Maywa Denki English Biography

- April 1967, Born in Hyogo Prefecture
- March 1992, The Department of Arts Study, Postgraduate Course, Tsukuba University, Awarded Master’s Degree
- May 1993 – Mar. 2001, Vice President of Maywa Denki
- April 2001 – present, President of Maywa Denki (succeeded on Masamichi Tosa’s retirement)
WEB
- Official Website https://www.maywadenki.com
- President’s Blog https://www.maywadenki.com/blog/
- President’s Twitter @MaywaDenki
Awards
- September 1993, Maywa Denki, Grand prix in “Art Artists Audition II” (sponsored by Sony Music Entertainment)
- October 1995, Uo-no-me/Corn (NAKI-EX), licensed to the registration of a design
- December 1995, Gumbass (MI-02), licensed to a new design for practical use
- December 1996, Na-Cord/Fish Cord (NAKI-DX), licensed to the registration of a design
- 1996, Na-Cord-Fish Cord (NAKI-DX), awarded a Special Prize of Editors in “MONO MAGAZINE Super Goods of The Year”
- June 1997, Glass-Carp (NAKI-KX), licensed to the registration of a design
- 2000, Maywa Denki, awarded Excellence Prize of Interactive category of Digital Arts in “Agency of Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festival III”
- 2000, Maywa Denki, awarded Good Design Award of New Theme Category by Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization
- 2003 Maywa Denki, awarded Distinctions of Interactive Art category in “Ars Erectronica 2003”
- 2010, “Otamatone” received “the grand prize of Japan Toy Prize 2010- High target Toy”
- 2010, “Otamatone” received “Lisesing of the Year 2010 – Product license”
- 2015, “Awarded at the World OMOSIROI Award” 1st for an OMOSIROI Award.
Performance & Exhibition
1994- April-September 1994, a brand-new products exhibition “Next Weekend are Maywa’s Days”
- May 1995, “Skins of Arts”
- May 1995, “Fukui International Video Biennial VI”
- July 1995, “Curator’s Eyes ‘95” (on site production & sales of Sava-O/NAKI-SO)
- April 1996, “Tokyo Pop”
- August 1996, “Tsukuba Exhibition” (visitors totaling of 26,000)
- September-December 1997, “NAKI Exhibition” (visitors totaling of 25,000)
- 1999, “Maywa Denki Exhibition” at Shinjuku Odakyu Department Store & Kobe Daimaru Department Store (visitors totaling of 30,000)
- May 2000, “NAKI Exhibition” at agnes b., Aoyama
- August 2000, “EDELWEISS Exhibition” at agnes b., Aoyama
- March 2001, “Maywa Denki Exhibition” at Galerie Du Jour agnes b., in Paris
- May 2001, “Maywa Denki Exhibition” invited for the event “Tokyo Life” at Selfridges in London
- September-December 2002, “Romance Engineering” at Shibuya PARCO and Nagoya PARCO (visitors totaling of 10,000)
- September 2003, Ars Electronica “Cyberarts 2003” at the O.K Centrum für Gegenwartskunst, Linz, Austria (9.06-9.21).
- November 2003, “HOMMES ET ROBOTS” at La maison de la culture du Japon, Paris, France (10.28-1.31).
- July-December 2004″NONSENSE MACHINES” at Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art,Hiroshima (7.31-10.11) and at NTT InterCommunication Center, Tokyo (11.03-12.26).
- December-October 2005, “Maywa Denki : Exhibit Nonsense Machines” at the JSMA , Oregon, America (10.21-11.20).
- July-September 2006, “NONSENSE MACHINES” at Kirishima Open-Air Museum, Kagoshima (7.21-9.3)
- October 2006-January 2007, “Nonsense Machines: NAKI” at Agnes b.’s LIBRARIE GALERIE, H.K.(9.23-1.13).
