Tokyo River Tour: Nihonbashi River + Kanda River + Sumida River2022.10.22　　Sachiko Segawa + Mami Kono + Noriko Higashi The day after “Day of Light”, on October 22, we held a kids’ workshop for the first time in about three years. Due to COVID-19, we had not been able to organize it, but this year we launched the project with the strong wish to resume. This workshop, titled “River Tour Part 2,” revisited the Nihonbashi River – Kanda River – Sumida River route that we first explored in 2016. The idea was to let children experience the nightscape of central Tokyo from the riverside perspective, something they rarely get to see.On the day, 11 children and 15 adults including staff — 25 participants in total — joined the river tour. The participants gathered at Nihonbashi as dusk settled, and the boat set sail, heading west along the Nihonbashi River. Since most of the Nihonbashi River is covered by the Shuto Expressway, there is little chance to see the open sky. From time to time, the orange glow of high-pressure sodium lamps leaked through from the expressway above. The Nihonbashi River is also lined with many bridges, ranging from old to newly built, so one can see plenty of the “undersides” of both bridges and the expressway. Responding to a suggestion from the Chief Mende — “Try imagining how you would light these hidden sides to make them beautiful” — the children…

Night Walk in Aoyama and Photo Taking2024.11.02 Sachiko Segawa Let’s go out to Tokyo at night and find lighting heroes and villains!Under the cooperation of Taritari Inc., we held a children’s workshop in 2024 with this theme. Despite the rainy weather, 10 children participated. First, they listened to a talk about light from our chief, Mr. Mende, and then Ms. Mizuno from Taritari gave a talk about the old townscape around Omotesando Station. After a brief orientation, we headed out into the rain to find lighting heroes and villains. Originally, we planned to divide into four groups at the Omotesando intersection and explore four different areas, but due to the heavy rain and the number of participating children, we decided at the last minute to walk the same route together as one group. First, we walked from the office buildings along Aoyama-dori to Nonoaoyama, a mixed-use residential and commercial complex built on the site of the former Aoyama Kitamachi apartments. Then, we strolled along the adjacent walkway with its greenery and stream. Despite the rainy weather and limited visibility, the children enthusiastically pointed their cameras at the lights that caught their interest, capturing photos of the calming lights on the walkway and the blue illuminations of the restaurants beyond. As this workshop was primarily for upper elementary school students, some of them made comments that were as insightful as those of adults. After leaving the walkway, we walked through a…

“Let’s light up the way to the shrine!” Collaborated with Ito Architectural Sudio.2024.07.13 Noriko Higashi We are invited by Ito Achitecutral Studio and held a children workshop in Omishima Island, Ehime Prefecture. We thought about how we could make the approach at night a beautiful and comfortable space with the children. A children’s workshop of the Ito Juku, which is led by architect Toyo Ito, was held in Omishima, Ehime Prefecture. Mr. Mende and I participated in the workshop as instructors. The theme was “Let’s light up the way to the shrine!” Before the Seto-Ohhashi Bridge was opened, the sole means of transportation to Omishima was by boat. Consequently, the pathway connecting the port to Oyamazumi Shrine on the island used to be very busy. Nowadays, visitors cross the bridge by car and park their cars in the parking lot next to the shrine, so the approach to the shrine is rarely visited and became sparsely populated and quiet. Various efforts are being made to revive the bustle of the approach to the shrine, and this children workshop was one of them. 15 elementary school students from Imabari City joined this workshop and some children came from the neighborhoods, while others rode the bus from outside the island. First, Mr. Mende explained what lighting can do and what kind of light sources are available. He also darkened the room and had the participants look at actual light sources and their…

Let’s think about the importnace of even the smallest light in the dark 2023.11.25-26　　Sachiko Segawa＋Noriko Higashi＋Mami Kono Nakanoya, a 119-year-old private house, and participants こどもワークシWe have held several “Irori (hearth)” gatherings at the Children’s Workshop as a way to experience the darkness, and we have always been thinking about the idea of spending the night in an old private house.The workshop was designed to fully engage all five senses, with the expectation thatr spending the night using as little electricity as possible and only small lights would reveal something different from the usual.This year’s children’s workshop was held in an old house in Otaki Town, Chiba Prefecture, under the theme “Let’s think about the importance of small lights in the dark!For these few years, we could not hold the event due to the COVID-19, or when we did hold it, we didn’t get opportunities to have time talking with the children. This year, however, we decided to have an overnight program to spend time with the children to feel the light. 6 children, ranging from 5 years old to 2nd grade elementary school students, gathered and enjoyed the workshop. The children designed lanterns freely with pens and cellophane This old house, called Nakanoya, has a thatched roof and the Irori hearth. In order to spend the night without relying on modern lighting as much as possible, we first made lanterns. The children made the lanterns by drawing pictures and pasting…

