ONE ROOM MANSION
2002. wood (SPF material), cedar panel, wallpaper and light bulb
198 x 57.5 x 57.5 cm
Photo: Keizo Kioku
Courtesy: Mizuma Art Gallery
Copyright ©2002 Ujino Muneteru, All rights reserved.
One Room Mansion
In Japan a word 'Mansion' is used for steel-frame or reinforced concrete building apartment and a word 'Apartment' is used for wooden building apartment. I found out by talking to my American friend that a word 'Mansion' is used to express heavenly concept of a large house and not called 'Mansion' when it the house "more than certain number of rooms and squire". In other words it is not an established standard size of a house either by its number of rooms or its square footage.
Hence I thought westerners might feel strange when they hear Japanese say One Room Mansion. However, if one were to translate the meaning of English words ' One Room Mansion' into Japanese, it could have concept of a Chashitsu (tea room), or drawer or pocket of Doraemon that does not seem completely unrelated to the actual meaning of the English word 'Mansion'. I have pasted general western style wallpaper that also goes well with Japanese-style room.
I have come up with an idea to materialized typography of katakana characters from animation that suits with Japanese-style room for example as Sazae-san, Tensai Bakabon and Doraemon. (All are famous Japanese anime on TV).
The yellow light bulb lights up this piece, a color that is brightest out of all the other colored light bulbs. It is also easy to attract attention and storeowners favor this gorgeousness that it is frequently used for signs in Japan.