- July-August 2007, “NONSENSE MACHINES” at OKAYAMA DIGITAL MUSEUM, OKAYAMA (7.13-8.19)
- October-November 2007, “Noncense Machines: NAKI” a multimedia exhibition by Maywa Denki at Eslite Sinyi store(1F Robby, 2F agnes b. [sport b]), Taipei, Taiwan. (10.11-11.10)
- January 2008, “The World of Knock Music”, Gallery MITATE+ Gallery le Bain, Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo (1.8-1.21)
- January 2008, “The World of Knock Music”, Oriental Hotel Gallery, Hiroshima. (2.29-4.30)
- November 2008, “Article 08”, Norway
- Spring-May 2009, “NONSENSE MACHINES” at The Museum of Art – Kochi, Kochi (4.11-5.10)
- May-August 2009, “Exhibition 5 ‘bones’ Directed by Shunji Yamanaka”, 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, Tokyo (5.29-8.30)
- February 2010, “Cyber Arts Japan- Ars Electronica 30 years for Art and Media Technology”, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo(MOT), Tokyo (2.2-3.22)
- May – June, 2010 : “Maywa Denki Voice Project declarative exhibition” Seibu Department Shibuya, Tokyo
- June – October 2010 : “Knock! music -Four evolution theories, from percussion to computer” National Museum of Emerging science and innovation, Tokyo
- August – October 2010 “Japan Media Arts Festival in Istanbul 2010” Pera Museum, Istanbul
- September – October 2010 : Exhibition at COMME des GARCONS TRADING MUSEUM, Tokyo
- November-2010 : Exhibition at COMME des GARCONS DOVER STREET MARKET, London
- January-April 2011:Exhibition “Agnes b.’s Musique Plastique” at Pari France (1.28-4.02).
- June -July 2011: : Exhibition “TRANSFORMER” at Bethune France (6.14-7.31).
- September2011 : Exhibition “Ars Erectronica Campas 2011: Seriously Playful / Playfully Serious – University of Tsukuba” at Linz, Austria (9.01-9.06).
- March – May 2012 : Exhibition” OTAMATONE” ELTTOB TEP ISSEY MIYAKE , (GINZA , SEMBA)
- Maywadenki 20th Live in AKASAKA BLITZ (Tokyo)
- Jan-Feb 2013, Nonsense-Machines Exhibition at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa , Ishikawa
- Jun 2013, Maywa Denki 20th Anniversary exhibiton: Eslite x Maywa Denki
- July 2013, “Japan EXPO” (France)
- Apr-Jun 2014, EDELWEISS Exhibition at the Yoshizawa Garden Gallery of Ichikawa city (Chiba)
- June 2014, “Voice Mechanics at the Esplanade” (Singapore)
- November 2014, “SUPER GIRLS EXPO in Taipei” (Taiwan)
- Dec 2014 – Jan 2015 “Shenzhen NewMedia Art Festival” (Shenzhen)
- Jun 2015, “Shenzen Maker Fair” (Shenzhen)
- 2013 – 2016 “ROBOT!”(France)
- Jul 2016, “Taobao Maker Festival” (Shanghai)
- Jul 2017, “Maker Faire Xi’an” Qujiang International Exhibition Center(China)
- Jul 2017, “FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL 2017” Naeba Ski Resort (Niigata)
- Jun-Aug 2017, “Compared-MUJI and Maywa Denki :Experiments in Nonsense Measurements” ATELIER MUJI at MUJI Yurakucho. (Tokyo)
- Sep-Nov 2017, “Rokko Meets Art 2017” Rokko Cable sanjo (Hyogo)
- Oct-Nov 2017, “Morio Shinoda × Meiwa Denki Exhibition FLOATING INDUSTRY~Flying Factory~” AWAJI Cafe & Gallery (Tokyo)
- Nov-Jan 2017, “Taro Okamoto and Media Art” TARO OKAMOTO MUSEUM OF ART, KAWASAKI(Kawasaki)
- Nov 2017-Jan 2018, “It’s a COPY” common room & co. (Hong Kong)
- Jul 2017, “Maker Faire Xi’an” Qujiang International Exhibition Center(Shenzen)
