Atarashii Mikan no Mukikata (New Ways to Peel a Mandarin)

Book review:

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It is the season for mandarins in Japan and mikan are traditionally associated with winter and New Year. Besides eating the fruit, here is a hobby that combines mottainai spirit and creativity.

This is a series of 2 craft/picture books that introduces a unique Japanese art. No, not origami, but mikan peel art.

One day, while eating a mikan (mandarin orange), Japanese artist Yoshihiro Okada noticed that the way he removed the peel made it look vaguely like a scorpion. Intrigued by the idea of creating something out of the mikan peel that people usually throw away, giving it life, Okada came up with ways to make various animals out of mikan peels. Keeping with the spirit of traditional Japanese origami (which allows only folding), Okada uses only a single sheet of mikan peel to create each shape, showing how one mikan peel holds limitless possibilities – the whole peel is used, with no parts discarded.

There are three core steps in creating mikan peel art:

1.       Draw lines on the mikan.

2.       Cut along the lines using a box cutter/scissors.

3.       Gently remove the peel, with the help of a toothpick/skewer.

The mikan can also be substituted with an orange or similar round citrus fruit.

The books contain easy-to-follow diagrams showing how to cut the peel into various animal shapes, such as birds, fish, and even dinosaurs. There are 25 projects in volume 1, and 21 projects in volume 2, each with a difficulty rating out of 5. A series of humourous short stories written and illustrated by Keisuke Kamiya about Mukio-kun, a boy with a talent for peeling mikan, links the projects together.

Shelf: 594 OKA 1 (@ children book section)
Atarashii mikan no mukikata. [1] : zen 25-shu.
by Okada Yoshihiro and Kamiya Keisuke.
Tōkyō : Shōgakukan, 2010.
63 pages : colour illusrations ; 21 cm.
Text in Japanese.
ISBN: 978-4-09-227146-3

Shelf: 594 OKA 2 (@ children book section)
Atarashii mikan no mukikata. 2 : zen 21-shu.
by Okada Yoshihiro and Kamiya Keisuke.
Tōkyō : Shōgakukan, 2011.
63 pages : colour illusrations ; 21 cm.
Text in Japanese.
ISBN: 978-4-09-227154-8

6review, new 2020 01, review 2020 01, jcentral, mikan, mandarin, craft, hobby, okada yoshihiro, fruit carving,