Sori Yanagi Stools
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.
to
2
5
2
8
2
Height
to
Width
to
Depth
to
9
2
7
8
2
6
2
1
2
3
2
8
4
2
1
1
9
9
9
10
10
10
9
297
139
117
91
Creator: Sori Yanagi
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 Stools
Materials
Seagrass, Cherry
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 Stools
Materials
Rosewood
$1,200 Sale Price
31% Off
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 Stools
Materials
Rosewood
$12,500 / set
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 Stools
Materials
Rosewood
$1,200 Sale Price
40% Off
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 Stools
Materials
Brass
Wooden Sori Yanagi "Butterfly" Stool in Molded Plywood by Tendo Japan, 1980s
By Tendo Mokko, Sori Yanagi
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 Stools
Materials
Plywood
Sori Yanagi White Elephant Stool for Kotobuki, 1960s
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Tokyo, Tokyo
An iconic mid-century design by Japanese master Sori Yanagi. The Elephant Stool embodies simplicity, functionality, and sculptural beauty. Featuring a distinctive arching silhouette ...
Category
1960s Japanese Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Elephant Stool by Sori Yanagi for Vitra
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Centreville, VA
The Elephant Stool, designed by Sori Yanagi for Vitra, is a playful yet elegantly crafted piece that showcases the harmonious blend of function an...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Plastic
$680 / item
Sori Yanagi BUTTERFLY Stool
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Artist/Designer; Manufacturer: Sori Yanagi (Japanese, 1915-2011); Tendo, attributed. (Japan)
Marking(s); notes: no marking(s) apparent
Materials: rosewood veneer over plywood, brass
...
Category
1960s Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Wood
Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi, Japan, 1980s, simple, wabi-sabi.
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Tokyo, Tokyo
An iconic “Butterfly” stool by Sori Yanagi, combining Japanese craftsmanship with modernist elegance in a fluid sculptural form.
Category
1980s Japanese Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Wood
Related Items
Leopard Vintage Stool, 1960s
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Stool from the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. Beautiful soft velvet leopard print upholstery. The stool consists of an upholstered part, a seat and wooden legs narrowing downwards, cha...
Category
Mid-20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Velvet, Beech
Mike Hexagonal Stool or Side Table in Reclaimed Oak with Butterfly Wingnuts
By Fred&Juul
Located in Fiesole, Florence
Mike was born out of a geometrical game of combining rhombi. 12 wooden elements with rhombus-shaped tops are assembled with handmade brass butterfly wing bolts to form a stool or side table. Two, three or even more pieces, with their hexagonal top and star-shaped base, can be united to form a coffee table or bench. Handmade by master craftsmen in Tuscany, Italy.
The 12 elements are screwed together instead of glued so the rhombi are perceived as individual parts.
The oakwood is reclaimed from old Italian wine barrels...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Brass
$1,588 / item
H 17.72 in W 14.18 in D 12.21 in
Sori Yanagi BUTTERFLY Stool
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Artist/Designer; Manufacturer: Sori Yanagi (Japanese, 1915-2011); Tendo, attributed. (Japan)
Marking(s); notes: no marking(s) apparent
Materials: rosewood veneer over plywood, brass
...
Category
1960s Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Wood
Rare Pair of Oak Stools for Les Arcs by Charlotte Perriand
By Charlotte Perriand
Located in San Francisco, CA
A very rare pair of medium height oak stools with beautiful patina made for Les Arcs Ski Resort in Savoie France.
Category
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Pine
Leopard Vintage Stool, 1960s
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Stool from the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. Beautiful soft velvet leopard print upholstery. The stool consists of an upholstered part, a seat and wooden legs narrowing downwards, cha...
Category
Mid-20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Velvet
Heron Rocking Chair by Tendo Mokko
By Tendo Mokko
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Heron rocking chair and matching footrest / ottoman designed by Mitsunasa Sugasawa and made of bent laminated oak. Manufactured by Tendo Mokko Japan. Chair has been professionally re...
Category
1960s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Oak
Rocking Chair by Tendo Mokko Japan
By Tendo Mokko
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Heron rocking chair and matching footrest / ottoman designed by Mitsuwasa Sugasawa made of bent laminated oak and manufactured by Tendo Mokko Japan. Great example of Japanese mid century design...
Category
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Oak
Pair of Paul McCobb Brass Stools Silver Shagreen Leather
By Paul McCobb
Located in Westport, CT
Pair of Paul McCobb brass stools, shagreen silver leather, with brass criss-cross bases, adjustable feet.
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Brass
RARE Karl Springer Lacquered Goatskin Stool
By Karl Springer, Aldo Tura
Located in Las Vegas, NV
This rare original Karl Springer stool is amazing. The stool is lacquered goatskin, in a beautiful shades of brown, this a design piece truly worth coveting.
