http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...?utm_hp_ref=tw

The Man Who Designed The Iconic Soy Sauce Dispenser Is Dead
The Huffington Post | By Jade Walker

Posted: 02/09/2015 5:44 am EST Updated: 2 hours ago

This picture, taken on June 3, 2004, shows Japanese industrial designer
Kenji Ekuan in Tokyo. Ekuan, who created a classic soy-sauce bottle that
decorated store shelves and kitchen counters across the world, died at
85 at a hospital in Tokyo on February 8, 2015. One of the key pioneers
in the modern Japanese industrial designs, Ekuan designed a sauce
dispenser for Kikkoman in 1961. AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS JAPAN OUT (Photo
credit should read JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images)

From London to Los Angeles, the sight of this shapely bottle sitting on
a table at a Japanese restaurant signals the promise of a fresh meal
seasoned by the salty sauce of soy.

You may never have given this condiment container much thought; for
decades it has always been there, waiting for you to reach out and use
on your platter of sushi. But the ubiquitous red-topped glass container
with its dripless polystyrene spout didn't exist before 1961. It came
from the mind of Kenji Ekuan and his team, and was created for the
Kikkoman Corporation.

According to The New York Times, the iconic tear-shaped bottle has been
in continuous production ever since. To date, more than 300 million
dispensers have been sold worldwide.

Ekuan's soy sauce dispenser has even been recognized as a work of art.
In the mid-oughts, the bottle was added to the permanent collection at
the Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of its Humble Masterpieces
exhibition, which honors the design of everyday objects.

Ekuan graduated from Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music and the Art
Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. He became an industrial
designer, a maker of the things we use every day (and often can't
imagine life without).

Ekuan founded GK Industrial Design Associates in 1957, which later
became the GK Design Group. Today GK Design comprises eight domestic and
four international firms providing product, transportation,
environmental and communication design.

Over the course of his illustrious six-decade career, Ekuan designed the
distinctive Akita bullet train and motorcycles for Yamaha. Considered
Japan's foremost industrial designer, Ekuan was also the author of "The
Aesthetics of the Japanese Lunchbox" and several other books.

For his contributions, Ekuan received many honors, including the ICSID
Colin King Grand Prix, the International Design Award, The Blue Ribbon
Medal, the Sir Misha Black Medal and the Order of the Rising Sun.

Ekuan died on Feb. 8 of a heart rhythm disorder, Kyodo reported. He was 85.