2022.11.4-5 Sachiko Segawa Surprisingly, this survey of the Sawara district marks the first time the Lighting Detectives have conducted an investigation within Chiba Prefecture. The team focused on an area designated both as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings and as a Landscape Formation District. Here, the townscape of merchant houses, which flourished from the Edo period thanks to river transport on the Tone River, still remains. Located about 70 km from Tokyo Station and slightly inland from the Tone River, the Sawara district of Katori City once thrived as a merchant town, to the point it was said to rival Edo itself. However, the town declined during Japan’s period of rapid economic growth. Following a townscape survey in 1974, the value of its historic scenery was reappraised. Today, leveraging its convenient location—just two hours from Tokyo and one hour by train from Narita Airport—the area is being redeveloped as a tourist destination. For this survey, the team limited their scope to the townscape along the Ono River and conducted a nightscape survey. ■Uniquely Designed Lighting Fixtures From JR Narita Line Sawara Station, as we walked toward the Ono River, we were greeted by a bollard topped with a monkey. “Why a monkey…?” we wondered, but as we continued upstream along the river, we encountered bollards adorned with all sorts of figures: rabbits, carp, children, frogs, Ebisu, and more—each one different, with no two alike. These uniquely…

2022.10.01-10.03 Shunichi Ikeda + Genki Watanabe Koyasan (Wakayama Prefecture), a sacred site of Japanese Buddhism with a history of 1,200 years, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004 and again in 2016, and is one of the world’s most renowned religious cities. It is also a popular tourist destination, attracting many international visitors prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the distinctive light environment created by the numerous temples and shrines, as well as through the experience of staying at temple lodgings (shukubō), we conducted an investigation into this extraordinary lighting culture from the perspective of the Lighting Detectives. Koyasan is a town situated in a mountain basin at an altitude of 800 meters, surrounded by peaks of around 1,000 meters in northern Wakayama Prefecture. It was founded about 1,200 years ago, in the early Heian period, by the Buddhist monk Kōbō Daishi (Kūkai) as a sacred site of Japanese Buddhism, with Danjō Garan serving as the central temple complex of this religious city.Originally, the entire area of Koyasan was considered part of the grounds of Kongōbu-ji Temple.For us, this was the first time to focus on a religious city in an urban lighting survey. We wanted to examine what the nightscape of this temple town looks like and how the lighting culture of Japan and Buddhism manifests itself in various aspects. ■Okunoin, Kongōbu-ji, Head Temple of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism Okunoin is an expansive cemetery stretching about 2…

Interviewer: Erina Hosono Hosono： This might be out of the blue, but the reason I wanted to become a lighting designer is because lighting helped get my chronic problems with sleeping under control. Whether it is narcolepsy or insomnia, I want to help people with sleep problems. So, today, I thought we could talk about lighting that might be of use in tackling sleeping issues. Mende： What kind of sleeping disorder do you have? Hosono： I was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia. While I was studying or eating or even walking down the street, I would be spasmodically overcome with abnormal sleepiness. For 15 years, I lived with these problematic symptoms. I even went to study in the US so I could get certain therapeutic medicine. Mende： Do you still have problems? Hosono： Now, I am able to live just like a regular person. Mende： Do you have a system so that it becomes really bright in the morning in your room? Hosono： PhI use the Wake-up Light by Philips. It mimics the time and operations of the sun, becoming very bright to wake me up. I also have three other decorative lights; all equipped with the Philips hue smart lamp. This smart lamp also works as an alarm and becomes bright. One of the decorative lights is a large free-standing floor lamp and the shade is situated right above my pillow so I can feel the light rays directly on…

Remote Salon/Light within a 100 meters from Home 2020.05.19　Noriko Higashi While we are forced to postpone our explorations around town due to the coronavirus, we held a salon online. 25 participants reported on the lighting within a 100 meters of their homes. The Shomei Tanteidan’s very first ZOOM Salon. We had lively discussion for 2 hours with 25 participants. Due to the spread of the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19, a state of emergency has been declared and our Shomei Tanteidan Members restricted to their homes. Our team had to cancel our stroll about town planned for mid-May. While we cannot leave our homes, online events for people with other hobbies have started popping up, leaving us the challenge to organize an event in a completely different situation than before.While there were voices that were raised of concerns regarding an online event being slightly contradictory to the Shomei Tanteidan’s usual fieldwork style. However, considering the unknown of how long this situation will last, after discussion with our Stroll about Town Planning members (SQUAD), we decided to organize an online salon. Trespassing by LIGHT! The theme was ‘Light within a 100 meters of your home’ which was hopefully one that allowed individuals to remain in their houses or venture outside only slightly while exploring. Honestly, we were worried about how much conversation and discussion we would be able to find, but to our surprise, all 25 participating members had their own topics. Some…

The Lighting Detectives Makes Its Appearance in Ginza Date: March 6-April 29, 1997Place: TEPCO Ginza Building, 2F ‘Electric Scene’ Seven years of accumulated Lighting Detective’s research and activities were exhibited in a viewer-friendly show, ‘Shomei Tanteidan Exhibit?The Lighting Detectives Make an Appearance in Ginza’. Six exhibition corners were set-up in the TEPCO Ginza Building, 2F Electric Scene Room. 01　Concept of Lighting Detectives As a corner to introduce the concept of the Lighting Detectives, we have visualized the results of the Lighting Detectives over 6 years with 14 keywords in a box of 30 cm on a side. Look through the holes in the box and ask them to think about the meaning of the keyword. 02　World Nightscape Here, 20 carefully selected night views of the world and night expressions seen by the Lighting Detectives are exhibited. A beautiful night view of a beautiful city, a night view created by natural light such as the moon and stars, Aurora and blue moments … Enjoy many night expressions 03　Variety things emit light in the city There are so many “light things” lurking in the city. Here they meet and communicate with each other. The seven tools used by the Lighting Detectives are also on display. 04　Light Experience Tunnel The cities are getting brighter and brighter in Japan. The lights of vending machines, convenience stores, lights of gas stations and light-ups overflow in a city that does not sleep for 24 hours. Do…