2022.09.10　Singapore Lighting Detectives After 2 years of being quiet during the Mid-Autumn Festival, we were able to finally participate in the community event organised by the local grassroot committee of Tanjong Pagar. We held a lantern-making workshop in the early evening of Saturday, 10 September 2022 in conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival. The festivities were organised by a place-making committee Discover Tanjong Pagar overseeing the businesses and people of the district. The theme was “upcycling” and we were limited to the use of recycled materials for the activity. It was tough to collect items like plastic bottles, cardboard boxes and bottle caps 2 weeks before the event to gather enough for around 50pax estimated to turn up. We had assistance from the organiser to obtain tables for our workshop and some recycled bottles. A celebration of mooncakes, tea and lantern walks are commonly seen around the residential neighbourhoods as part of the festivities. There were snack stalls and live music flanking our workshop tables to draw the crowd that was out with their kids. The turnout was weak at the start, around 5pm in the evening. However as it turned to nighttime, the numbers surged and we were overwhelmed until our scheduled walk at 8.30pm. The children ranged from toddlers of 18 months old to adults, with most around 6-10 years old. They had to be supervised by Lighting Detectives volunteers as there was a lot of use of scissors…

2019.09.21　　Erina Hosono Group photo with the finished lanterns Our lantern festival ‘Let’s make vegetable themed lanterns!’ was held as a kid’s workshop on September 21st in Nerima Sakujiikoen Furusato Museum. This event had 52 children as participants, centered on those who are in their first and second year of elementary school, becoming our largest event to date. Including the staff and the parents/guardians of the children, it was a huge gathering of over a 100 people. The participants made vegetable themed lanterns and listened to the “Fire and Light lecture”. Did you know that Nerima’s urban agriculture is flourishing and has representative agricultural products such as daikon radish and green onions? The museum staff wanted to teach the kids about Nerima’s agricultural success through our lantern crafting session. Therefore, we prepared daikon radish, green onion, spikenard, corn, tomato, persimmon, and cabbage (all of which are Nermia specialties) themed crafting paper. Day of, the children pick a vegetable of their choice after signing up and spend around an hour crafting the lantern. At the orientation, we demonstrated the different styles of lanterns by turning off the lights and lighting the candle within the lanterns. The children all exclaimed ‘wow!’, ‘Kawaii!’, when they saw the lanterns they would be making, expressing their excitement but also warming the hearts of all the adults at the event at the same time with their cuteness. The kids facial expressions turned serious and focused once they…

Darkness and Irori (Hearth) Experience Workshop 2018/12/01 Simeng Huang This was our first children’s workshop at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in four years. To teach the children the importance of darkness and minimal light, we had most of the park’s illumination turned off after closing hours. The children were then able to experience how their five senses work in the dark. Illuminating the roof with flashlights and color filters Applying the flashlight beam as instructed by chief Mende Illumination experiments using various colors We held a children’s workshop at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum on December 1st, just as the cold weather was becoming severe. This time, we conducted three activities: Light-up Ninja, Darkness Experience, and Irori (Hearth) Experience.After the orientation, 17 elementary and junior high school students gathered in front of the Kodakara-yu (public bathhouse) in the park, carrying flashlights and color filters. Following chief Mende’s instructions, they illuminated the walls and signs of the building, changing the colors with red, blue, green, pink, and orange filters. Blue light was the most popular, and the consensus was that blue light looked best on the white plaster walls of the Kodakara-yu. When they lit up the large willow tree next to it, although we expected green to be popular, the opinion was that the white light without a filter was the best.After the light-up, we toured the park to see the nighttime appearance of old Japanese buildings….

