Yamsys Works“Frog and Bikyakudake”》、Ars Corporation/chokigallery提供
I went to Yamanashi after hearing about a man who makes living creatures out of paper.
Though “creatures” might be misleading—almost all of them were frogs.
He used to keep real frogs.
But one day, the crickets he fed them escaped and swarmed the house.
After that, his wife told him to stop keeping them.
He couldn’t keep frogs anymore.
Yamsys Works, “Cardboard Frog (Toad)”
Ars Corporation / chokigallery
Ars Corporation/chokigallery提供
Yamsys Works, left: “Jagaeru” right: “Cha-no-ji Frog”
Ars Corporation/chokigallery提供
So instead, he began making frogs—
using the printed patterns on cardboard tea boxes he found at the supermarket.
Before long, he was using anything with a pattern:
coffee cartons, juice boxes, even snack packaging.
Yamsys Works, “No-Pants Red Ogre”
Ars Corporation / chokigallery
Ars Corporation/chokigallery提供
Almost no one in his town or at his workplace knows about his work.
And yet, his frogs have quietly found their way into the world.
Now, orders arrive from overseas—
from Europe, from the United States.
“Could you sell me this frog?”
Messages like that keep coming.
Yamsys Works, “Frog and Phallus impudicus” Ars Corporation / chokigalleryArs Corporation/chokigallery提供
Not all of them are from buyers.
One day, he received a direct message
from the president of a capsule toy company.
And eventually, his frogs became products.
The frogs that began as supermarket cardboard
now sit inside translucent capsules.
by Takeshi Kikkawa
Yamsys Works, "A Summer Night"Ars Corporation/chokigallery提供
Ars Corporation/chokigallery提供
Gallery
Yamsys Works
“Frog and Bikyakudake”
Yamsys Works
Demonic Frog (Navy)
Yamsys Works
Medeta Gaeru
Yamsys Works
The Frog That Became a Capsule Toy
Yamsys Works @yamshis_works
What kind of paper do you use?
I use empty cardboard from tea and juice cartons, or snack boxes—things you can find at supermarkets and drugstores. I like working with the printed patterns and lettering that are already on them. I also often use papers like TANT, NT Rasha, and Mi-Teintes.
What tools do you rely on most?
Craft Choki
[G Classic] Ars Nouveau Long Arm GC-380
I’ve been using Craft Choki scissors, with their large grips and sharp blades, for many years.GC-380Because I rotate the paper as I cut, the long handles of its long-arm design are especially useful.