Eiji Mitooka

Eiji Mitooka (水戸岡 鋭治) is a Japanese industrial designer, illustrator, and managing director of the industrial design company Don Design Associates (ドーンデザイン研究所). He also works as a design consultant for Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu).

Biography
Mitooka graduated from Okayama Technical High School in 1965.

After graduating from high school, Mitooka worked at Studio Silvo Coppola in Italy before founding Don Design Associates in 1972. The company oversees design projects for buildings, interiors, railway vehicles, graphics, and products.

In October 2011, Mitooka was awarded the 59th Kikuchi Kan Prize, presented annually by Bungei Shunju literary magazine and the Society for the Advancement of Japanese Culture.

JR Kyushu projects

 * Kagoshima-Chuo Station (formerly Nishi-Kagoshima Station) building
 * Kumamoto Station building
 * 787 series Tsubame electric multiple unit, 1993 Blue Ribbon Award winner
 * 883 series Sonic electric multiple unit, 1996 Blue Ribbon Award winner
 * Yufuin no Mori II KiHa 72 diesel multiple unit train, 1999
 * 885 series Kamome electric multiple unit, 2001 Blue Ribbon Award winner
 * Yufuin no Mori I KiHa 70 series diesel multiple unit train refurbishment, 2003
 * Yufu DX KiHa 183 series diesel multiple unit train refurbishment, 2004
 * Hayato no Kaze KiHa 47 series diesel multiple unit train refurbishment, 2004
 * Trans-Kyushu Limited Express KiHa 185 series diesel multiple unit train refurbishment, 2004
 * 800 Series Shinkansen, 2005 Laurel Prize winner
 * KiHa 125-400 series Umisachi Yamasachi train (in service from 10 October 2009)
 * Ibusuki no Tamatebako diesel multiple unit train (in service from 2011)
 * KiHa 185 series A-Train (in service from 8 October 2011)
 * Seven Stars in Kyushu luxury excursion train (in service from October 2013)
 * 305 series EMU commuter trains for the Chikuhi Line (in service from February 2015)
 * Aru Ressha luxury excursion train (in service from August 2015)
 * BEC819 series battery EMU trains for the Fukuhoku Yutaka Line and Chikuhō Main Line (in service from October 2016)
 * Kawasemi Yamasemi two-car diesel multiple unit tourist train conversion (in service from spring 2017)
 * 811 series EMU refurbishment from 2017

Fujikyu projects

 * Fujikyu 1200 series Fuji Tozan Densha train refurbishment, 2009
 * Fujikyuko Line Shimoyoshida Station renovation, 2009
 * Fujikyuko Line Fujisan Station renovation, 2011
 * Fujikyu 6000 series electric multiple unit (in service from February 2012)
 * Fujikyu 8500 series Fujisan View Express train refurbishment, entering service in April 2016

Other railway projects

 * Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line train refurbishment (from March 2006)
 * Okayama Electric Tramway Momo tramcar
 * Hisatsu Orange Railway Orange Restaurant Express tourist train (in service from March 2013)
 * Kitakinki Tango Railway: Refurbishment of two KTR700 diesel cars (Akamatsu and Aomatsu) re-entering service from March 2013, at a cost of approximately 40 million yen
 * Kumagawa Railroad Yunomae Line: Five diesel cars to be delivered in fiscal 2013 and 2014
 * JR Shikoku Shiman Torocco (しまんトロッコ) train refurbishment, returning to service from 5 October 2013
 * Kitakinki Tango Railway: Refurbishment of KTR800 diesel car KTR803, re-entering service from 1 November 2013
 * Shinano Railway: 115 series Rokumon tourist train conversion
 * Kyoto Tango Railway: Rebuilding two two-car KTR8000 Tango Discovery DMU sets to be renamed Tango no Umi during fiscal 2015
 * Nagaragawa Railway: Rebuilding two Nagara 300 series diesel cars to become the Nagara sightseeing train, entering service in spring 2016
 * Izukyu Corporation: Rebuilding of Alpha Resort 21 train to become The Royal Express sightseeing train, entering service in summer 2017
 * Coto Coto Train: touristic train service run by the Heisei Chikuhō Railway Company in the Fukuoka Prefecture, opened in 2019.

Exhibitions

 * Eiji Mitooka Great Railway Era Exhibition: From Ekiben to Shinkansen (水戸岡鋭治の大鉄道時代展　駅弁から新幹線まで) Axis Gallery, Tokyo, 8–23 October 2011
 * Eiji Mitooka Railway Design Exhibition: From Ekiben to Shinkansen (水戸岡鋭治の鉄道デザイン展　駅弁から新幹線まで) Art Tower Mito Contemporary Gallery, 7 July - 30 September 2012