1) Tadanori Yokoo was born in 1936 in Japan and grew up during a period of significant cultural transformation as the country shifted away from traditional ways following World War II. 2) He showed an early interest and talent in art and began his career designing posters and illustrations. One of his earliest major works was a 1965 self-titled poster that shocked viewers with its themes of death and confronted Yokoo with his own fears. 3) Yokoo was heavily influenced by travels to the West in the 1960s, where he experienced cultures in America and Europe firsthand. This led him to question his Japanese identity and to develop a style that blended Western and traditional Japanese influences.

1. The World of Tadanori Yokoo
By: Nina Chan
Clash of Reality & Ideals

3. Clash of Reality & Ideals

5. Clash of Reality & Ideals
Nina Chan
N&C Publishing, Inc.
The World of Tadanori Yokoo

6. Copyright © 2010 by N & C Publishing, Inc.
123 Main Street San Francisco, California
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chan, Nina
Clash of Ideals & Reality: The World of Tadanori Yokoo/Nina Chan.
The text of this book is composed in:
Body Copy: Baskerville Regular (10/14)
Title Page: Helvetica Neue Bold Italic (48 pt)
Cover Photo: Tadanori Yokoo
Book Design by Nina Chan
ISBN 0-8109-3527-9

7. To my Mom & Dad

9. Introduction
Page 1
Page 3
Chapter One
WHO IS TADANORI YOKOO?
GRAPHIC DESIGN IN POST-WWII JAPAN
Page 9
Chapter Two
AT THE BEGINNING
Page 21
Chapter Three
INTERNATIONAL AND BEYOND

10. tadanoriyokoo

11. Tadanori Yokoo is a successful graphic designer, illustrator,
printmaker, and painter. Filled with creative energy and often
referred to as the “Japanese” Andy Warhol, Tadanori Yokoo
has left an indelible mark in the graphic design world. Yokoo’s
work is highly autobiographical and largely inspired by the Psy-
chedelic movement going on during the 1960s in the United
States. Genres that reoccur in his art are: death, lust, surreal-
ism, politics, and psychedelia. His work does not circulate only
within the parameters of Japan, but has gained world wide
recognition and created an international impact.
Introduction

12. 1950
1960
1970
1980 1990

13. GRAPHIC DESIGN
POST-WWII JAPAN1.

14. 4 Graphic Design Post-WWII Japan
W
orldWarIIwillalwaysbeetchedinthemindsof thecountries
that partook or were affected in this gruesome war.
Though Japan was not the only country devastated by
the high mortality rate and bombings, the aftermath did
leave twenty-three thousand homes in Tokyo, their major
economic capital, destroyed, which left the country in a very unfortunate situation.
However, this was a chance for Japan to reinvent themselves and thrive through
adversity. This shift has marked a turn in Japan’s cultural history, a turn toward
modernism, advanced technology, lifestyle and attitude change, and a new spin on
art. According to Maggie Kinser Saiki, author of 12 Japanese Masters, “Japan took
fewer than 15 years to move from a feudal backwater to Asia’s first modern consumer
nation. Japan was reinventing itself, rising from the phoenix ashes of World War
II” (Saiki 9). With the influence of the western lifestyle encroaching into the
Japanese culture, people were changing the way they dressed, act, ate, to their ideals,
and even the way they spend money. Saiki points out the catalyst that stemmed this
new behavior was the “new architecture, new art, new technology, the rejects of
things “Japanese,” rising urban landscapes, new roadways and railways, new social
mores, the untenability of a nation on its knees, the insatiable desire to succeed by
imitation and education” (9). The emergence of industrialism in Japan allowed
graphic design to become a major profession.
DESIGN AND JAPAN
4 Clash of Reality & Ideals: The World Tadanori Yokoo

15. Graphic Design Post-WWII Japan 5
Figure 1: a la maison de m.civecawa, 1965
Movement and Changes
The 1960s was a time of activism, especially with the 1968 student strikes and anti-war protests occurring in the
United States. During this time of change and liberal leanings, underground art, theatre and dance groups in Japan
also participated in their own type of movement, exploring various themes, taboo and controversial, in their pieces.
They chose themes revolving around sexuality, traditional and pop cultures, and the grotesque. While doing so, they
integrated social and political satire and commentary. They were not afraid to speak their minds and liberate
themselves as artists to express how they feel and think. Figure 1 features a poster Yokoo created for the Butoh Dance
Group performance, Rose Colored Dance. It shows a mixture of traditional woodcut block prints with symbolic
iconographies of Japanese underground art and pop culture.
“
”
They were not afraid to speak
their minds and liberate
themselves as artists to express
how they feel and think.
MOVEMENTS AND CHANGES
Chapter 1: Graphic Design Post-WWII Japan 5

