Cleaning

Cleanliness is a core value of societies around the globe. With beautiful photography and short, poetical observations, acclaimed author and designer Kenya Hara explores and illustrates the concept of cleaning in all of its aspects: sweeping, dusting, blowing, beating, washing, wiping, smoothing, raking, grooming, purifying, scrubbing, scraping, erasing, scooping, removing and clearing.

From the sorting process a child applies to its toys and the meticulous attention a clockmaker pays to their creations to the impressive feat that is deep-cleaning a ship, each process is treated with the same gentle fascination. The portable book format invites readers to take this publication into the world as they look at these everyday processes with fresh eyes.

Kenya Hara (born 1958) is a Japanese graphic designer, author, curator, professor at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo and art director for MUJI. He has been awarded many prizes, including the Japanese Cultural Design Award. Hara is the author of White, 100 Whites, Designing Design and Designing Japan.