Have you ever walked down a footpath or inside a train station in Japan and noticed the yellow markings everywhere? These lines go all the way to train stations, then to the platforms, and even public restrooms, hospitals, and other public places. This is an amazing Japanese innovation called "Braille For The Feet."
Firstly… what is braille? We probably all know what it is!
Braille was invented by a Frenchman by the name of Louis Braille, and is a system of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or who have low vision. Braille is not a language. Rather, it is a code by which many languages—such as English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and dozens of others—may be written and read. Braille is used by thousands of people all over the world in their native languages, and provides a means of literacy for all.
One very clever Japanese man took this system one step further and came up with the idea of tenji blocks, for use in public.
These embedded plates allow people to read the environment through touch, rather than sight, the way that braille allows people to read books.
The tenji block 点字ブロック (tenji burokku) was invented in Japan by a man called Seiichi Miyake, out of concern for a friend. He invented and tested them using his own money. Then, in 1967, Miyake’s design was installed outside a school for the blind in Okayama City.
In 1977, the Japanese National Railway was the first large scale adopter of tenji blocks, placing the grids along station platforms. They became so useful and popular that Japan adopted them in planning by 1985 and from there they’ve spread globally.
They are an invaluable part of the urban and suburban landscape, allowing visually handicapped residents to make their way to work, school, or wherever else they need to be as part of a viable, sufficiently self-reliant lifestyle.
Two types
Guidance blocks (誘導ブロック yuudou burokku)- A series of four raised parallel lines and are used to indicate a certain direction.
Warning blocks (警告ブロック keikoku burokku)- A grid of dots used to indicate some important or potentially dangerous area. They are often used before stairs, crosswalks, elevators, and at intersections of guidance blocks.
From Japan to the world
Thanks to Japan’s Seiichi Miyake and the urban planners in Japan’s biggest cities, we are now creating a built environment a little safer for the visually impaired and a little clearer for all citizens!