Artist Turns Computer, TV Parts into Tiny Creatures

By Akio Oikawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:15 JST, March 28, 2025

Artist Koichi Miyajima uses small electronic parts to make artworks that are cute and fun, and somehow warm the heart. If life existed in cyberspace, this might be what it would look like.

The objects are just a few centimeters high and shaped like animals such as little bears or robots that look like they could appear in a science fiction movie. They are made from capacitors and other parts used in computers and televisions. Miyajima named these works “Nanonano.”

“They’re cute and cool. I wanted to introduce such figures to the world,” he said.

Miyajima, who was born in Nagano Prefecture, said that he came up with the idea of creating such artworks while he was looking at electronic parts in his workshop when he was working as an illustrator.

He frequented places like the electronics shopping district in Akihabara, Tokyo, and then created original characters by hand, one by one, according to inspiration. He also uses materials for making accessories in his works as needed.

In recent years, he has further expanded the scope of his creations. In a work named “Moonlight,” a figure is playing the piano by a bonsai tree. The idea came to him when he listened to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” The trunk and branches are made from the wire-like metal found inside electrolytic capacitors.

“By twisting everything in the same direction, I can express the texture of the tree’s surface,” he said.

He has also made drums, motorbikes and three-wheeled vehicles such as Thai trishaws, using capacitors. He values the inspiration he gets in the moment he has an idea. “I make artworks by cutting wire and soldering as I am inspired,” he said.

The appearance of the characters is also gradually changing. Recently, he has created many characters with angel wings. “I feel that each of them has some kind of mission. For example, it could be ‘healing,’” he said.

Theme park in Roppongi

“Nanonano” artworks have been on display at the Tokyo City View shop on the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Tokyo since 2003. There are many works, such as Ferris wheels and a merry-go-round as well as figures, on display in the 1.3-meter-high, 3.4-meter-wide exhibition space. “I always wanted to create a theme park,” Miyajima said.