Sori Yanagi was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1915. He served as a Japanese furniture designer who prioritized modernism in his works. Yanagi studied Tokyo Art School in 1934, where he showed interest in both art and architecture. Some of Yanagi's early influencers included Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, and his interests moved from painting to buildings to design and objects After World War II, Yanagi designed a variety of products, including furniture, pedestrian overpasses and even three-wheeled vehicles. One of his most famous works was the "Butterfly Stool." Created in 1956, this stool included a two-piece form that helped the work resemble a butterfly's open wings. Also, the stool's shape looked similar to the gateway of a Shinto shrine or an antique samurai helmet, a reflection of Yanagi's Japanese design roots. The Butterfly Stool was praised by critics for its simple yet thought-provoking design. It won numerous awards over the years and is included as part of the collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Ruble Museum. Yanagi passed away in 2011 at age 99. However, his works continue to inspire furniture designers, and his idea that "true beauty is not made; it is born naturally" is still reflected in many innovative furniture designs today.