- May-2018 “Maywa Denki NONSENSE MACHINES Musical instrument exhibition“ (Hokkaido)
- May-2018”Maywa Denki The Making of a Toy Exhibition – From Nonsense Ideas to Manufacturing”(Hokkaido)
- Jul-Oct 2018,“Maywa Denki NONSENSE MACHINES in Oita” Oita Art Museum (Oita)
- Oct 2018, “Saudi Arabia creativity season” the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture(Saudi Arabia)
- Oct-Nov 2018,“Maywa Denki NONSENSE MACHINES in Nagasaki”Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum (Nagasaki)
- Dec 2018 “Maywa Denki live in Panasonic Center”(Osaka)
- Jan 2019 Maywa Denki Live in exporatorium(USA)
- Feb 2019 “Dr. Hige and the Nonsense Machine in Kita-ku”(Tokyo)
- Apr July 2019 Where Have All The Flowers Gone (Taiwan)
- Apr 2019 “Jigyō hōkoku-show 2022 “ Maywa Denki Live”(Tokyo)
- Jun July2019 ”Maywa Denk Live in Shanghai and Hangzhou”(Shanghai and Hangzhou)
- Sep 2019 “GOOD PARK! 2019”(Tokyo)
- Oct 2019“MOSCOW PUPPET THEATRE”(Russia)
- Oct 2019”Al Hosn Festival”(Abu Dhabi)
- Oct 2019 “In Memoriam: Yamaguchi Katsuhiro: Our Yamakatsu Sensei Exhibition” (Ibaraki)
- Dec 2019 ~ Jan 2020 Passage to the Future (Aichi)
- Dec 2019 ”SOUND DESIGN FACTORY in Hamamatsu 2019”(Shizuoka)
- Jul 2020 ”Metropolis2020”(tokyo)
- Apr 2020 “Jigyō hōkoku-show 2022” “Dr. Hige and the Nonsense Machine” in(Tokyo)
- Sep 2020”ARTBAY TOKYO presents Maywa Denki Nonsense Factory”(tokyo)
- Oct 2020 “Mawa Denki Live & Dr. Hige and the Nonsense Machine in Kouchi”(Kouchi)
- Dec 2019 ~ Jan 2020 Passage to the Future (Aichi)
- Jan 2021 “Mawa Denki Live in Sapporo Hitaru”(Hokkaido)
- Jul 2021 “Dr. Weird’s! Too much freedom in the lab”(tokyo)
- Sep ~ Nov 2021 Rokko Meets Art: Art Walk 2021 (Hyogo)
- Oct 2021 Maywa Denki NONSENSE MACHINES in Aichi (Aichi)
- Oct – Feb 2021 Maywa Denki NONSENSE FACTORY in Beijing (Beijing)
- Nov 2021 Sound & Art Exhibition (tokyo)
Concert Tours
- November 1994-March 1995, “SWITCHED ON KAPPA” products demonstration
- July-November 1995, “SWITCHED ON KAPPA ‘95” products demonstration
- January-March 1995, “Commemorative Demonstration of Maywa Denki New Products” (in 6 large cities, 8 stages)
- May-June 1998, “Drived-Live: Maywa Denki Japan Tour II” (in 6 large cities, 8 stages)
- 1999, “Maywa Denki Live: Hall in Love ‘99” (in Tokyo and Osaka, 5 stages)
- May-June 2000, “Maywa Denki Live 2000: For Beautiful Human Live” (in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, 5 stages)
- November 2003, “Maywa Denki Live in Paris : Mechatronica” (in Paris, 4 stages)
- July 2004, “Maywa Denki Live 2004: Mechatronica” (in 3 large cities, 5 stages)
- July-September 2005, “SWITCHED ON KAPPA” Live (in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka,Taiwan and Paris)
- June 2006, Maywa Denki Live at Belluard Bollwerk International, Fribourg, Swiss
- July 2006, “maywadenki – performance der japanischen kult-kunstfactory” Live, Zurich, Swiss
- November 2006, “Maywa Denki Hong Kong Live 2006 : Mechatronica” (in Hong Kong, 2 stage)
- February 2007, “Maywa Denki Live 2007 : Roppongi Mechatronica “, Nimes, FRANCE
- April 2007, “Maywa Denki concert : Mechatronica 2007”, Nimes, FRANCE
- June 2007, “Mechatronica: in conjunction with Singapore Arts Festival 2007” Live, Singapore
- October 2007, “Maywa Denki Live, Mechatronica in Matsumoto”, Matsumoto, Nagano
