At this year’s Milan Design Week, celebrated Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa unveiled a vibrant new chapter in his career: Yuugu, a collection of children’s play sculptures created for pioneering educational company Jakuets. Bright, inviting, and intuitively shaped, the series made its debut outdoors at Triennale Milano, inviting children, and adults, to rediscover the joy of open-ended play.
Seated at a miniature tomato-red table from the new collection, Fukasawa reflected on his philosophy: “Children don’t need to be told how to play, an object just has to catch their attention and make them excited to play, without conscious thought.” His goal with Yuugu is to spark creativity by providing forms that trigger the imagination without dictating use.
Founded in 1916, Jakuets has spent over a century exploring how play shapes early education across Japan. Now, with Yuugu, its first international launch, the brand brings its rich history and Fukasawa’s distinctive approach to a global audience. The collection balances function, beauty, and imagination through objects designed to naturally engage children without overwhelming them.
Made from carbon fiber, each sculpture is formed with smooth, tactile surfaces, bold primary colors, and simple, fluid shapes. Pieces include Omochi, a rounded red form inspired by sweet rice cakes; Banri, a green undulating ring; House, a sunny yellow structure; Donut, a curved red loop; and Cube, a playful blue box punctured with circular cutouts.
For Fukasawa, surface quality was crucial. “Fingers and hands must stick to hold their weight. They must be safe and make children excited, without thinking,” he explained. Observing children interact with the pieces, stacking chairs, crawling through forms , reaffirmed the importance of letting play emerge naturally.
Interestingly, Cube was inspired by Tadao Ando’s architectural philosophy, particularly the idea of movement through detours rather than direct paths. “Adults can enjoy these play objects too,” Fukasawa noted. “We want to show people how to have a happy quality of life through these objects.”
As Haruko Tokumoto, fourth-generation manager at Jakuets, emphasized, Yuugu embodies a broader vision: “Play is so important for life. It’s about giving children the freedom to choose how they want to play. There are no cultural barriers, children everywhere know how to play. It goes beyond language.”
With Yuugu, Fukasawa reminds us that the simplest forms often spark the deepest imagination, and that design, at its best, transcends instruction to create worlds of possibility.
