World Lighting Journey 2019  Annual Report, A chief interview 2020.02.26　　Erina Hosono We interviewed Shomei Tanteidan Leader Mr. Mende this year again as an annual round up to our weekly World Lighting Journey postings in 2019 to the Shomei Tanteidan Facebook. Our Leader Mr. Mende looking back at the posts of the year. The most reacted image: Stockholm Subway Mende：So, our conclusion from last year’s World Lighting Journey (WLJ) was “Let’s upload more natural light”, how did everyone react to that? ―It doesn’t seem that posts that featured only natural lighting was that much more popular. Mende：So then, which photos where more popular? (Looks through the data of our 2019 Facebook postings) I see, it seem that images that show scenes that are rare or haven’t been seen by Japanese seemed to incite a bigger response. ―Mr. Lin’s photo of the subway station in Stockholm and Mr. Hattori’s photos of Italy and the Vatican had the most reactions Mende：The photo of the subway itself is very impactful, that’s probably why it is capable of garnering such attention. I always enjoy Mr. Hattori’s photos as they always capture how people and lighting interact. Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Vatican City, The interplay between dynamic light and shadow ―Mr. Itakura’s photo taken in the air that looks like Anthony Mccall’s artwork also gathered some attention Mende：It must have left an impression, because you rarely see places with such strong natural light in Japan. Have…

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…

Interviewer: Xiaoyi Dong Dong: Today I’d like to talk about feminism.  I recently read the book “ Japanese Misogyny: I hate Women” written by the popular writer, Chizuko Ueno.  Even though I was born and raised in China, I can sympathize with many ideas in this book.  Have you had the chance to read this book? Mende:  No, not yet.  Was it good?  Will you please explain misogyny? Dong:  It means to look down on women or a strong hatred towards women.  Not only men hating women, but also women hating women.  For men it is called misogyny.  For women it is self-hate.  Ms. Ueno gave a speech at the University of Tokyo that is very popular in China about no matter how hard women work it is unanswered or thankless.  Mende:  Why is that? Dong:  In Japan, even if one graduates from a well-known university, gets a good job, and performs well for that company, this kind of strong, independent women is not viewed as adorable or loveable compared to the type of women who needs to be protected by a man, who is even weaker than the independent women in question.   This line of thought is not exactly the same in China, but similar.  For example, women who have graduated from famous universities such as Beijing University or Tsinghua University are less approachable compared to women who have graduated from other universities.  Mende:  Is that right?   I don`t think…

Theme:What is the meaning of working? Interviewer:　Yuhang Zhong Yuhang：Today I`d like to talk about “working.” I become a member of the workforce four years ago and I continue to struggle with the question “Why do we work?” One reason I went to graduate school was not because I didn`t want to work, but I couldn`t comprehend the reason for working. At that period in my life I was able to prolong working and escaped to graduate school. 職務中の鐘 真剣に食器を洗う Mende：So going to graduate school was kind of like a suspended jail term. Yuhang： Yes, maybe something like that. Do you ever question why you work? Mende：When I was younger, I really liked to work. I was one of those people who didn`t question why I worked, but also after four years of college I felt a responsibility to work. Yuhang：Four years goes by really fast and I really didn`t take much time to reflect on my life. At graduate school, I was soon forced to face reality and start the process of looking for a job. At interviews I was repeatedly asked “What do I think about having a job?” I memorized a pretty phrase and got by, but I couldn`t envision myself working five years or ten years down the road. When asked about my motivation for working, I keep coming back to the original question, “Why do we work?” Here is this question, again and again. Mende： In…

23 October, 2009 TV commercials featuring famous teenage heartthrobs are dissolving the trashy image of horseracing and making it more accessible to the public. For a change of pace, the Lighting Detectives gathered at Tokyo City Keiba for the Twinkle Race. Galloping full speed around the track or walking gracefully in the paddock, lights blazed down on the thoroughbreds during race operation hours and the Lighting Detectives were there to capture and record it all. Enormous Lights Illuminated the Racetrack Metal halide floodlights are crammed together in a perfectly straight line to brightly illuminate the racetrack. Club members were caught with gaping mouths, as they turned away from the racetrack towards the stands and immediately were blinded by the lethal amount of light. Without thinking, Chief dug in his bag for his luxmeter. Without much effort, trackside vertical luminance was over 1000 lux. With that many fixtures there has to be excessive light shining on the track and also going every which way, but taking a look around only the track seems to be brightly lit. Hmmmmmm… Moving away from the track the glare seems to be minimal. Aha, the lamps must be super narrow beam lamps! 2009 Illumination: Shogo Kariyazaki x Fantastic Canvas When racing is not in progress, images under the theme “The subtle changing and colorful show of seasonally blooming trees and flowers,” created in collaboration with flower artist, Shogo Kariyazaki, are projected on a HUGE 8m…