16. Designers, who were born within the
time period between 1929 and 1944,
grew up exposed to the transformation
Japan was going through. These
designers include: Yusaku Kamekura,
Kazumasa Nagai, Kiyoshi Awazu, Ikko
Tanaka, Mitsuo Katsui, Issey Miyake,
and of course, Tadanori Yokoo. A
generation gap between these men
and their predecessors has been
distinguished. There is on one side of the
spectrum ideals left by the “Old Japan”
andontheotherside freshandinnovative
“New Japan” highly influenced by the
west. Postwar design in Japan essentially
narrates the relationship between East
and West. For Japan, the western ideals
played a huge influence in their life.
A lot of how the Japanese perceive design
is based on what the Americans brought
EAST AND WEST
over. Japanese Postwar design was
ultimately a way for Japan to show off
to the West, by applying western style
while keeping the traditional Japanese
art theory, in hopes of becoming better
than the West.
Constructivism was a huge influence for
the Japanese design movement. Phillip B.
Meggs, author of A History of Graphic Design,
explained that though the constructivist
style was employed in Japanese design,
“the systematic organization and strong
theoretical foundation of constructivism is
temperedbyatraditionalJapaneseinclination
toward intuitive problem solving activity
and a heritage of simplified emblematic
form” (417). Japanese designers are drawn
to central placement of images and words
and having everything else organized
around the middle.
6 Clash of Reality & Ideals: The World Tadanori Yokoo

17. So, how did Post-World War II affect Japan in terms of design and how
designers felt about themselves? They were torn between the idea of what it
means for them to be “Japanese.” Are they “Japanese” enough, and how is
that idea defined? The 1960s in Japan was about searching and questioning.
After World War II, Japan’s image became more nationalistic and symbolic.
The designers growing up during this period were able to experiment with
their design, not limited to any particular style. Highly influenced by the west,
they mixed modern and traditional Japanese elements in their work. Japanese
graphic designers attempted to maintain national traditions while incorporating
international influences.
The relevance between the history and events going on at the time of Post-
WWII and the way the artists created their work is extremely high. The pop
art, avant-garde, and psychedelic movements going on in the 1960s influenced
Tadanori Yokoo. He was inspired and emulated much of that style into his work.
His art is thought-provoking, complex, unique, and daring, which easily makes
him one of the most compelling artists in Post-War Japan. Yokoo collaborated
with important names in the high arts, dance, literature and film during the
20th century. He broke boundaries and created a world that was his.
NEW JAPAN
Chapter 1: Graphic Design Post-WWII Japan 7
Figure 2: “Koshimaki-Osen”, 1966

18. “
Because I sense the imbalance in the
world around me, I
unconsciously tend towards balance
and symmetry.

19. AT THE
BEGINNING2.

20. I
n 1936, Tadanori Yokoo was born into a world where culture, lifestyle, and
politics were shifting. He grew up around post-war design ranging from packaging,
labeling, signage, to other daily items. He lived with his parents in Nishiwaki,
located in Hyogo Prefecture, which was considered a major textile area. Most of the
textiles were labeled in western lettering. His parents were merchants and had a very
limited education. However, they made sure to teach Yokoo a great deal about life, respect, and how to
live successfully. A major thing his parents taught him was the practice of animism, which is the
belief that spirits not only exist in humans but in animals and inanimate objects as well. Yokoo
was quoted saying, “My parents taught me early on that I wasn’t going to accomplish
much through egoism alone. They borrowed strength from the gods they sensed
around them, and taught me to do this too.”
GROWING UP
At a young age, Yokoo’s interest in the arts was clearly evident. He was
always eager to learn, grow, and discover. Yokoo did not seek any high
profile careers for he just wanted to paint. He got into this profession
by replicating existing paintings, designing wrapping paper for stores,
ENTERING THE PROFESSION

21. Chapter 2: At The Beginning 11
and drawing posters for the Chamber of Commerce. In high school, he submitted his
very first piece, an Art Deco-inspired poster, to an annual festival in 1954.
Two years later, he was a Kobe Shimbun newspaper contributor, and by 1960,
he already won multiple awards and started off his career as a stage designer for
an avant-garde theatre in Tokyo. In that very year, he was also granted the
invitation to join the Nippon Design Center, a group Tadanori Yokoo had wished to be a
part of. Within a year, he became well-known for his design style and illustrations.
“
”
My parents taught me early on that I wasn’t going
to accomplish much through egoism alone. They
borrowed strength from the gods they sensed
around them, and taught me to do this too.

