After World War II, he designed many products: furniture, three-wheeled vehicles, Olympic cauldrons, pedestrian overpasses, etc. One of the most famous pieces of furniture is his Butterfly Stool. Announced in 1956, its' 2-piece form has been compared to a butterfly's open wings. Alternately, the shape can be seen as the gateway of a Shinto shrine or even an antique samurai helmet. In effect, it is a form that is both modern and timeless, that has won critical acclaim and prizes, and is included in major collections such as the Museum of Modern Art New York and the Ruble Museum.
Most of Yanagi's designs are very simple and beautiful. His products illustrate his thinking: true beauty is not made, it is born naturally. When he created a new product, he made the first versions over and over by hand, seeking new forms that took shape from both new and old ideas..
Sori Yanagi died at the age of 96 in 2011 .
Yukata
The yukata is a kind of kimono. "Yukata" are very casual kimono, and are worn in the summer.
Normal kimono can be difficult to wear because they have many different parts. These can include a long, stiff obi (belt), a kimono worn underneath the outer kimono, called a "juban", and padding to make the shape of the kimono nicer. Many Japanese people cannot put normal kimono on by themselves, as they are so different to everyday clothing.
However, "yukata" are a type of kimono that is easy to wear. They are made of cotton, and do not have to be worn with a "juban". They are worn with thin, short obi, called "hanhaba" obi, which are easy to tie without someone else's help.
"Yukata" are worn in the summer, and are very popular to wear to festivals. They are cheap, keep the body cool, and are easy to wash and dry, unlike regular silk kimono.
"Yukata" used to be decorated only with designs in blue and white colours. However, many modern "yukata" have bright and colourful designs, making them fun and fashionable to wear. Many young women wear "yukata" and "geta" (Japanese clogs) at summer festivals, fireworks displays, and "Bon" festival dances.
Recently, "yukata" have been adopted as summer uniforms in some of the restaurants and theme parks in Japan. The sumo wrestler wears a "yukata" in his daily life, every single day. In addition, a type of "yukata" called "nemaki" are used as night clothes for guests at many Japanese hotels and inns. Unlike "yukata", and regular kimono, "nemaki" are not made differently for men and women.
Tonkatsu
Tonkatsu (, or ) is a Japanese dish of fried pork meat.
Either pork fillet or pork loin, is sliced. It is then coated in flour, dipped into beaten eggs, and rolled in breadcrumbs. It is then fried in hot oil. People often use a Japanese Worcester sauce, but some use a vinegar-soy-sauce called ponzu when they eat it. Tonkatsu originated as a cutlet, but it is also used as a sandwich filling or in combination with curry.
Tonkatsu originated in Japan in the 19th century. Now it is known as a Japanese food by most of the world. It is usually prepared for special occasions, for example a wedding. It is always served with a type of alcoholic drink.
Wilderness Road
The Wilderness Road was a trail made by Daniel Boone through the Appalachian Mountains and through Kentucky. This road was used for more than 50 years for settlers to travel from the East into Kentucky.
Iroquois
The Iroquois (), also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are a group of tribes of indigenous people of North America. After the people who spoke Iroquoian came together as different tribes, which were mostly in what is now central and upstate New York, in the 16th century or earlier they came together in an group known today as the Iroquois League, or the "League of Peace and Power". The first Iroquois League was often known as the Five Nations, as it was made up of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca. After the Tuscarora nation joined the League in 1722, the Iroquois became known as the Six Nations. To this day, fifty "sachems" who represent different clans of the Iroquois meet at the Grand Council near Syracuse, New York.
When Europeans first arrived in North America, the Iroquois lived in what is now the northeastern United States, mostly in what is today upstate New York, west of the Hudson River and through the Finger Lakes region. Today, the Iroquois live mostly in New York and Canada.
The Iroquois League has also been called the Iroquois Confederacy. Some modern scholars now think the League and the Confederacy are different. According to this belief, the term "Iroquois League" stands for the ceremonies and culture found in the Grand Council, while the term "Iroquois Confederacy" stands for what was the spread out political and diplomatic group that was made after Europeans began colonizing America. The League still exists. The Confederacy broke up after the defeat of the British and allied Iroquois nations in the American Revolutionary War.
The Iroquois call themselves the ""Haudenosaunee"", which means "People of the Longhouse," or more accurately, "They Are Building a Long House." They believe that the Great Peacemaker came up with the name when the League was formed. It means that the nations of the League should live together as families in the same longhouse. Symbolically, the Mohawk guarded the eastern door, as they lived in the east closest to the Hudson River. The Seneca guarded the western door of the "tribal longhouse", the land they controlled in New York. The Onondaga, who lived in the center of Haudenosaunee territory, were keepers of the League's (both literal and figurative) central flame.
The French colonists called the Haudenosaunee by the name of "Iroquois". There are several different places this name might have come from:
Members of the League speak Iroquoian languages that are very different from those of other Iroquoian speakers. This suggests that while the different Iroquoian tribes had the same historical and cultural origin, they came apart over a long enough time that their languages became different. Evidence from archaeology shows that Iroquois ancestors lived in the Finger Lakes region from at least 1000 AD.
The Iroquois League was made before they first met European people. Most archaeologists and anthropologists think that the League was made sometime between about 1450 and 1600, although some people think it was even earlier.
According to tradition, the League was formed through the efforts of two men, "Deganawida", sometimes known as the Great Peacemaker, and "Hiawatha". They brought a message, called the Great Law of Peace, to the fighting Iroquoian nations. The nations who joined the League were the Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga and Mohawk. Once they stopped most of their fighting, the Iroquois fast became one of the strongest forces in 17th- and 18th-century northeastern North America.
According to legend, an evil Onondaga chieftain named "Tadodaho" was the last to be converted to the ways of peace by The Great Peacemaker and Hiawatha. He became the spiritual leader of the Haudenosaunee. This is said to have occurred at Onondaga Lake near Syracuse, New York. The title "Tadodaho" is still used for the league's spiritual leader, the fiftieth chief, who sits with the Onondaga in council. He is the only one of the fifty to have been chosen by the entire Haudenosaunee people. The current "Tadodaho" is Sid Hill of the Onondaga Nation.
In the 1600s, the Iroquois fought with other tribes for hunting land. This is called the Beaver Wars.