Go Out into the Night City and Search for Lighting Heroes and Villains!2018/07/26　　Noriko Higashi + Leon Hitsu + Hikaru Kimura + Yuri Araki + Shosaku Takahashi + Aiko Kanda It was a lively workshop with a total of 49 participants A Look at the Orientation We recently held a Lighting Detectives Jr. workshop for the first time in a while in Tokyo’s record-breaking summer heat. 24 energetic children and their guardians searched for lighting heroes and villains around Omotesando and Cat Street. The LPA conference room was filled with children in late July, just as summer vacation began. The Night Walk Survey workshop was held for the first time in three years, and 24 children, ranging from first graders to ninth graders, gathered, even though the capacity was only 15. The staff discussed how to get children, who don’t usually think about lighting, interested and what lessons they should take away. The workshop targeted the following goals: ■OrientationFirst, chief Mende explained the basics of lighting. He offered a simple breakdown of the history of lighting, starting with fire, the impact of different color temperatures on people, and the differences in lighting placement between homes in Japan and abroad. Following that, he introduced the participants to the elements that make up a city’s lighting and explained what constitutes a lighting hero and villain before the group set off for the walk. Children sharing their opinions during the Night Walk Survey Measurement…

2013.11.22-23 @Edo Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum As the 3rd children`s workshop to be held at the Edo Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum in Tokyo, the children crafted lanterns in the shapes of buildings and trees to create a miniature city of light after a parade through the park. Build town of light As a part of Autumn event “Light up Autumn Foliage at Edo Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum, we were invited to do children workshop. Theme of this time was to experience the dark and candle light, to make house shape lantern and to create a town. Lantern with shape of tree and house In two days, about 50 children and 63 parents joined this workshop. College student volunteers were responsible for preparing for the workshop and explanation on the day. Children chose from three shapes of tracing paper for lanterns. The most popular shape was tree lantern！！A lot of branches extending from a round base transformed into a fantastic forest。 A lots of founding during lantern making Children who participated were wide in age, even if template of lanterns were the same, each one of the completed works was different. The base of lantern was colored paper and tracing paper. Drawing a picture as they like on the base, using six color cellophane, using scissors to drill a hole, or changing to an entirely new form, children were able to think freely to create their original lantern.　With the limited materials,…

2013.09.01 Xue Xue Institute, in Taipei 2013 TNT Forum＠Taipei Special content “Akari Children Workshop” In Xue Xue, the venue for Transnational Lighting Detectives Forum, they put an emphasis on children’s education and we received a request to have Akari’s workshop for children. We did a “Dark experience workshop” which is also done in Japan to teach “the importance of a small light”. After experiencing a completely darkened classroom with about 25 children, then light one lighter. We believe that children realized how bright the room the only lighter illuminates. Then compared with other light sources such as fluorescent lamps and LEDs, we learned how lively they are in the bright space.

2013.08.02 Zou-No-Hana Park, Yokohama Summer Holiday Children`s Workshop @Zou-No-Hana Park, Yokohama Down by the Bay Seventeen children and their parents gathered at dusk at Yokohama`s Zou-No-Hana Park to observe, experience and draw the Yokohama skyline. The children and their parents spread out over the grassy area in full view of the Landmark Tower, World Porter`s Ferries Wheel, Queen`s Square, Red-brick Warehouse, and bay area with front row seats to the gradual shift from daytime to sunset to night. workshop contents 17：50～　Meet and brief orientation 18：10～20：00　draw before and after sunset scene with having lunch box 20：00～20：30　Presentation by each child Drawings in the Night The children had no problem starting their drawings! They each selected what they thought was the most interesting building and set to work. As the children worked drawing the skyline, some noticed the changes in the sky and a few lights here and there began to shine. Some children concentrated on the more concrete objects and buildings of the cityscape, but when pointed out they started to take notice of the changes in the sky and lights of the buildings, ferris wheel, boats, and reflections on the water. Light, natural or artificial, is an abstract concept and especially hard to express for the first time in a drawing. Each drawing turned out different as each child saw the city and its transformation from day to night in their own unique way. The children drew the sky in shades…

2012.11.23-24 “Light Up Autumn Foliage in Edo Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum” At the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum, “Light up Architecture and Autumn Foliage” was held during a three day holiday in November. The first two days included a children’s lantern making workshop and walks through the trees to experience darkness in the woods. With children, we had a wonderful time enjoying old houses, irori fire place and a night without light. Contents we had were as below ・Lantern making workshop ・Lantern Parade ・Experience the dark ・Experience old time fire place, Irori.