22. Tadanori Yokoo’s first piece that garnered high recognition was a self-titled post-
er he submitted to the Persona group’s 1965 exhibition. This poster received much
attention because it differed from the graphic styles of his contemporaries. He became
obsessed with death after he left the Nippon Design Center and started freelancing.
The poster has his name “Tadanori Yokoo” visibly shown on the top with a man right
below, adorned in western clothing and holding a rose, hanging by his neck against
a blue sky with a burst of red rays. The bottom corners have childhood pictures of
himself and top corners contain an image of Mount Fiji erupting and a bullet train.
The main statement reads, “having reached a climax at the age of 29, I was dead.”
Red rays emulate a rising sun, which was considered an old-fashioned Japanese motif
at the time. This rising sun motif reoccurs in most of Yokoo’s work, eventually
becoming his signature style and an international symbol of Japanese pop art.
This poster shocked most of his friends and confronted him with his own worst fear.
While in school, he learned about western rationality. As he started to travel
around the world, he became more familiar with this concept and experienced
this movement first-hand. He went to the United States and Europe and was
introduced to the Dada movement, the psychedelic hippie culture, and various
social trends happening in the West. Yokoo had experienced culture shock, having
realized the amount of “Japanese-ness” inside of him, the kind that existed prior to
the war. He still held a traditional way of thinking, but after being saturated by what
he saw in the West, he started to change.
Figure 3 (right): “Tadanori Yokoo”,
silkscreen, 1965
12 Clash of Reality & Ideals: The World Tadanori Yokoo

24. Yokoo reflected on himself and eventually found his goal: “to express, rather than
escape, the passion and the earthy, animistic culture of his native Japan.” Yokoo’s
art often depicts balance even though it may appear to be chaotic and all over the
place. There is always a central focus point that draws our eyes toward the middle. He
explained, “Because I sense the imbalance in the world around me, I unconsciously
tend towards balance and symmetry, two methods of expressing the ideal world.
Sometimes I go too far, and wish later that I’d left some images jutting out over the
borders” (166). This idea of “balance” is reflected throughout his book Yokoo’s Collage
Design, where he plays with the positioning of images on a gridded layout.
Tadanori Yokoo also fell in love with the face of a child — the purity,
innocence, and curiosity captivated him. Yokoo explains that the face is “the ideal
form of a human being because one must have those elements, of innocence and
purity and reverence. Of course, only young children have that face, because every
time ideals collide with reality, they crumble a little. Still, as a symbol, it’s perfect.”
He believed that we should see the world and objects around us through eyes of a
child before the adult world corrupts and taints the youthful vision.
His goal:
To express, rather than
escape, the passon and the
earthy, animistic culture of his
native Japan.
“
”14 Clash of Reality & Ideals: The World Tadanori Yokoo

25. Throughout Tadanori Yokoo’s career, influences and inspiration from culture, social movements,
and various people are reflected in his art. Some of Yokoo’s role models include: Yukio Mishima,
The Beatles, Ken Takakura, Andy Warhol, Peter Max, Tomi Ungerer, and Milton Glaser.
Out of all the people on this list, Mishima has influenced Yokoo the most. Mishima’s 1963 novel,
The Temple of the Golden Pavilon, captivated the young Tadanori Yokoo and inspired him to write his own
autobiography. After reading Mishima’s book, he felt an instant spiritual connection with the author.
They both held the same type of mindset and thinking. Mishima and Yokoo often pondered about
what would happen when ideals and reality clash. They also were concerned with the link between
art and life. An exhibition catalogue featured an interview with Mishima discussed the effect of
Yokoo’s inner world clashing with outer reality. Mishima responds:
Yokoo’s work has all the unbearability of the Japanese. His work angers people, and scares
them, with its vulgar colors. It’s scary how much his common billboard colors resemble the
Coca Cola ones. Yet while average people don’t want to look at them, it makes them look.
What makes Yokoo’s work not just the art of a madman is his interest in the world around
him. For example, the parody he achieves through the brutal treatment of the common.
In his ruinous working of his inner world, the vulgar is scorned. It is not just the inner
world, however. In exploding outward, it becomes a parody that makes us laugh. It
is this that makes it healthy. Even do, even if he becomes international, I hope he
doesn’t let go of the strange map of our Japan.
INFLUENCES
YUKIO MISHIMA

