Kenji Kawakami

Kenji Kawakami

Kenji Kawakami (川上 賢司, Kawakami Kenji?, born 1946 in Nara Prefecture) is the inventor of the Japanese craze Chindōgu.

Kenji Kawakami has founded the international Chindōgu society. The current president is Dan Papia. Chindōgu is the art of creating a product whose usefulness is precluded by its absurdity. Chindōgu is related to Rube Goldbergism. Chindōgu items must follow the ten tenets of Chindōgu. Masks with receptacles for 20 cigarettes (allowing a pack a day smoker to save time by smoking his dosage all at once), Fish Face Cover (a kitchen aid that allows the user to cut the head off fish without having the dead fish stare back at them), and Training High Heels (high heeled women’s shoes with tiny training wheels attached to either side of the spike heel) are all examples of Chindōgu.

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