In 1999, the endearing song “Dango San Kyodai” (Three dumpling brothers) made its debut in the NHK TV program “Oka-san to Isho” (With Mother). The song gained popularity instantly nationwide due to its catchy lyrics, tango beat, and charming hand-drawn cartoon images of three brothers as dumplings on a skewer who each portray distinct personalities. The principal mastermind, Masahiko Sato, demonstrated the media’s ability to impart simple joy and to attract audience participation in a creative work as people cheerfully hum along with the video. The single sold over 3.8 million copies at that time.

Masahiko Sato, Left: Dango San Kyodai (Three dumpling brothers), With Mother (NHK); Top: Framy/PythagoraSwitch (NHK); Botejin/PythagoraSwitch (NHK), Image Courtesy of Yokohama Museum of Art

Sato has been a household name in the world of communication design since the 1990s. The astounding breadth of his achievements has encompassed TV programs and commercials, books, games, comics, posters, and educational materials. As his first solo retrospective being presented at the Yokohama Museum of Art, “Sato Masahiko Exhibition new × (way of making + way of understanding),” running until November 3rd this year, meticulously investigates the media creator’s process of conjuring up ideas for each of his works. The precise methodology involves “making the way of making” and, more essentially, understanding the aim behind every process.

Portrait of Masahiko Sato, Photo: STUDIO DUNK

Sato explained, “I’m thinking of making things based on different rules… Whenever I made something, instead of starting right away, I began by attempting to make a method for making it… That raises the question of what the “something” is. How can I communicate (something)? How can I get people to understand (something)? This was the true nature of what I wanted to do. Making the way of making was my methodology for achieving this in reality.” (Making the way of making, Sato Masahiko, “Sato Masahiko Exhibition new × (way of making + way of understanding),” Yokohama Museum of Art).

Masahiko Sato + EUPHRATES, Factory of Idea, 2006, DNP

The first section of the exhibition introduces us to the insights that have sprouted Sato’s unique system for constructing things. After graduating from the University of Tokyo, he worked at the prestigious advertising agency Dentsu Inc. from 1987 for about seven years. As a commercial planner, he was able to hone his promising skills in graphics, direct mail, comics, and magazine column design. Yet, in hindsight, Sato was not directly interested in art and design. Instead, he focused on collecting ordinary items found in everyday life — cardboards with printed information, seating charts, theater tickets, and so on. By studying the objects next to each other, he realized that the items were all laid out in frames. This insight paved the path to extrapolate a new approach to graphic expression by expanding the concept of “thinking the way of thinking.”