Life without logos, loud colors, and sharp edges is peaceful and free of distraction—an opportunity to make your own mark for your lifestyle. And that’s the appeal of Muji—an aesthetic that embodies products that are rational, and free of doctrine, and ‘isms’. 

Based on an extreme form of simplicity and utility, Muji embodies a fantasy of Japanese culture—attributes that lie at the center of the tea ceremony, ikebana, Noh Theater, Japanese gardens and architecture, and other cultural practices that emanate from uniquely Japanese aesthetics.

The Material Garden, designed by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, at Muji’s SoHo popup.

Muji was launched in Japan in 1980 as Mujirushi Ryohin, which means “no-brand quality goods.”  Since then, the company has continued offering products that are deemed really necessary in everyday life in the shapes that are uncommonly desirable—the essence of simplicity and utility. This naturalistic approach is so successful that Muji’s loyal band of customers often drift into stores without anything particular in mind, knowing that what might be missing from their lives is probably there, waiting to be found. 

Kenya Hara, Muji’s art director, says, “In my image, Muji is like water, so if there is an indentation, there is Muji. So there may not be a major flood but as long as there are those spaces, we can be present. In my mind, it's like somehow Muji got there without anyone realizing that it got there.” Muji USA currently has fifteen stores in the U.S., with seven in the greater New York City area. The brand recently launched a prefabricated holiday cabin, and plans to open hotels. But Hara was keen to point out that Muji is much more than a trend. He insisted that the company's main aim is to continue to improve the way people live

The Muji Hotel, located in Shenzen, China, is the first hospitality project initiated by the Japanese retailer.

In celebration of the company’s tenth anniversary in the United States, and in conjunction with the 2018 NYCxDesign Festival, Muji commissioned the Brooklyn based Ladies & Gentlemen Studio to create a display of its houseware products, which is designed to evoke the qualities of a tranquil indoor garden. Material Gardens, as it’s called, is open daily from 11am to 8 pm at Muji's Soho Pop-Up at 434 Broadway through May 29. Info