Kengo Kuma:
​World of Light & Shadow

A photographic collection of architectural works brought to life by the dynamic interplay of light and shadow 
by Tomio Takahashi
​(Gakken Plus Publishing)
  • 50 architectural works by Kengo Kuma in Japan that reveal the architect's essential design principles.
  • Many works photographed both in daylight and at night to highlight each work's location-specific lighting concept.
  • Featuring works in locations across Japan, from Akita in the north to Nagasaki in the southwest.
  • Photographed by Tomio Takahashi, an acclaimed Japanese landscape photographer and regular contributor to Esquire magazine and other publications.
Please contact Erica Williams for more information and samples: [email protected]
Architect Kengo Kuma is known for his obsession with  “losing architecture”: ingenious architectural forms using wood and other natural materials that blend into their natural surroundings. Kuma’s careful attention to the way natural and artificial light both illuminates and casts shadows to create forms is fundamental to this philosophy, and it is the dynamic interplay between light and shadow that captured acclaimed landscape photographer Tomio Takashi’s attention in this new collection of photographs.
​
Featuring 50 of Kengo Kuma’s works in the architect’s native Japan, this photography collection covers the length of the Japanese archipelago, from hot spring resorts in Akita in the north to promontories overlooking the southwestern port of Nagasaki. Photographing both in natural and urban environments, with many works featured both in daylight and at night, Takahashi illuminates the ways in which changing light throughout the day or through the changing seasons brings each building’s distinctive architectural features to life.
Gakken Plus
200 pages
220 x 290 mm
All rights available.
Please contact Erica Williams for more information and samples: [email protected]

about the author: tomio takahashi

Tomio Takahashi specializes in landscape photography focusing particularly on water and light effects in natural landscapes. Since his work was discovered by pioneering photojournalist Jun Miki when Takahashi was 23, he has worked as a freelance photographer, regularly contributing to magazines including Esquire and other publications, along with shooting advertising photography. His photography series “Suien,” featuring “healing water landscapes” was exhibited at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and featured on Asahi television in Japan. Takahashi is currently working on his series “Artists of Light for the Future,” featuring famous artists illuminated by light as they work.

list of works

50 architectural works by Kengo Kuma photographed by Tomio Takahashi
​(links to project pages open in a new window at the Kengo Kuma and Associates website)
1. COEDA HOUSE, Shizuoka
2. Fujiya Inn, Yamagata
3. Aore Nagaoka (Nagaoka City Hall), Niigata
4. Aore Nagaoka City Hall Assembly Hall, Niigata
5. Toyama Glass Art Museum, Toyama
6. ATAMI KAIHOUROU, Shizuoka
7. Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo
8. Takanawa Gateway Station, Tokyo
9. Prostho Museum Research Center, Aichi
10. International Christian University Physical Education Center, Tokyo
11. Michinoeki Ohyu (Yunoeki Oyu), Akita
12. JP Tower, Tokyo
13. Light Church in Forest, Gunma
14. Michinoeki Sakai (Sakai Riverside Restaurant Cha-Gura), Ibaraki
15. Tomioka City Hall,  Gunma
16. Iiyama Cultural Hall “Natura,” Nagano
17. Sunny Hills, Tokyo
18. Hoshakuji Station, Tochigi
19. Chokkura Plaza, Takanezawa Town, Tochigi
20. Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo
21. koé donuts, Kyoto
22. Lucien Pellat-Finet Shinsaibashi, Osaka
23. Starbucks Dazaifutenmangu Omotesando, Fukuoka
24. Yusuhara Community Library, Kochi
25. Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum, Kochi
26. Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center, Tokyo
27. Shibuya AD-0 Dogenzaka, Tokyo
28. Nihondaira Yume Terrace, Shizuoka
29. Olive Bay Hotel, Oshima, Nagasaki
30. Garden Terrace Nagasaki
31. West Park 1000 (Park Building Takasaki), Gunma
32. Kuriya Kashi Kurogi (Japanese Cafe), Tokyo
33. Tamagawa Takashimaya Facade, Tokyo
34. ONE@Tokyo
35. Hayama no Mori, Kanagawa
36. Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) Structure and CLT Exhibit, Okayama
37. Tiffany, Ginza, Tokyo
38. Nezu Museum, Tokyo
39. Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum, Nagasaki
40. Ochanomizu University Hisao & Hiroko TAKI PLAZA, Tokyo
41. M2, Tokyo
42. Kyushu Geibunkan Studio, Fukuoka
43. Kyushu Geibunkan, Fukuoka
44. Green Cast, Odawara, Kanagawa
45. Shibuya Scramble Square, Tokyo
46. Recreation Facility, Kanagawa
47. Stone Plaza, Tochigi
48. Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art, Tochigi
49. Kadokawa Musashino Museum, Saitama
50. Japan National Stadium, Tokyo​