Fieldwork

Light Up NINJA

Light-up Ninja in Guangzhou

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First Light-up Ninja in China!2025.06.11-06.12 Huangyi Lin Lighting Detectives debuted Light-up Ninja in China (June 2025, Guangzhou). Students created temporary night art with communities, combating light villains through sustainable urban…

Global Research

City Night Survey: Kozushima + Niijima

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2023.01.20-01.22 Yuichi Anzai+ Chuanyi Liu  ■Kozushima Village Kozushima is located about 180 kilometers south of central Tokyo with a population of about 1,800. The terrain is complex, with almost no flat land. The village is located in th…

Global Research

City Night Survey: Okinawa Main Island

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2023.01.26-01.29 Masafumi Yamamoto + Yuki Ito  Okinawa is a place where diverse cultures and histories are intertwined. In Okinawa, each region has its own unique streetscape, and this is due to the fact that each region has a completely di…

探偵ノート Detective note

Mende's Detectives Note

No.71 – Kasanji Hot Spring Fireworks Show

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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 wit…

Coffee Break

VOl.081 -Travel : Nature or City Explorer

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Interviewer: Ton Kek Hian Wee Ton: Today, I’d like to talk about traveling. I understand that you are a very well-traveled person. So, do you prefer exploring nature or the built environment of cities? Mende: Which one do you prefer? Ton: A…

Mende's Detectives Note

Vol.085 – Buddies with Vending Machines…

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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 some…

popular posts

Candle Night

CANDLE NIGHT @ MARINA BAY, SINGAPORE 2011

World Lighting Journey

Street view in Berlin

World Lighting Journey

Old town area

World Lighting Journey

Flamingo Las Vegas

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Lantern Festival of Hoi An

World Lighting Journey

Street view of Melbourne

World Lighting Journey

Archicture of Sanaa

World Lighting Journey

Alaska Nightview

World Lighting Journey

Alaska, Anchorage

Who are the Lighting Detectives?
A research group established in 1990 by Lighting designer, Kaoru Mende and 5 other designers, and dedicated to the study of lighting culture through the observation and surveying of urban light environments in Japan and throughout the world.