Bullet train, Coca-Cola bottle designer Ekuan dies
JAPANESE industrial designer Kenji Ekuan, whose works ranged from a bullet train to the red-capped Kikkoman soy sauce dispenser as familiar as the classic Coca-Cola bottle, has died. He was 85.
A former monk, Mr Ekuan crafted a tabletop bottle for Kikkoman in 1961, winning international popularity both for the handy, flask-shaped dispenser and of course for the salty brown condiment flavouring many Asian cuisines.
He said he wanted to design a small bottle because of his childhood memory of his mother pouring soy sauce from a half-gallon bottle to a tabletop dispenser.
He also designed the Komachi bullet train.