- November 2007, “Maywa Denki Live, MECHATRONICA” at Seongnam Art Center, KOREA
- February 2008, “Maywa Denki Live”, Washington D.C., USA
- February 2008, “MECHATRONICA ~ Maywa Denki Live in HIROSHIMA~ “, Hiroshima
- June 2008, Maywa Denki Live, Enghien les Bains, FRANCE
- November 2008, Maywa Denki Live, Fat Festival 08, THAILAND
- July 2010 : Maywa Denki Live – GREC Festival de Barcelona, Barcelona
- December 2010 : “VOICE MECHANICS” concert, Tokyo
- April 2011: “VOICE MECHANICS ~ Maywa Denki Live in hongkong~” hongkong
- May-June 2011: ” Maywa Denki Live – digital brainstorming” zurichi, Switzerland
- October 2011: “VOICE MECHANICS ~ Maywa Denki Live in Taipei ~” (Taiwan)
- October- November 2011, “Maywa Denki Live tour 2011: VOICE MECHANICS” in Tokyo, Osaka ,Kouchi, Shimane, Fukukuoka,Okayama
Produce Event
- November 2007, “BACAROBO 2007”, Shinjuku, Tokyo
- December 2008, “BACAROBO 2008”, Shinjyuku ( Tokyo)
- October 2009, “Maywa Denki’s Nonsense Business Seminar”( Shibuya, Tokyo)
- July 2011 “STRANGE VOICE”, Shinagawa, Tokyo
- May 2015, “Mise Mono GO! Yeahhh!!!”, SEIBU SHIBUYA (Tokyo)
- June 2015, “Robocon” Aoyama CAY (Tokyo)
Discography
< Single CD >
- July 1997, “Edelweiss” (Sony Music Entertainment)
- October 1997, “Ore wa Uchu no Fantasy” (Sony Music Entertainment)
< Album >
- January 1996, “Teikyo” (Sony Music Entertainment)
- August 1996, “Ochugen” (Sony Music Entertainment)
- August 1997, “Sakigage” (Sony Music Entertainment)
- May 1998, “Michi” (Sony Music Entertainment)
- July 2000, “SAVAO” (Tokuma Japan Communications)
- August 2001, “Savao de Samba!” (Tokuma Japan Communications)
- June 2002, “Chikyu no Present” (Tokuma Japan Communications)
- September 2005,”GOLDEN☆BEST Maywa Denki” (Sony Music Entertainment)
- October 2007, “SAVA0” (URUSAI Entertainment, in TAIWAN)
- Dec 2013 Maywadenki’s yaquween 20th anniversary song 2013R C (Maywadenki)
- Sep 2016 Dr.HIGE & Toybox The theme song of live for children “Dr.HIGE and Nonsense★Machine”(Maywadenki)
- Jun 2020 SUSHI GO (Maywadenki)
- Now 2021 Microscopic Sun(Maywadenki)
< Video >
- January 1996, “Maywa Denki Gaho1” (Sony Music Entertainment)
- August 1996, “Maywa Denki Gaho2” (Sony Music Entertainment)
- August 1997, “Maywa Denki Gaho3” (Sony Music Entertainment)
- May 1998, “NAKI: 26 nonsense machines” (Sony Music Entertainment)
< DVD >
- July 2004 “Mechatronica” (Sony Music Direct)
- July 2004 “NAKI: 26 nonsense machines” (Sony Music Direct)
- Aug 2005 ” Nonsense musical instruments of Maywa Denki”(R and C)
- Dec 2014 Maywadenki 20th anniversary Live in AKASAKA BLITZ 2014 Rand C (Maywadenki)
- Sep 2021 Maywadenki BEHIND THE MASK (Maywadenki)
- Sep 2021 Dr. Hige and Nonsense ★ Machine (Maywadenki)
< Book >
- September 1997, “NAKI Encyclopedia” (NTT Publishing)
- April 1998, “Maywa Denki Company Profile” (Aspect)
- June 2000, “Maywa Denki Short Story” (Shinko Music)
- 2000, “Knock Man” (Yoshimoto Kogyo)
- November 2004, “Maywa Denki Nonsense Machines” (NTT Publishing)
- November 2004, “Edelweiss Program” (Yoshimoto Kogyo)
- August 2005,”Otaku Gyotaku”(Yoshimoto Kogyo)
- October 2006, “Maywa Denki’s Advertising design” (NTT Publishing)
- October 2007, “Maywa Denki Nonsense Machines” (URUSAI Entertainment, in TAIWAN)
- April 2012, “Nonsense Brain and sketch (Beta version) “