Japan House in London’s Kensington opened yesterday with its inaugural exhibition, Futures of the Future. The space, funded by the Japanese foreign ministry, is designed to promote the country’s culture overseas through dining, retail and gallery exhibitions. The new show has been curated by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto and as well as showing models of his greatest work, it explores the compositional wonders of everyday things, such as a pine cone, a sieve and a number of meticulously stacked crisps. Fujimoto seems keen to debunk a myth around Japanese design, namely the fact that it is only about minimalism: “Most people recognise Japanese culture as clean, calm and being about Zen, and of course this is very important, but there is more diversity,” he explains. “A lot of it is not so much about being quiet but about being chaotic. Japanese culture has such range. If you look at a Japanese city for instance, it is very different to a Zen garden.”For more on our interview with Sou Fujimoto, listen to our episode of Monocle on Design.