった日本独自の文化です。外食文化の広がりとともに、衛生と利便性を理由に普及しました。本作品は、この正反対の性質をもつ漆箸と割り箸に着目。永続性と廃棄性。丁寧さと即物性。保護と消費。二つの箸に内在する相反する価値を、一つの物質に重ね合わせることで、日本文化に潜む矛盾そのものの可視化を試みます。割ることで初めて機能を獲得する割り箸。工芸的な表層をもつ箸が、機能を獲得する瞬間に不完全なものへと変化する。その行為を通して本作は、「価値はどこに宿るのか？」という問いを投げかけます。

@s3.site @cultural.associates @manifestofair @missyoko

Collaborated with Shitsugei Yoshikawa @shitsugei_yoshikawa (Yoshikawa Kazuyuki)
Photo @kenichi.murase

Milan Design Week 2026
In-Between Matter
Shimadzu x we+

Photo @ogawamasaki_ph

@shimadzucorporation @5vie_milano @fuorisalone #milandesignweek #milanodesignweek

Milan Design Week 2026
In-Between Matter
Shimadzu x we+

Photo @ogawamasaki_ph

@shimadzucorporation @5vie_milano @fuorisalone #milandesignweek #milanodesignweek

Milan Design Week 2026
In-Between Matter
Shimadzu x we+

Photo @ogawamasaki_ph

@shimadzucorporation @5vie_milano @fuorisalone #milandesignweek #milanodesignweek

Full video of the installation

Milan Design Week 2026
In-Between Matter
Shimadzu x we+

Movie @_yutastudio

@shimadzucorporation @5vie_milano @fuorisalone #milandesignweek #milanodesignweek

Milan Design Week 2026

So glad to be part of “CHOPSTICKS 箸”. Big thanks to @yoko_choy @s3.site @cultural.associates @manifestofair for having us! An incredible reinterpretation of a cultural staple seen through a collective of creative minds.

Photo: Oda Tian, Yaochen Wu

Milan Design Week 2026

So glad to be part of “CHOPSTICKS 箸”. Big thanks to @yoko_choy @s3.site @cultural.associates @manifestofair for having us! An incredible reinterpretation of a cultural staple seen through a collective of creative minds.

Photo: Oda Tian, Yaochen Wu

Milan Design Week 2026

So glad to be part of “CHOPSTICKS 箸”. Big thanks to @yoko_choy @s3.site @cultural.associates @manifestofair for having us! An incredible reinterpretation of a cultural staple seen through a collective of creative minds.

Photo: Oda Tian, Yaochen Wu

Milan Design Week 2026
Unseen Objects / Overflow
Heiwa Gokin x we+

April 20–26, 2026
10:30–20:00
Galleria Rubin
Via Santa Marta 10, Milano

@5vie_milano @fuorisalone #milandesignweek #milanodesignweek

Photo @dyoshio

Milan Design Week 2026
Unseen Objects / Overflow
Heiwa Gokin x we+

April 20–26, 2026
10:30–20:00
Galleria Rubin
Via Santa Marta 10, Milano

@5vie_milano @fuorisalone #milandesignweek #milanodesignweek

Photo @dyoshio

Milan Design Week 2026
Unseen Objects / Overflow
Heiwa Gokin x we+

April 20–26, 2026
10:30–20:00
Galleria Rubin
Via Santa Marta 10, Milano

@5vie_milano @fuorisalone #milandesignweek #milanodesignweek

Photo @dyoshio

Shimadzu and we+: In-Between Matter

In-Between Matter is a science–art installation developed by Shimadzu Corporation in collaboration with Tokyo-based design studio we+. Building on the 2024 project WONDER POWDER, the installation shifts from the study of physical materials to the abstract conditions that define them: separation, boundaries, and the “in-between” states of matter.

Drawing on Shimadzu’s analytical technologies used across pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, the project translates scientific processes into a sensorial environment. Rather than explaining science, it invites visitors to experience it through perception.

At its core, In-Between Matter reflects on science as a field shaped not only by measurement and logic, but also by curiosity and discovery, exploring the subtle thresholds where matter and understanding begin to form.

Shimadzu and we+: In-Between Matter
Presented at Cavallerizze in Via Olona 4

@shimadzucorporation @weplus.jp

Photo @amirfarzad.official courtesy @5vie_milano

Milan Design Week 2026
5VIE Design Week – QoT: Qualia of Things
20–26 April 2026, 10:30–20:00

5VIE HEADQUARTERS
Cavallerizze, via Olona 4
Via Cesare Correnti 14
SIAM, via Santa Marta 18

HOW TO REACH

SUBWAY
M1 (red line): Duomo/Cordusio
M2 (green line): Sant’Ambrogio
M3 (yellow line): Duomo/Missori
M4 (blue line): Sant’Ambrogio/De Amicis/Vetra

TRAM
1/12/16/19: Duomo/Cordusio
15: Corso Italia/Missori
16/19: Corso Magenta/Via Meravigli

BUS
50/96/97: Sant’Ambrogio/De Amicis/Vetra

#5viedesignweek #mdw2026 #shimadzu #weplus#inbetweenmatter

Shimadzu and we+: In-Between Matter

In-Between Matter is a science–art installation developed by Shimadzu Corporation in collaboration with Tokyo-based design studio we+. Building on the 2024 project WONDER POWDER, the installation shifts from the study of physical materials to the abstract conditions that define them: separation, boundaries, and the “in-between” states of matter.

