There is a famous hot spring called Kasanji in Hamamatsu, Shizoka. By fate, I was invited to the Hotel Kokonoe, run by the Entetsu Group, to view the annual firework show the last weekend in July. The scene from the hotel is picturesque with the waterfront of Hamanako Lake right out the door and Mt. Okusa in the background.　 And from this very spot we were to view the 5000 fireworks show. But in the meantime, we relished delicious delicacies of local fish and locally brewed sake. At 7:30 we heard the thundering “BOOM, BOOM!” signaling the start of the fireworks. The local children had written wishes on 1000 or more floating lanterns that now flowed in the lake current under the streams of exploding fireworks. It looks like the two launch pads for the fireworks were built in the middle of the lake. The setup is like a set of twins preparing to do battle, alternating the launch of fireworks, and trying to out do each other. But, fireworks are just not the same. Nowadays, there are various shapes, colors and even odd sounds. Yes, my guess is everything is devised so the audience won’t get bored. And that is something I just can’t understand. I really don’t think it is a very good idea to turn traditional Japanese techniques into high-tech entertainment just to indulge popular demand. We aren’t talking about LED`s. Fireworks don’t need to be that…

This excerpt is from an essay Mende contributed in December 2001. During a period of time, I often felt that my thoughts were rather unstable.  I had a habit of continuing conversations without coming to clear conclusions about whether something was good or bad, whether I liked it or disliked it. In essence, I had an indecisive personality that gauged the other person’s reactions while engaged in conversation. One could say this is typical of Japanese people, but I believe my profession as a designer contributed significantly to this tendency. We lighting designers have a job that involves listening to many people’s demands while skillfully handling contradictory conditions to solve a puzzle. It was after meeting Koharu Kisaragi that I was strongly compelled to reflect on this weakness of mine. Koharu Kisaragi, in complete contrast to me at that time, spoke about the light of the modern city with a strikingly fresh perspective.“I love glowing vending machines.” That was her first statement when we invited her to appear at the Lighting Detectives Practical Workshop Series that we organized in the fall of 1996. “Vending machines may seem to be everywhere in the city, but they’re actually passive. They can’t do anything on their own unless we humans approach them and access them. They don’t know what to do with themselves, and that blankness reminds me of urban Japanese people. Everyone is in a crowd, yet they’re alone…” she continued. At…

A mysterious installation of light called the Labyrinth of Light was announced by the Milano Salone 2021. https://www.nitto.com/jp/en/products/raycrea/ In collaboration with Nitto Electric Industry, LPA incorporated Raycrea, Nitto Electric Industry`s newly developed material, into a light and space design.  The installation was well received by visitors with the attention that defied our expectations.  Hosted in the midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic, there were admission restrictions in place, but a number of visitors lined up to get in.  Today, September 8th,  I am headed back to Tokyo early and raising my glass in a solo toast of relief.  I am very happy with the result, almost a perfect execution.  As architectural lighting designers, this kind of installation work is a whole different world of design.  The relationship between light and people is very close, for a very intuitive and stimulating result.  Especially in the case of this installation, the design is associated with axes of time, so the venue is similar to a theatre without an audience.  Visitors are free to roam throughout the labyrinth of light and follow what catches their eye.  However, while they are moving, scenes and lighting effects are changing, creating multiple-layers of light and confusion.  On a sunny day, visitors to the Salone experience the autumn sunlight of Italy, measured at 100,000 lux, before entering the building.  Upon entrance, a black wall directs visitors to the beginning of the labyrinth, where everyone seems to stop, look,…

Because of the pandemic I have not set foot in another country since last February, 15 months ago. Up until then, I would freely go on two or three business trips a month. So, there is this dark feeling, a bit like imprisonment, creeping in. I have a pretty daring mental spirit and I am largely unaware of huge stresses in my life. So, I kept telling myself that during the pandemic and this immobile lifestyle, it is a perfect opportunity to discover a new side to myself. As our lives have changed dramatically, I have been satisfied by my curiosity towards these changes. However, just this one time, if I was to say what I really feel, I might mutter a simple prayer to the heavens, “Please, oh, please, by any means, do something fast.” Huhhh…What is happening? This side of me is pathetic. I have realized lately that the green surrounding the new LPA office is what inspires and encourages this other side of me. Just one year ago on May 4th, I wrote an essay with a very lonely title, Note #80 “Alone in the New Office.” Rereading it now, I find it very interesting. As of one year ago, Chou Ward, Tsukuda 1 is the address of our new office surrounded by greenery. The huge office windows frame rich greenery swaying in the breeze and throughout the day expressions of the greenery constantly change, just leap…

