Muji Store

If Sweden has Ikea then surely Japan has Muji. "The name Muji is derived from the first part of Mujirushi Ryōhin, translated as No Brand Quality Goods on Muji's European website." In the U.K. the company produces mostly household items, stationery and clothes whereas in Japan the company has wider interests including construction, florists, restaurants and campsites.

Some years ago The Geffrye Museum of the Home in London hosted an exhibition titled: At Home in Japan: Beyond the Minimal House. Click here for more information. The exhibition set out to show "real" Japanese homes rather than the minimal interiors most western people associate with Japan. In Britain Muji is an astonishing success and that success is no doubt connected to the need people have to live more simply with less objects taking up space. Another point to mention is that Muji in Britain is primarily for urban dwelling.

Muji is as much a western construction of Japan as a Japanese creation. In this scheme of things Japanese homes should all be white, oatmeal, grey and symmetric and minimal with no messy decoration or toys and wine stains and the rest of the clutter of normal life. 

I still enjoy Muji and I'm quite fascinated to see the stores in Japan. Some years ago a Japanese product designer was commissioned by Muji to design a rice cooker. I haven't much use for a rice cooker but I still haven't given up hope of one day buying one (though they are not available in Britain) and I wouldn't be able to understand the Japanese operating instructions.

Entering Muji is to suspend the normal functioning of your brain as you convince yourself you need a matt black pencil sharpener, wooden toys in bright colors, transparent stationary or a set of coloured pencils. Everyday objects you don't normally notice suddenly become works of art in Muji stores.