26. After Yukio Mishima passed away,
Yokoo retreated to a very emotional
territory. He produced many posters of
the late novelist. One in particular is
featured in Figure 4 to the right. The
poster showed Mishima beneath a hand
with the finger cut off. This is in reference
to the finger cutting ceremony by some
Japanese cults. The hand is surrounded
by splattered red blood. Mishima was a
part of a samurai cult and participated in
a suicide ritual of plunging a sword into
his stomach. Mishima’s death caused a
great deal of pain for Yokoo, so at one
point he decided to completely stop
work to reflect on life. He was afraid of
death, and through his travels in India,
he reached a fascination for their culture,
Buddhism, UFOs, and extraterrestrial
civilizations.Hestarteddesigninghiswork
around these themes, creating collages
and posters of the universe and different
religious symbols.
Figure 4 (above):
“A Ballad Dedicated to the Pinky-Cutting
Ceremony”, silkscreen, 1966
Figure 5 (right):
“The Aesthetic of the End”,
silkscreen, 1966
16 Clash of Reality & Ideals: The World Tadanori Yokoo

27. Chapter 2: At The Beginning 17
During the 1960s, most Japanese illustrators were obsessed with the style of Saul
Bass and Ben Shahn. However, Yokoo took another route and found inspiration
through the Push Pin Studio, a New York based design company, Milton Glaser,
Seymour Chwast and Peter Max. The eclecticism in their work is highly reflected
in Yokoo’s earlier works. After studying their designs he believed that illustration
can stand on its own and be as powerful as a painting. Yokoo’s style of drawing is
similar to Chwast’s thin lines and flat colors. The 1960s San Francisco rock posters
and multicolored prints Peter Max designed also influenced Yokoo. He implemented
the style of clashing images and incorporating Dada photo collages into his
own designs. Compared to Milton Glaser, Yokoo’s typography is eclectic and
is splattered all over the place, whereas Glaser’s style is more controlled.
Yokoo’s designs are excessive and include repetition of images and random fragments.
Push Pin Studio
Figure 6: “New York”, 1968 Figure 7: “The Wonders of Life on
Earth”, 1965

28. The Psychedelic movement in the United States during the 1960s counterculture
was the language of rock-and-roll. People were taking LSD, marijuana, and many
other drugs to stimulate themselves. In turn, people used the experience they received
from the drugs and transferred it to create visual art. Initially a scene appealing to
American youth culture, it spread like wildfire into mainstream popular culture.
According to Steven Heller, author of Anatomy of Design, “Psychedelic design
was one of the first indigenous American graphic design mannerisms” (Heller 32).
As a leading Japanese designer, Yokoo was infatuated with psychedelic design.
The vibrant and contrasting colors, free forms, extreme stylization, repetition of
symbols and motifs, and interesting use of typography drew Yokoo in. He took
these traits and introduced Japan to his own kind of psychedelic style. Ironically, he
ended up influencing postmodern America with his “blends of controlled anarchy,
brilliant palette, neo-surrealist compositions, and graphic wit” (32). By the 1970s,
the psychedelic style started to fade out of the scene, but Yokoo’s distinctive and
unique personal style and traits continued to stay.
PSYCHEDELIA
“
”
The vibrant and contrasting
colors, free forms, extreme
stylization, repetition of
symbols and motifs, and
interesting use of typography
drew Yokoo in.
18 Clash of Reality & Ideals: The World Tadanori Yokoo

29. Figure 8: “The Trip”, 1968 Figure 9 & 10 (Top left and bottom): “The Exhibition
of Art by Henry Miller”, 1968
Figure 11 (Top Right): “The
Dream Merchant Faeries”, 1968