Drawing on Shimadzu’s analytical technologies used across pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, the project translates scientific processes into a sensorial environment. Rather than explaining science, it invites visitors to experience it through perception.

At its core, In-Between Matter reflects on science as a field shaped not only by measurement and logic, but also by curiosity and discovery, exploring the subtle thresholds where matter and understanding begin to form.

Shimadzu and we+: In-Between Matter
Presented at Cavallerizze in Via Olona 4

@shimadzucorporation @weplus.jp

Photo @amirfarzad.official courtesy @5vie_milano

Milan Design Week 2026
5VIE Design Week – QoT: Qualia of Things
20–26 April 2026, 10:30–20:00

5VIE HEADQUARTERS
Cavallerizze, via Olona 4
Via Cesare Correnti 14
SIAM, via Santa Marta 18

HOW TO REACH

SUBWAY
M1 (red line): Duomo/Cordusio
M2 (green line): Sant’Ambrogio
M3 (yellow line): Duomo/Missori
M4 (blue line): Sant’Ambrogio/De Amicis/Vetra

TRAM
1/12/16/19: Duomo/Cordusio
15: Corso Italia/Missori
16/19: Corso Magenta/Via Meravigli

BUS
50/96/97: Sant’Ambrogio/De Amicis/Vetra

#5viedesignweek #mdw2026 #shimadzu #weplus#inbetweenmatter

Shimadzu and we+: In-Between Matter

In-Between Matter is a science–art installation developed by Shimadzu Corporation in collaboration with Tokyo-based design studio we+. Building on the 2024 project WONDER POWDER, the installation shifts from the study of physical materials to the abstract conditions that define them: separation, boundaries, and the “in-between” states of matter.

Drawing on Shimadzu’s analytical technologies used across pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, the project translates scientific processes into a sensorial environment. Rather than explaining science, it invites visitors to experience it through perception.

At its core, In-Between Matter reflects on science as a field shaped not only by measurement and logic, but also by curiosity and discovery, exploring the subtle thresholds where matter and understanding begin to form.

Shimadzu and we+: In-Between Matter
Presented at Cavallerizze in Via Olona 4

@shimadzucorporation @weplus.jp

Photo @amirfarzad.official courtesy @5vie_milano

Milan Design Week 2026
5VIE Design Week – QoT: Qualia of Things
20–26 April 2026, 10:30–20:00

5VIE HEADQUARTERS
Cavallerizze, via Olona 4
Via Cesare Correnti 14
SIAM, via Santa Marta 18

HOW TO REACH

SUBWAY
M1 (red line): Duomo/Cordusio
M2 (green line): Sant’Ambrogio
M3 (yellow line): Duomo/Missori
M4 (blue line): Sant’Ambrogio/De Amicis/Vetra

TRAM
1/12/16/19: Duomo/Cordusio
15: Corso Italia/Missori
16/19: Corso Magenta/Via Meravigli

BUS
50/96/97: Sant’Ambrogio/De Amicis/Vetra

#5viedesignweek #mdw2026 #shimadzu #weplus#inbetweenmatter

Shimadzu and we+: In-Between Matter

In-Between Matter is a science–art installation developed by Shimadzu Corporation in collaboration with Tokyo-based design studio we+. Building on the 2024 project WONDER POWDER, the installation shifts from the study of physical materials to the abstract conditions that define them: separation, boundaries, and the “in-between” states of matter.

Drawing on Shimadzu’s analytical technologies used across pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, the project translates scientific processes into a sensorial environment. Rather than explaining science, it invites visitors to experience it through perception.

At its core, In-Between Matter reflects on science as a field shaped not only by measurement and logic, but also by curiosity and discovery, exploring the subtle thresholds where matter and understanding begin to form.

Shimadzu and we+: In-Between Matter
Presented at Cavallerizze in Via Olona 4

@shimadzucorporation @weplus.jp

Photo @amirfarzad.official courtesy @5vie_milano

Milan Design Week 2026
5VIE Design Week – QoT: Qualia of Things
20–26 April 2026, 10:30–20:00

5VIE HEADQUARTERS
Cavallerizze, via Olona 4
Via Cesare Correnti 14
SIAM, via Santa Marta 18

HOW TO REACH

SUBWAY
M1 (red line): Duomo/Cordusio
M2 (green line): Sant’Ambrogio
M3 (yellow line): Duomo/Missori
M4 (blue line): Sant’Ambrogio/De Amicis/Vetra

TRAM
1/12/16/19: Duomo/Cordusio
15: Corso Italia/Missori
16/19: Corso Magenta/Via Meravigli

BUS
50/96/97: Sant’Ambrogio/De Amicis/Vetra

#5viedesignweek #mdw2026 #shimadzu #weplus#inbetweenmatter