Dream Chaser ⚡️ on Nostr: Manhole covers are a familiar sight around the world. But did you know that designer ...
Manhole covers are a familiar sight around the world.
But did you know that designer manhole covers in Japan are currently gaining so much attention as a new type of region-specific item/artwork, that they can cost up to $900?
Japan’s decorated manhole covers initially took shape as a public relations campaign for sewers. Beginning in the 1950s, the cast plates featured simple geometric patterns, such as the “Tokyo” and “Nagoya” designs.
Yasutake Kameda conceived the intricate, artistic versions in 1985, to help warm a skeptical rural population to the idea of the costly but necessary modernization of the country’s sewer system.
Local design manholes in Japan feature elements special to a particular location: a town emblem, landmark, event, or official bird or flower. Today an estimated 95% of Japan’s 1,718 municipalities, across all 47 prefectures, now host their own unique covers.
Typically, a designed manhole cover costs approximately $585. The color, however, is applied carefully by hand, and nearly doubles the price of a manhole to more than $900.
But did you know that designer manhole covers in Japan are currently gaining so much attention as a new type of region-specific item/artwork, that they can cost up to $900?
Japan’s decorated manhole covers initially took shape as a public relations campaign for sewers. Beginning in the 1950s, the cast plates featured simple geometric patterns, such as the “Tokyo” and “Nagoya” designs.
Yasutake Kameda conceived the intricate, artistic versions in 1985, to help warm a skeptical rural population to the idea of the costly but necessary modernization of the country’s sewer system.
Local design manholes in Japan feature elements special to a particular location: a town emblem, landmark, event, or official bird or flower. Today an estimated 95% of Japan’s 1,718 municipalities, across all 47 prefectures, now host their own unique covers.
Typically, a designed manhole cover costs approximately $585. The color, however, is applied carefully by hand, and nearly doubles the price of a manhole to more than $900.