A teenager named Kenji Ekuan had witnessed the aftermath of the atomic bomb falling on his hometown hiroshima

一個叫做 Kenji Ekuan 的青少年在目睹了原子彈的餘威襲擊了他的家園 - 廣島

and was mourning the loss of his sister and father.

也為失去的姊姊和父親哀悼著

After seeing the devastation, Ekuan's path changed.

在看見如此慘烈的景況，Ekuan 的人生從此不同

He first enrolled as a Buddhist monk following in the footsteps of his father.

他一開始跟隨他父親的腳步成為了一個佛教僧侶

But instead he decided to become a "creator of things" and bring happiness to people.

但後來他卻決心成為一個「事物的創造者」，並且希望替眾人帶來歡樂

As a young designer, Ekuan got a contract to design a table top soy sauce bottle for food company Kikkoman.

身為一個年輕設計師，Ekuan 獲得 Kikkoman 食品公司的合約，要設計一個餐桌上使用的醬油瓶子

Soy sauce is a must for Japanese meals, but it was originally sold in big bottles that were hard to hold.

醬油是日本菜的必要元素，它起初是裝在大瓶子當中販售，但這種瓶子相當難以拿取

It took Ekuan three years and about a hundred prototypes to complete the design in 1961.

這花了 Ekuan 三年的時間，以及約一百種原型設計嘗試後終於在 1961 年完成了

The result is a small glass bottle with a narrow neck -- a shape reminiscent of traditional Japanese sake flasks.

最終的設計是一個有著細頸的小玻璃瓶，形狀類似日本傳統清酒瓶

It allows you to see how much sauce is left.

你可以看到還剩多少醬油

It's stable on surfaces and comfortable to hold.

立得穩也很好拿取

The inward angle of the tip of the spout is also perfect at preventing drips and controlling flow.

尖端內縮的角度也是防止溢出以及控制流量的完美設計

The design of the little soy sauce bottle was just the start of Ekuan's great journey.

這個小小醬油瓶只是 Ekuan 偉大旅程的序幕

He also went on to create other icons of Japanese design.

他也創造其他日本設計的圖標

In Japan Ekuan has become almost as recognisable as his bottle

在日本，Ekuan 幾乎與他的醬油瓶設計一樣知名

and fifty years later still appeared in commercials for the soy sauce.

五十年後仍在醬油廣告中看得到他

Today the bottle can be found on the tables of homes and restaurants in more than a hundred countries.

現在，這個醬油瓶可以在全球一百多國的家中和餐廳裡的餐桌上見到

And in 2015 the bottle was even exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

而 2015 年的時候，這個醬油瓶甚至被紐約當地藝術館展出

Simple but elegant, this is the design made to create a small moment of happiness,

簡單卻大方，這是創造片刻幸福的一個設計

without you even knowing it.

你卻可能完全沒有察覺