From cars to cameras, design from Japan is ubiquitous. So are perceptions of Japanese design, from calming, carefully crafted minimalism to avant-garde fashion and street subcultures. But these portrayals overlook the creativity, generosity and sheer hard work that have gone into creating and maintaining design industries in Japan. In Designing Modern Japan, Sarah Teasley deftly weaves together the personal stories of people who shaped and shape Japan’s design industries with social history, economic conditions and geopolitics. Key to the account is how design has been a strategy to help communities thrive during turbulent times, and to make life better along the way. Deeply researched and superbly illustrated, Designing Modern Japan will appeal to the wide audience for Japanese design, history and culture.