What Is MUJI?

Mujirushi Ryohin, MUJI’s name in Japanese, translates as “no-brand quality goods.”
The brand mark and the brand name, which are well-recognized by designers, convey a certain image to people beyond factors such as the functionality, quality or value of the product itself.
Mujirushi Ryohin was created in Japan in 1980 with the development of 40 products in the areas of apparel, household goods and food—which, as the name indicates, had no brand but were good-quality products.
Japan at that time was undergoing rapid economic growth and entering an age where goods were made in mass quantities and later thrown away.
Seeing this, MUJI started as the antithesis of the mass consumption society.
Its origin was in thoroughly rationalizing the manufacturing process, with the goal of creating simple, low-cost, good-quality products.

Three Principles of Product Development

1. Selection of materials
2. Streamlining of processes
3. Simplification of packaging

We have valued these three principles since our foundation, and they remain unchanged to this day. For instance, if you omit the bleaching process for pulp, the resulting paper is light beige in color.
MUJI uses this paper not just to make notebooks and memo pads, but also for its packaging and labels.
The ensuing products are remarkably pure and fresh.
MUJI’s products, born from highly rational manufacturing processes, are extremely simple. That is to say, they are like empty vessels. Simplicity and emptiness yield the ultimate universality, embracing the feelings and thoughts of all people.

In stark contrast to the prevailing over-embellished products in the marketplace, MUJI’s products won wide appreciation and made a great impact not only in Japan but throughout the world.
MUJI does not make items to elicit strong preferences, such as “This is what I really want” or “I must have this.” Rather, our goal is to give customers rational satisfaction, best expressed as “This will do.” We believe this will lead to “a truthful and sustainable life for all.” “This is what I really want” expresses both faint egoism and discord,while “This will do” has a sense of simple reasoning.
In fact, it may even incorporate a sense of humility and even a little disquiet.
MUJI’s goal is to dispel that slight disquiet hidden within and, together with customers, elevate “This will do” to a state filled with clarity and confidence.

We have been credited with being “resource-saving,” “low-priced," “simple,” “anonymous” and “nature-oriented.” Without placing a disproportionate emphasis on any one of these assessments, MUJI aims to live up to all.

Today, there are more than 1,400 MUJI stores around the world, offering a wide array of items and services, from clothing and household goods to food, restaurants, spatial design and even houses.
But the foundation of our ideology has remained the same, and like a compass that points due north, we will continue to orient ourselves to the basics and universality of daily life.