In the warm family picture painted by Yasujiro Ozu there are two types of natural light;  glaring, bright sunlight and the incandescent lamp, symbolic of a cozy family.  In the film, daytime scenes always seem very carefully calculated.  Doors and windows are always wide open and abundant light streams into the rooms.  Family life is constructed against this bright external background.   In other words, even indoors the presence of nature outside is sufficiently felt, as if one is outside when they are actually inside.  So, in the film when a outdoor scene directly follows and connects to an indoor scene there is nothing unnatural about it and the screen flows uninterrupted.  Nothing feels so good as when the sliding paper doors, sliding lattice doors, and storm shutters are all completely open in the house.  Fresh air rushes in and moves about freely.  This is characteristic of Japanese lighting culture and unique to old family homes built using a wooden framework construction style. The “Tokyo Story” uses this feeling of openness during the daytime extremely well.  The presence of the outdoors is sensed by bright sunlight or a cloudy sky and these backgrounds and natural light subtlety expose the delicate emotional bonds of the family. After sunset, the second form of natural light emerges in the film.  Compared to the feeling of openness during the day, a single incandescent lamp represents the warm family bonds.   I typically call lamp light the…

I ran across a manuscript from a series published in Housing Magazine 25 years ago.  There was no magazine title or published date, but for the series titled “From Screen/ I want to copy this interior design!”  I used to analyze the lighting in scenes from movies.   After all these years I reread them and they are very interesting.  So I`d like to share two excerpts among them.  I wasn’t a person that had seen a lot of movies, but after accepting this column I became a regular at the movie theater.   Movies should be seen in the theater and the things to learn are unlimited.  “Diva” Blue Light and Shadow in a Paris Apartment  This scene is in a large loft in a renovated house.  Circular neon lights mounted on the walls glow.  The morning sun streams through a window, creating long shadows of the window grate.  At the tip of this rhythm of light and shadow, a white enamel bathtub stands alone.  A mysterious man is seen smoking a cigar through the steam while he soaks in his morning bath.  A Vietnamese women returns home. Quietly, the man says, “If you ever do that again I’ll send you back to Vietnam.”  “Don’t be mad.  I`m in a good mood right now.”  “Wait.”  “….”  Then the Diva`s angelic voice resonates throughout the loft.  “ The man can’t hide his surprise.  He takes the cigar out of his mouth and…

I started writing this column about 22 years ago.  Detective Note number 000 was released on August 9th, 1998.   Since then there have been blank periods with no posts, but today I am writing number 80.   I have reread bits and pieces of the previous 79 notes, which reveal glimpses of a wham-bam, comic show stretching over the past 20 years.  Each episode is entangled with unique light and shadow.  My point-blank approach is very me and amusing after all these years.  In the past month, and in the shadow of the raging coronavirus outbreak, I have reread some difficult books still on my bookshelf after tens of years and a few of my more light and humorous essays. In my younger days, it seems I found  it easier to write more transparent material.  As I have gotten older, my writing seems to be more self-conscious.  It isn’t interesting or beautiful writing at all.  This coming June I will reach a milestone of my 70th birthday, I think I`d like to take this opportunity to write and not worry about what others think.  Fortunately or unfortunately, LPA`s spacious new office was ready to move into this last February.   And here I sit all alone in our new office.   All staff are telecommuting from home, but I communicate with them daily at our regular morning ZOOM staff meeting and exercise session.   Although, I have to say, working by myself is very…

This column was written on June 3, 2017 and recently found while I cleaned my PC. Barcelona`s La Rambla basks in the spring sunshine. It has been awhile, but I am just wondering today with limited cash, a credit card, and iPhone in my pocket. I usually have a backpack slung over my shoulder with various pens and paper, PC, laser pointer, wallet, date book, and a collapsible umbrella inside. I noticed that without the burden of carrying a bag, one`s way of walking is different and things that catch your eye are different. Today I even have the freedom to take a second glance at the women walking by. I didn`t bring anything with me today because La Rambla is a very vulnerable place for tourist carrying stuff. I suspect blending in like a local, elderly gentleman is a better option. There are many great places to visit in Barcelona and the Market La Boqueria is one of them. In any city, a trip to the market will reveal rare ingredients or hints to the local food life, but you can also find various emotions among the people, like delight, anger, sorrow, or pleasure. Of course, the products and items for sale are interesting in themselves, but the exchange between vendor and customer is also very interesting. Every day is business as usual at the market, but each city has its own style. From the use of a butcher…