2011.10.22 Experiencing dark & Light Up Ninja Experiencing Time Travel and Akari Workshop Edo-Tokyo Open-air Architectural Museum is located in Kodaira-city. In the museum, there are 30 buildings from edo-period that have been relocated or reconstructed. In this unusual atmosphere that children might feel they are time-tripping, we had a lantern making workshop and parade in the museum and having dinner sitting by irori, Japanese fireplace. Lantern Making Lantern Parade Experience the Dark / Light Up Ninja Jr. Dinner at Irori fire place

2011.08.09 Lighting Detectives Office Lantern Making Workshop, leaning process of design As a summer event for elementary school student, we had a children workshop titled “enjoy light of candle” 12 children joined this workshop and learned design process, and each of them designed their own lantern and chose and build one. And after finishing their work, we enjoyed summer snoozing party at balcony.

Lighting Detectives Workshop in iLight Marina Bay 16.03.05-03.27　Quratuaini bte Jamil Each was a unique artwok module Lighting Detectives has been collaborating with iLIGHT Marina bay 2016 for our workshop. The theme for this year’s iLIGHT was In Praise of Shadows. This theme also coincides with our lighting design philosophy- being sensitive and appreciating shadows. Through this workshop, we hoped that everyone could appreciate light and shadow. We made a gigantic lantern comprised of little modules of artworks by participants and it was displayed as part of this iLIGHT 2016 event. This journey itself took an immense amount of effort. ■Collecting Materials (Collecting Mess). We hit a bump at first on where to outsource all of these materials. We were encouraged to use recycled materials such as toilet rolls, egg cartons, A1 printer rolls and wine corks. All of us collected materials from many places; cafes, schools, hotels, printer shops or just by walking around clothing shops of streets of Singapore. As the event time drew closer, abundance of materials came pouring into our office. We barely had space to walk past our office corridor! ■Endless Brainstorming. Our endless ideas came about two months ago, where we had many ideas of our own outlook on praising shadows keeping in mind to utilise items that we had collected so far. They are then collated together by LPA staff which with chief detective Mr Mende’s suggestions became a base point of our final…

Light up Ninja at Kowloon Park, Hong Kong Create Future City by Lantern ! 2016.02.19-02.20　　Blanche Lam+Yin Yin Fung+Yuko Wong+Candy Cheung　 This is the first Lighting Detective event in Hong Kong! This workshop is led by 2015 Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism\ Architecture to explore people’s vision of Hong Kong nightscape. Over 150 participants take part in this meaningful workshop to create future city by lantern. Beautiful lanterns created Under Hong Kong edition of the 2015 Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (the Biennale), Light up Ninja came to Kowloon Park to hold the lantern creating workshop. The theme of this year is ‘Visions 2050: Lifestyle and the Smart City’, we would like participants to play with Light and imagine Future City through Lantern Making. The vision of the younger generation is the key for creating the city of the future. We encourage kids and adults to create and express the future through lantern making. Participants would enjoy their lantern display and find out comfortable relation between Light and Shadow at Kowloon Park. We had three workshops which were for university students, kids and open to public. Over 150 participants created lanterns to share their ideas during the workshop. (Yuko Wong) ■Day 1: Student Workshop /Lantern Creating Workshop. Participants and LPA staff group photo Several Tertiary and University students came to Kowloon Park and joined this workshop. After the speech from Mr. Paul Chu, the representative of Hong Kong Institute of Architects Biennale Foundation…

Yokohama Kitayamata Elem. School 2010.11.16 Chief Mende x Class of 3rd Graders It was a perfect sunny day. So perfect that Lighting Detective`s Chief Mende gathered with Kitayamata Elementry School 3rd graders in a perfectly darkened, blacked-out music room to give a lesson on “Light and Dark.” Chief Mende, who regularly lectures at a local university, seemed slightly intimidated by the smaller-in-size students. However, the difference ended there. Inquisitive and curious, the children were very eager to learn, first about light and different sources of light, and then experience complete darkness, laser beams, and candlelight. Lastly, using a 500ml plastic bottle and LED, the children made their own lanterns from recycled materials. Chief Mende began by showing the children a drawing of a campfire and firelight, the origin of light used thousands of years ago by the first humans. The talk continued with several questions and answers about what kind of light the children like, don`t like, and why. Chief Mende presented the children with different lamps such as an incandescent bulb, various sized halogen lamps, a compact fluorescent lamp, and a color-changing LED panel so they could compare different types of everyday light sources. Then the lights went out! Instantly, the room was completely dark. First, there were a few yells and screams, but even in complete darkness the children`s eyes began to adjust to see vague outlines. After a few minutes in complete silence and darkness, Chief Mende…