The Japanese does not seem to be a people inspired by the Americans in any way and the animosity between the two countries make it unlikely that either nation would ever admit such a thing. When it comes to art, though, almost all countries are unified under an unspoken law relating to aesthetics.
The sale of Japanese toys had been a lucrative industry for over a century. However, it was due to the World War that the Japanese hit upon the idea of making tin toys out of recycled food cans. The sale of Buriki (Japanese toys made from metal) to the US increased with the advent of the automobile industry because Japan chose to take inspiration from this. Miniature models of American planes and automobiles made in the talented hands of the Japanese toy makers became the stuff that collectors dreamt of. The Yonu Tanaka collection includes over 500 of these amazing lifelike miniature models of Japanese tin toys modelled after the American automobiles.
70 toys from the Tanaka collection are being displayed at an exhibition at the Japan Society in Manhattan. Buriki: Japanese Tin Toys from the Golden Age of the American Automobile will be on display between 9th July and 15th august of this year.
Via: NYTimes/Yale