The cherry blossoms have fallen and scattered and the riverside before my eyes grows over in a mixture of shades of green. The smells of new green leaves and the scent of spring coming to an end rides on the breeze. It is a rare Sunday with no work or business trips, just fine weather. As I was watching the surface of the water along the Sumida River, I heard a little voice “Have you forgotten about your Detective Note?” So pitiful, I can`t even remember the last time I wrote a Detective Note…. So, I apologize and I have decided to write down a few simple thoughts. The topic this time is the chemistry between twilight and an oil lamp. Before my trip to Vietnam last week, I took a few pictures in my rooftop garden. Just as I was lighting an oil lamp for the dinner table, across the river, the evening sky was a beautiful gradation in the full blue moment. At my house, we like to enjoy the start of the evening with drinks and appetizers outside, then come in for the main dish. I don`t think I even need to explain how great this slow, relaxing and rambling time before the main course feels. Alfresco dining with a slight breeze and the last light of the day is the best. Imagine the orange flame of an oil lamp against the backdrop of this clear blue…

Ever seen a sign that says “No Double-Dipping”? These days you don’t see them as much, but you used to find them in the立ち食い (tachigui – standing eat) kushiage (deep-fried skewer) shops in the old downtown areas of Osaka. You’d be chugging down cheap booze like “Poppy” or “Bakudan” while watching piping hot skewers get fried right in front of you. Then, you’d dunk the whole skewer into a shallow, enamel bowl of watery Worcestershire sauce and devour it in one go. I hear this is the original Osaka-style kushiage culture. The “no double-dipping” rule means you absolutely cannot dip a skewer back into the sauce once it’s touched your mouth. Of course, there’s a huge variety of kushiage ingredients. I’m a big fan of this kind of place, so whenever I went to Osaka on business in the old days, I’d often soak in this atmosphere by myself. These kushiage joints always have a pile of shredded cabbage for all you can eat, but it’s funny – there are hardly any soft leaves, mostly just the hard core and the bits around it. And it’s surprisingly good! You take a big bite of a sauce-covered skewer and immediately follow it with a crunchy mouthful of cabbage. That textural contrast is just so satisfying. But seriously, where do all the soft cabbage leaves disappear to? I’ve been going to Osaka quite a bit for the past five or six years….

What God do I put my hands together for and pray to? Of course I’ve been to many shrines and temples, but also frequent many Christian churches and Muslim mosques while in foreign countries. I watch the worshipers there and pray as they pray. This is my religious etiquette. In any land and with any people there are not just fun times, but also trying times and sad times. Some might think my religious practice is shady, but in my own level of rational and logic I believe that it just seems right to worship both God and Buddha. Of course I am an atheist and have no definite religious affiliation. However, in the last few years, I have gone to worship at a local shrine, Meiji Shrine, near our office in Shibuya Ward. These are not just spontaneous visits, but official visits by appointment. First, we were involved with the lighting design of Meiji Shrine and accepted their kind offer. Nervously, two other staff and I were all of a sudden thrust into the middle of an official ceremony, but this year was different. LPA applied for an official visit and my suit and tie clad staff and I spent a reflective moment in the shrine. We could hear the throng of a drum, letting the gods know we were coming as we headed towards the inner shrine. While in procession, a low beam of sunlight from behind fell…

Ever since the new library was finished I have wanted to go and see it, so 15 members of the Lighting Detectives gathered around dusk for the Tama Art U. campus version of a city walking tour. It is well known that the architect is Toyo Ito and furniture designed by Kazuko Fujie, but for the past 10 years Professor Satoshi Tabuchi has been coordinating the architectural and developmental planning of Tama Art U. Campus. In spite of his busy schedule Prof. Tabuchi was able to give the Lighting Detectives a private campus tour. The library was built on a hill and the first floor slopes with this natural incline. It was a little bit peculiar and although, I have experienced a non-horizontal park built by Arakawa + Gin before, a sloping floor aroused a slight strangeness. I was taken back to the feeling of running around in the sandlot as a child or walking uphill on a faraway. However, while the floor is sloping, all of the tabletops are level. As you sit and concentrate on your work or books you just forget about the sloping floor underfoot. Since we are the Lighting Detectives, out came the luminance meters to calculate floor, table top, vertical, ect. lux levels. I forgot the exact numbers, but tabletop luminance levels were right around 400 lux. This is a good number for super ambient up lighting to the ceiling. Floor lamps with oversized…

