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Sori Yanagi

Japanese, 1915-2011

Sōri Yanagi was a Japanese product designer. Born in 1915 in Tokyo, Japan. His father was Yanagi Sōetsu, founder of the Japanese folk crafts mingei movement, which celebrated the beauty of everyday objects, and the Japanese Folk Crafts Museum (Nihon Mingeikan). Yanagi entered Tokyo Art School in 1934, where he studied both art and architecture. He played a role in the Japanese modern design developed after the Second World War to the high-growth period in the Japanese economy. Yanagi was both a representative of the wholly Japanese modern designer and a full-blown Modernist, who merged simplicity and practicality with elements of traditional Japanese crafts. He designed the official torch for the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. Yanagi died in 2011 at the age of 96.

Average Sold Price
$1,515
Styles
Materials
Related Creators
Wooden Sori Yanagi "Butterfly" Stool in Molded Plywood by Tendo Japan, 1980s
By Sori Yanagi, Tendo Mokko
Located in Stockholm, SE
Rare and iconic wooden mid century "butterfly" stool in molded plywood by Sori Yanagi for Tendo Mokko Japan, 1980s. In good condition and purchased by the previous owner on a busines...
Category

1980s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi

Materials

Plywood

Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool in Molded Blonde Rosewood for Tendo Mokko
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Chicago, IL
The Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi, (1915 - 2011) an iconic figure in Japanese industrial design. Originally created in 1954 using the moulded plywood technique that had been newly ...
Category

Early 2000s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi

Materials

Rosewood

Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool in Molded Blonde Rosewood for Tendo Mokko
Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool in Molded Blonde Rosewood for Tendo Mokko
$1,200 Sale Price
31% Off
H 13 in W 17 in D 12 in
Sori Yanagi "Butterfly" Stools . Earliest examples.
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Toronto, Ontario
An incredible example of an iconic Mid 20th Century masterpiece. Designed by Sori Yanagi in the late 1950.s These examples are the earliest examples of this form. As evidenced by ...
Category

1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi

Materials

Rosewood

Sori Yanagi "Butterfly" Stools .  Earliest examples.
Sori Yanagi "Butterfly" Stools .  Earliest examples.
$12,500 / set
H 17 in W 17 in D 12 in
Wall Mirror, Sori Yanagi for Akita Mokko, Japan, 1980s, Wabi Sabi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Tokyo, Tokyo
A beautifully crafted round mirror designed by Sori Yanagi for Akita Mokko. The solid wood frame, finished in a warm brown tone, reflects Yanagi’s philosophy of organic simplicity — ...
Category

Late 20th Century Japanese Sori Yanagi

Materials

Glass, Wood

Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool in Molded Blonde Rosewood for Tendo Mokko
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Chicago, IL
The Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi, (1915 - 2011) an iconic figure in Japanese industrial design. Originally created in 1954 using the moulded plywood technique that had been newly c...
Category

Early 2000s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi

Materials

Rosewood

Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool in Molded Blonde Rosewood for Tendo Mokko
Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool in Molded Blonde Rosewood for Tendo Mokko
$1,200 Sale Price
40% Off
H 13 in W 17 in D 12 in
Rare Japanese Stool by Soetsu Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Uccle, BE
This stool was made in 1936 for the Japanese Folk Crafts Museum. Made of Japanese cherry wood and seagrass. Today, you can still see the original benches made for this museum. Yanagi Soetsu (1889 – 1961), also known as Yanagi Muneyoshi, was a Japanese art critic, philosopher, and founder of the Mingei (folk craft) movement in Japan in the late 1920s and 1930s. His son, Sori Yanagi, was a renowned industrial designer. In 1916, Yanagi made his first trip to Korea out of curiosity about Korean crafts. The trip led to the establishment of the Korean Folk Crafts Museum in 1924 and the coining of the term mingei by Yanagi, potters Hamada Shoji (1894–1978) and Kawai Kanjiro...
Category

1930s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi

Materials

Seagrass, Cherry

Rare Japanese Stool by Soetsu Yanagi
Rare Japanese Stool by Soetsu Yanagi
$7,896
H 13.39 in W 16.15 in D 13.39 in
Japanese Sake Glass Set by Sori Yanagi, 1970s
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Tokyo, Tokyo
A masterpiece of Japanese design, these vintage sake glasses by Sori Yanagi embody the harmony of form and function. With their refined silhouette and subtle elegance, they offer a ...
Category

Late 20th Century Japanese Sori Yanagi

Materials

Glass

Sori Yanagi Vintage Rosewood and Brass Butterfly Stool
By Sori Yanagi
Located in North Miami, FL
This iconic and collectable butterfly stool is a work of simple and elegant sculpture by the Japanese designer Sori Yanagi. It is rosewood and brass structure. The combination aesthe...
Category

1960s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi

Materials

Brass

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Sori Yanagi Sale Prices

Sold DateSold PriceCategoryMaterialCreation Year
2025$1,503Mobiles and Kinetic SculpturesWoodunknown
2025$1,250StoolsBrass, RosewoodUnknown
2025$1,512StoolsWoodunknown
$1,515
Average sold price of items in the past 12 months
$1,250-$1,784
Sold price range of items in the past 12 months

Creators Similar to Sori Yanagi

More Sori Yanagi Designs
Butterfly Stool
Butterfly Stool
Average Price
$4,380
Number Available
5
Butterfly Stool
By Sori Yanagi
Materials
Wood, Rosewood
Styles
Mid Century Modern
Consisting of two gracefully curving and identical molded plywood shells that recall butterfly wings and are fastened together by a single brass crossbar, the Butterfly stool by Sori Yanagi (1915–2011) is the most acute mid-century merging of Eastern and Western sensibilities. When he introduced the structured chair to a market that had until then been defined by tatami mats, Yanagi upended Japanese tradition. But the Tokyo-born furniture designer, who created the all-plastic Elephant stool d...
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Sori Yanagi furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Sori Yanagi furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Sori Yanagi furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Sori Yanagi were created in the mid-century modern style in japan during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Junzo Sakakura, Akita Mokko, and Takeshi Nii. Prices for Sori Yanagi furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $1,221 and can go as high as $11,095, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $4,500.

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