The stool is in solid, ...
Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Goatskin, Lacquer
Mini Butterfly Stool, Pink Fandango Jacquard, Dark Wood, Europe 1960s
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Small stool called "Butterfly" with dark brown walnut stained beech legs and fully upholstered seat in beautiful jacquard italian fabric.
This stool can be customized to your specif...
Category
2010s Polish Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Fabric, Beech, Jacquard
$176 / item
H 11.82 in W 11.82 in D 7.88 in
Set of Two White and Aqua Vintage Stools, Edmund Homa, 1960s
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Stools from the turn of the 1960s. Beautiful white and aqua high quality upholstery. The stools consists of an upholstered part, a seat and wooden legs narrowing downwards, character...
Category
Mid-20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Fabric
$881 / item
H 15.75 in W 25.2 in D 14.97 in
Burgundy Vintage Stool, 1960s
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Stool from the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. Beautiful soft velvet burgundy upholstery. The stool consists of an upholstered part, a seat and wooden legs narrowing downwards, characte...
Category
Mid-20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Previously Available Items
Rosewood Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Dronten, NL
A perfect fusion of western function and eastern or Asian sensibility, the iconic butterfly stool was originally conceived in 1954 by Japanese designer Sori Yanagi. The stool is made...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Brass
Elephant Stool by Sori Yanagi – Kotobuki - Japon - 1950s
By Kotobuki, Sori Yanagi
Located in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FR
An early edition of the iconic Elephant Stool by Sori Yanagi, produced by Kotobuki in 1954, featuring its original publisher’s label. Designed in fiberglass—a groundbreaking material...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Butterfly stool by Sori Yanagi
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Centreville, VA
Ease of travel in the jet age encouraged a growing fusion of cultural influences after World War II.
Although Yanagi's stool was designed and manufactured in Japan, it employs Weste...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Maple
Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool Rosewood Brass
By Sori Yanagi
Located in San Diego, CA
Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool in rosewood and brass. Designed in 1954 and produced in the 1990s. Signed, Sori Yanagi.
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Rosewood
Sori Yanagi, "Butterfly" Stools, Walnut, Brass, Japan, 1954
By Tendo Mokko, Sori Yanagi
Located in High Point, NC
A set of first production walnut "Butterfly" stools, designed in 1954 by Sori Yanagi and produced by Tendo Mokko, Japan, c. 1960s.
Unlabeled.
Seat height: 15.75"
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Brass
Pair Black Sori Yanagi Elephant Stools by Kotobuki Japan c. 1950s
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Pair of black Sori Yanagi Elephant Stools by Kotobuki, Japan c. 1950s.
Yanagi foil sticker on underside.
Originally designed by Yanagi as ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Sori Yanagi Butterfly Stool or Ottoman
By Sori Yanagi, Tendo Mokko
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ottoman designed by Sori Yanagi. The walnut bent plywood frame mirrors one another showcasing a butterfly shape, hence the name. The stool is finished with brass hardware.
Dimension...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Brass
Sori Yanagi ‘Elephant’ stool for Kotobuki, Japan 1954
By Kotobuki, Sori Yanagi
Located in Rotterdam, ZH
Elephant stool by Sori Yanagi for Kotobuki Seating Company, Tokyo 1954. Yanagi originally designed the stool as a work chair for his studio, a couple of years later it was released b...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Elephant Stool by Sori Yanagi for Kotobuki
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
The Elephant Stool was designed by Sori Yanagi in 1954. This stool, which was released in 1956 with FRP material, which was rare at the time, was used in the pavilion at the 1970 Osa...
Category
1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Sori Yanagi Model "Butterfly" Stool for Tendo Mokko, Japan, 2000s
By Sori Yanagi, Tendo Mokko
Located in Skokie, IL
Sori Yanagi model "Butterfly" stool for Tendo Mokko, Japan, 2000s
Additional Information:
Materials: laminated walnut, brass
Dimensions: 15 1/2" H x 17" W x 12" D
Condition: Ex...
Category
20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Walnut
Sori Yanagi Elephant stool by FRP
By Sori Yanagi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
Stacking stools also called elephant leg stools. It won the gold medal at the 12th Milan Triennale of 1960, and it is stored as MoMA and the museum of the Amsterdam as a permanent co...
Category
1990s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Elephant Stool by Sori Yanagi for Puig, 1960s Set of 2
By Sori Yanagi
Located in bruxelles, BE
Pair of red fibreglass stools, designer Sori Yanagi. Stamped on the leg. Wear due to time and age of the stools.
Category
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Sori Yanagi Stools
Materials
Fiberglass
Sori Yanagi stools for sale on 1stDibs.
Sori Yanagi stools 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 stools, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original stools 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 stools by Isamu Kenmochi, and Pierre Jeanneret. Prices for Sori Yanagi stools 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 $5,000.