31. INTERNATIONAL
AND BEYOND3.

32. I
n 1968, Tadanori Yokoo submitted his art work, poster “Word and Image”
for the first time internationally to the MOMA exhibition in New York. It was
there where he succeeded over his three role models – Milton Glaser, Peter
Max, and Tomi Ungerer. Yokoo won because he was able to explain rationally
about his design. He believed that people should have an understanding
of both the old Japanese way of thinking and the modern, rational way of thinking
to be successful.
Tadanori Yokoo enjoyed traveling because it enlightened him and drew much
inspiration. As he traveled across the United States and Europe, he made encounters
with musicians asking him to design their posters and album covers. Some notable
bands include: The Beatles, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Carlos Santana, Earth Wind
andFire,andCatStevens.HewasclosefriendswithJohnLennon,aswellasYokoOno,
and Carlos Santana. He created posters reflecting the time, culture, and their music.
22 Clash of Reality & Ideals: The World Tadanori Yokoo
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
“
”
Yokoo won because he was
able to explain rationally
about his design.

33. Chapter 3: International and Beyond 23
Figure 12:
“The Beatles”, 1972
Figure 13:
“Emerson, Lake & Palmer”, 1972
Figure 14:
“Earth, Wind & Fire”, 1976

34. Figure 15:
“Santana Lotus”, 1974
Yokoo’s design cover, “Santana Lotus”, for Carlos Santana
received multiple awards at the 6th Brno Biennal in 1974
Close-up images are examples of themes he was clearly
mystified by: Buddhism, UFOs, science fiction, religion, etc.
24 Clash of Reality & Ideals: The World Tadanori Yokoo

35. By the 1980s, we see a strong transition in his art from hard, thick cartoon lines
to a softer, more expressionist, type of design. He gained interest in the fine arts
and began to paint. Yokoo believed he could discover new potential in painting.
He stripped away the graphic design’s postmodern sense of abstraction and simplicity,
and to focus in the details. His paintings are soft and warm, autobiographical,
and mystical. They also incorporate influences from spiritualism, psychedelic posters,
science fiction, Japanese aesthetics, and comic art.
In the 1990s, Tadanori Yokoo, keeping up with technology, started using the
computer to create and recreate his works. He redesigned some of his posters digitally
and played with the arrangement of their parts. However, he believed that the use
of the computer brings about more problems. He felt that creativity may be limited,
due to the ease of automatically designing and deleting mistakes. It takes away the
thrill and experience from actually creating art from hand.
Tadanori Yokoo was nostalgic of his youthful past, which was very evident
in his paintings. Yokoo “shows visible regret for lost innocence” and his work
“perfectlymirrorshisgeneration–oneforwhomhistoryisclearlycutintwo:prewarand
postwar” (Richie 108). However, Yokoo was so successful and renowned that
government officials and academics admire him. Many of his art pieces adorn
everyday objects in Japan such as cosmetics and food containers. Although he is
retired now, his work still reigns and his ideals and philosophy remain strong.
Tadanori Yokoo remains a young child at heart.
AND BEYOND
Chapter 3: International and Beyond 25

36. yok
OO

37. y
okOO

38. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arntson, Amy E. Graphic Design Basics. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2007. Print.
Heller, Steven, and Mirko Ili. The Anatomy of Design: Uncovering the Influences and
Inspirations in Modern Graphic Design. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport, 2007. Print.
Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
Print.
Richie, Donald. Japanese Portraits: Pictures of Different People. North Clarendon, Ver-
mont: Tuttle, 2006. Print.
Saiki, Maggie Kinser. 12 Japanese Masters. New York: Graphis, 2002. Print.
Yokoo, Tadanori. Tadanori Yokoo. Woodbury, N.Y.: Barron’s, 1977. Print.
Special Thanks:
SFPL Main Library
Thanks for providing me with such useful and interesting information on Tadanori Yokoo.
Professor Steve Jones
Thanks for providing helpful feedback in the creation of this book. I learned a lot about
layouting, the grid system, and had fun desiging.
Tadanori Yokoo
Thanks for your contribution to the graphic design world. Your work is incredibly inspiring
and captiviating. Researching and absorbing your style and designs has enabled me to branch out of my
personal design aesthetics and try something new. My style has always been simplistic and modest, while
yours is eclectic, bold, and daring. I found it refreshing to see the world throughyour eyes and trying
out new designs I would never have done before. Designing this book was an amazing experience and I
learned a lot.