Once every two years「Light & Building」, the world’s largest lighting trade fair, opens in Frankfurt and I always make a point of attending. This year was no different, as my fourth time to attend, along with five colligates from LPA; we took up residence in Frankfurt for three days. The Frankfurt trade fair started just eight years ago, but its predecessor was the Hanover trade fair. I used to attend that fair as well and it just seemed like a fun time. All trade fair event halls are the same crowd of people poking around the booths until they are bushed, but the Frankfurt trade fair has a different feel. Like Europe in the springtime when fresh white asparagus should begin showing up on the menu, I just can’t not go! I said we were at the exhibition for three days, but really its only two and you can’t do much in two days. I leave the combing of the huge event hall to the younger staff and I seem to network more than I look at the fixtures. I am thrilled to see old friends from the lighting profession again. Just prowling around the exhibition hall and I’m bound to be tapped on the shoulder or suddenly hugged or hear my name called from afar, endless boisterous encounters. There are also those encounters that I don’t try to initiate or avoid altogether, but sometimes there is no other choice….

It seems that there are quite a few people who are ruffled by the frequency, or rather infrequency, of the Lighting Detective Note. Since the start of the Lighting Detectives many of those that work close to me have pleaded and tried to persuade me with a kind “Please write a new note” every once in awhile. But behind all of those smiles and I-really-look-forward-to-your-column`s I can sense a little bit of a threat. So, again I apologize for the delay. I’m not a big fan of the blog, so my columns tend to be few and far between with more eccentric themes. However I`d like to try a little more relaxed style, maybe something blog-like, to honestly discuss light, social review, and maybe some personal confessions within a tone of permissible degree. With that said, as I write this, I am sitting on the Shinkasen on my way home from a day trip to Osaka, business of course. I have my PC open before me and in the upper right hand corner of the screen a certain folder has caught my eye, ｢Unfinished Tanteidan Notes.｣ Inside that folder another folder titled「051210 AA Workshop」had four pictures already selected just waiting for the go ahead. December 2005, two years ago I meant to write this column and the pictures and inspiration have just been waiting in the flanks. How rude of me! Kazuo Iwamura, an architect and professor at Tokyo City…

The first time I met Ingo Maurer was 20, maybe 25 years ago, I`m not quite certain, but I do remember that it was he who contacted me for a meeting. At that time I had ran a very successful essay, “ Poetic Sentiment and High Tech” in the magazine ｢SD｣. Ingo had read that short essay and said, “I want to meet the Mende who wrote this.” That powerful essay was in fact a critique about a certain Ingo Maurer, whom I had never met, and his work as a lighting designer. Ingo came to my office with a support group of two Japanese friends to voice his appreciation for my critique and presented me with a newly designed floor lamp. In large measure, we seemed to respect my essay and actually liked it, but with a little bit of bitterness. From that day on, this cheerful and easy-going, but lofty old man seemed very friendly and familiar and is someone I have taken a liking to. Occasionally we still have the chance to meet, usually at his exhibitions in Tokyo, Frankfurt, or Milano. Now he has a studio full of young enthusiastic followers who continue to thrill us with their own creations of light as we send yells of encouragement from the sidelines. The title “ Poetic Sentiment and High Tech” praises the production of Ingo`s free willing playfulness constantly being matched with the most advanced technology, in…

Already it has been seven years since I started to teach in the Department of Scenography, Display, and Fashion Design at Musashino Art University. Of course, I am not only teaching my students about lighting design, but the third-year students who choose my seminar class observe society and work on projects through a filter of “light”. This could be a politically biased education, but lighting is absolutely necessary in every aspect of our lives. Particularly in this department, I can’t image scenography, display, or fashion design without light and if my politically biased lighting education helps to nurture a unique human resource then fantastic! This year, with my third-year students in tow, we visited Iwamuro Hot Spring in Niigata Prefecture a number of times to work on a lighting project to boost economic development in the area. You can think of this as a modern group project by Musashino Art U. for the economical development of this hot spring town. From street planning, graphic design, and souvenirs to street furniture and the soundscape, we have incorporated a wide range of variables as we push this project along. Our team prose was “A Lighting Plan for Environmental Design” employed with proposals for extensive lighting designs. On two of our three previous trips, we surveyed the area and did lighting experiments. For the future of Iwamuro Hot Springs it is uncertain what kind of lighting they will propose, but my students were…

