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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 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…

10 April 2006 Reported by Yukiko Saito Reported News, Surveys, and Events Nihonbashi & Sumidagawa Riverwalk…Tsutomo Nagatsu Light Up Ninja: Singapore…Kaoru Mende Kyoto City Lighting Survey…Momoko Muraoka Kobe City Lighting Survey…Tsutomo Nagatsu Christmas Illumination Survey…Musashino Art U. Students Candle Night Winter Solstice 2005…Saiko Tanuma Nihonbashi & Sumidagawa Riverwalk After a little bit of a dry spell, the Lighting Detectives gathered once again for the usual and unusual round table discussion at the Shibuya Headquarters. With so many events to report, the night started off with the most recent city walk, a chartered boat tour up the Nihonbashi and Sumidagawa Rivers. Seeing the city lights from the river is always exciting and a hot discussion of lighting pros and cons kept the river rats entertained. Light Up Ninja, Singapore Chief of the Lighting Detectives, Kaoru Mende, also reported on the first Light Up Ninja event in Singapore. The two-day workshop was held in November of last year at Singapore`s Duxton Plain Park. From the event photographs, participants of all ages were enthusiastic and creative in their lighting designs. Japanese City Lighting Survey The night continued with reports from our series on Japanese cities with lighting surveys from Kyoto and Kobe. Kyoto is always a beautiful city to view, but even the simplest street lights reflecting off the rain drenched streets added a mystical element to the photographs. Situated along the bay, Kobe was compared and contrasted to, twin city, Yokohama, also…

Date: March 1st-3rd, 2012 Program: City Tour, City Survey, Workshop, Presentation, Symposium Venue: Bangkok Code, King Mongkut`s University of Technology Thnoburi The Theme for the 2012 TNT Forum was “Bangkok Lighting Identity” Participants worked in small groups at a workshop and city walk to gather information about Bangkok`s lighting environment and ended with an informal presentation at the forum. Other activities included a photo contests and symposium. The first half of the symposium featured six core members of TNT from Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, Belgrade, Stockholm, and Hamburg. Each speaker presented on the lighting identity of their home city. The second half featured group presentations from the Bangkok workshop and city walk.

Theme:Playback! Interviewer:　Bryan Yan This “coffee break” column is a bit different from all the previous ones. The change of style in this column is also corresponding to our interview topic – “Playback”! Since I have read the PAST issues, I decide to make some changes. Actually, the original topic is “Look back!”. After a discussion with Mr. Mende, “Playback” is more interesting. Playback – It’s straightforward. We are going to talk about the PAST. Everyone has their PAST. Some people are very afraid to look back and remember some bad memories. Bryan：Hello Mende-san! I’m long waiting to have a coffee break section with you today. People like you with a lot of achievements and experiences should have many things in the PAST that you would like to remember and look back. Taking this opportunity, I would like to listen to you because I love stories. Would you tell me which project you like the most in LPA’s thousand projects? Mende：Well, since I always try to enjoy and concentrate now and think about little bit near future, I am not good at remembering. However, if you ask me to choose, I would like to say it should be “Tokyo International Forum”. The reason is that it’s the first big scale project after LPA office was established. On the third day of establishment, we received a call from New York to invite LPA to be the lighting designer for this project. From…

11 July The Lighting Detectives hosted the first of three salons focusing on residential lighting Friday, July 11th at the New Maru Building Ecozzeria. The hall was packed with over 100 guest who listened intently to the speakers who presented; “Residential Lighting: Past, Present, Future ? Rediscovering Residential Lighting from the Past to Modern Day.” by: saiko tanuma During the fiscal year of 2008 ? 2009 the Lighting Detectives will be hosting a series of 3 salons, all focusing on the influences of residential lighting. In discussing the culture of lighting, residential lighting seems like the best and most important starting point, as we delve into and analyze the why`s, what`s, and how`s. Our first salon outlined the history of residential lighting, with an emphasis on the ideal form of lighting from past to present in Japan. Kaoru Mende, and members of the Lighting Detectives, also heard contributions from guest speaker, Kazuya Ura, architect and interior designer. First on the program, a report from a survey of the Yoshihara residence in Kyoto by Lighting Detective members, who relayed their findings about Japanese light and the lighting environment of an old, Japanese-style house. What kind of effects do the daily changes in natural light contribute to the lighting environment? What can be done in the light of a single lantern? These are just some of the thought provoking questions raised and discussed during their presentation. Mr. Ura presented examples of his…