“We often think that communication with words is sufficient. But it is actually not even close to enough. I believe that spiritual and emotional communication comes from cultural aspects. The Japanese traditional sense of beauty contributes to this spiritual and emotional communication. For example, the sense of beauty that comes from the tea ceremony, a Japanese-style room or garden. Even everyday affairs, such as bathing and eating, as well as statues of Buddha, and historical and religious affairs. They have all helped our way of communication. I think we have it as our base. A beautiful thing is not necessarily complete in itself. Rather than just seeing the beautiful centrepiece, we have to understand the surroundings to allow us to understand completely the intent of others. We call this mitate (judgement) or saho (code).”

Was this philosophy something you developed over time?

“I am still moving forward – recognising more and more the possibilities of light. For example, as Le Corbusier said, we call a container in which to put water a ‘glass’; for him, architecture is a ‘receptor of light’. We pour water into a clear glass. The water fills in the shape of the glass. If you think of water as light, when you have finished a building, the last thing you pour in is the light. The light fills the architecture and oozes out. So one way to look at architecture is as a receptor, a container for light. This is not something that hit me in the face all of a sudden; it grew gradually. I spent the first 10 years of my life as a lighting designer improving my technical skills. During that time I worked as chief designer with the firm of Ms. Ishii. During the following 10 years, I became more positive about asserting my opinions and became more proactive about expressing my design. It was during that time that everything changed. It was the first time I reflected on myself, about what my backbone is and what it means to be Japanese.”

Do you have a specific way of approaching a project?

“The mission of a designer is to fulfil the terms of the client within the set budget. And although what I have said may sound like an artist talking, I believe we can achieve our design philosophy no matter what the budget may be. This is because, even if we were only able to use one lamp in a spacious area, we can implement various design controls to show how one lamp can be diverse and make a difference (unless, of course, people only want on or off). We are mainly involved in big projects, but what is crucial is to see if the end user are the same. They are often slightly different. It may demand difficult techniques, but we always strive to realise a comprehensive design for the end users when making a presentation to our client. Therefore, even if there is a budget issue, it does not concern the end users. The value of light ultimately perceived by the end users has to stand on its own without a consideration of financial factors such as cost performance.”

Can you describe some of your projects for us?

“We particularly value Japanese cultural and local projects, in particular ones in Kyoto. The Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Temple) in Kyoto is very unusual. It has gold plating on the structure and a finished gold surface, but inside there is a concentration of purity and excellent examples of Japanese art. We made the gilding into a silhouette. By lighting the surrounding mountains, we revealed only the silhouette of the structure. Actually, underneath the gilding there is the pitch black plaster temple. The concepts of ‘inner space’ or ‘having a universe inside oneself’ found in Oriental philosophy are not conveyed by looking at the temple objectively, but such a world of expression is made possible by using lighting.”

What emotions were you trying to express?

“Astonishment. Because it does not show the physical object. Lighting generally illuminates the object directly. When we undertook lighting for the Byodoin Temple in Kyoto, we achieved all the lighting through reflection from the water. What we were trying to achieve was to express and convey the flow of time – the 1000 years that this wooden structure has existed.

Another interesting project was the Beautiful Fukushima Future Expo in 2001. It is an environmental expo. We placed 3000 objects in a 24-hectare space. We used a combination of simple technologies, without any unnecessary wiring. All the lights of the pavilions are set to modulate periodically. Expos are for people and lights are necessary for humans; other living creatures do not require light at night. It generated a very negative response. People felt it was such a dark expo.

Using an LED system, I achieved natural programmes of energy circulation without unnecessary wiring.

Each unit has an individual microphone and the lights flash when the wind blows through it. It is very easy for humans to intentionally control a fake environment; it is difficult to produce a presentation to touch people’s hearts while keeping it natural.”

Have you undertaken other environmental projects?

“We tried an interesting experiment in Ehime. It features old Japanese housing, which creates the ambience of this town. In order to create a night scene of the town, we proposed creating the light based on how light oozed from the windows. We called in ‘window light’. But to realise this concept, we had to explain the concept to each of the owners. We went door to door, and finally received the cooperation of all 200 households. They also agreed to use their own electricity and the municipality agreed to reimburse the costs at the end of the project. It lasted for three months and then we went door to door again to pay them. All the 200 households received a few hundred yen and they all asked: ‘Did it require such a small amount of money?’ The point we made is that people do not fully understand what energy use really costs.

“We all know we must reduce energy. Take illumination of offices. I think it is possible to reduce the light intensity from 750 lux to 500 lux. It would save the output of one atomic power plant. When people understand this, they can make a choice. In Asia, in Japan particularly, fluorescent tubes with more than 4000 Kelvin
are used in the living environment. What has become noticeable in the past five years is that when you ride the bullet train from west Japan to Tokyo, the colour temperature of the residential windows goes down rapidly the closer you get to Tokyo. In those past 5 years, the lighting trend is changing from dense white light in apartments to warmer colours.”

You mentioned Le Corbusier earlier; are there other people who have influenced you?

“I am most influenced by the Japanese people. Buddhist priests. Gardeners. I learn a lot from them. I was first heavily influenced by the West, but lately I am more influenced by Japan.

Saying aroma is sensed by the nose answers nothing. You have to widen your imagination fully to truly understand your feeling when you are in contact with a certain aroma. Only then, can you mount the steps of creativity.”