“Zaha”such a commanding name. You may have heard of this famous name belonging to one famous lady. My own name “Kaoru” has a more feminine ring to it and may be more fitting for a lady of such great accomplishment. Ms. Zaha Hadid is an architect in the UK, but hales from Baghdad, Iraq. I first had the opportunity to met with Zaha some 20＋ years ago while she was working in Tokyo. We were planning the lighting for a boutique of her design in the Azabu district of Tokyo. Unfortunately, the plans fell through and the architecture was never realized. I asked her one time when she was born and by coincidence she and I are born in the same year, 1950, and somehow it made me feel closer to her. But I am such a small man, compared to her larger physic and presence. After the defunct Tokyo project I had the opportunity to work with Zaha again to design lighting fixtures and to help with the lighting for a Singapore City Planning project. And I have always felt that I have a closeness or connection with her and her projects. This same Zaha has designed the most beautiful lighting fixture! The fixture uses the popular LED units, but effectively hides the bright twinkle and sparkle they are so famous for to create this charming, twisting pendant. The pedant hangs by an arm extending from the ceiling, but…

As an architectural lighting designer, I have always thought this profession was not about the form or shape of lighting fixtures, but have argued that lighting design is about the relationship between lighting and people. Japanese lighting design is still relatively new and I am torn between hope and despair for the profession as most conversations revolve around whether a fixture looks cool or not. I always thought there are more important aspects to discuss. But as of late, I`ve come to realize and maybe most people would tend to agree with me, that lighting design isn’t just about the amount of light or shape of a fixture. But at the same time, we, as lighting designers, have to realize that we are not in the business of distributing downlights and spotlights everywhere. And so a few years back, I thought I might design a Mende-style chandelier. Of course I did not want to just reproduce a copy of a glittery European chandelier or redesign a florescent light pendant for Japanese residential use, but through the dynamic use of material, produce a delicate, but one-of-a-kind architectural chandelier, or so I thought. Unfortunately, in this world things don’t always go as you would have planned and Swarowsky, a well-established crystal chandelier manufacture, unveiled a new chandelier, very close to the design I had envisioned. It happened at the Euroluce in Milan this last spring. Have a look at the top-secret photos…

This time each year I rely heavily on the Rain Gods not to forsake me. June 22nd, including summer and winter, I count this as the 7th time we have held the Candle Night Event and today’s weather forecast was rain. If it is just a sprinkle the show will go on, but this year the prediction was a downpour. After five years of great weather for the event, it looked like our time was up. Come to think of it, the Lighting Detectives seem to get rained on or out of a lot of previous events, with most of the blame coming my way and my incompatibility with the Rain Gods. It was time to fight for this event and keep our perfect score at Lighting Detectives 7: Rain Gods 0! After much chanting and praying to the Rain Gods, at 7 o`clock, just before the event was to start, miraculously nobody needed an umbrella! The pictures to the right are of the Jingu-mae Elementary School children and their parents as they gather near Meiji Shrine, the community service group, Green Bird, and the Tama Art University students who attended preparatory workshops. Everyone having a good time and without umbrellas! For more details of this years event there is a nice write-up on our website, but I want to specially recognize the Harajuku Community Planning Board and Omotesando Hills for their cooperation this year. With their help it seemed…

This topic may not directly concern the Lighting Detectives, but here’s what is on my mind. As a lighting design office and having to compete within this growing profession, I’d like to tell you about our recent staff workshop. As the creator of this workshop and after seeing the “serious faces” of my hardworking staff, I had to try out my new toy, a digital camera, to capture the moment. LPA`s two offices, Tokyo and Singapore have grown to a staff of 30 with the average age in the late twenties. During this daylong workshop, we used previous LPA projects and noteworthy mounting detail as a platform to discuss LPA`s responsibilities, perspectives, and rights when dealing with architects, designers, and builders. However the situation in recent years has been good for business, but not for the education of our younger staff. We, veterans, have been too busy to properly rely the tricks of the trade and communicate with our younger staff so I have decided to schedule these biannual staff workshops. I don’t plan to make the workshops a huge production, like at a big firm, but, in a relaxing atmosphere, create a meaningful opportunity to discuss relevant and important topics, things on the mind of the younger staff. But, take a look at these photos. The staff are very serious and poised! For my part of the presentation, I created a flow chart outlining the design process from start…