Japanese Interiors

by Mihoko Iida

'It’s not just a sumptuous survey of the country’s design - it’s also a love letter to the spaces we inhabit.' - The New York Times Style Magazine An insider's look at the myriad styles of private homes of Japan, showing how Japanese interior design continues to evolve in a new era. Exploring the art and craft of Japanese residential interiors, author Mihoko Iida provides an insider's look into the wide-ranging interior design of her country's private homes. Featuring twenty-eight exemplary residences around Japan – from urban apartments to mountain and seaside escapes – the book showcases aspirational minimalist homes alongside functional live/work spaces and traditional historic dwellings. Throughout, Iida demonstrates the enduring philosophy of integrating the natural landscape into the home, and details the influences and continuing evolution of Japanese interior design. The book also showcases homes designed by some of Japan's top architects, such as Kengo Kuma, nendo, Koji Fujii, Arata Endo, and Takamitsu Azuma.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Architecture, Interior Design, Art, Japan, Coffee Table Books

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 13, 2022

Reviews

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully photographed survey of contemporary residential interiors and architecture in Japan. It is arranged in three sections: Aspirational, Functional and Historical. All photos are in color on matte finish pages. Each building has an outdoor photo but the emphasis is on the interiors.

Traditional Japanese construction relied on wood and paper, neither of which were suited to the nature of an island plagued by earthquakes. Following the 1923 earthquake's survival of Frank Lloyd Wright’s concrete based Imperial Hotel a period of massive concrete structures followed. The style became known as “brutalist”. While concrete is still heavily used, “mokuzo” (made of wood) is coming back.

While "Aspirational” is not a very well defined category, half of the book is devoted to it. Most of these elegant homes are designed to take in a view such that the house is extended to include the outdoors. The term used is “shakkei” meaning to “borrow scenery from the outside”. There are floor to ceiling windows and wide terraces that open to the prime view points. Outdoors can also be incorporated by small sections of dirt floor and “yukimi shoji” which are low window screens to glimpse the outside from the floor level. Walls are mostly slabs or wood work with no decoration and furnishings are minimal. Most of the spaces look like public buildings more than residences and weekend homes. The “Staircase House” on pp. 78-87 is exceptional for its originality.

The "Functional" spaces are those where a mom and pop business takes place within the home. The featured homes are mostly so small it is hard to envision the dual roles the buildings play. A book store and eatery in Kyoto is truly compact .An austere front of a Tokyo restaurant belies the beauty of its compact dining areas. A house and hardware store shows an innovative use of small narrow space. A home that functions as a public bath featured beautiful wood work. The home on pp. 120-125 defies the minimalist empty room style of most other featured homes.

Westerners will be most comfortable with the homes in the Historic and Iconic section, particularly the Frank Lloyd Wright designed home. This is the shortest chapter of the book. The author notes the reasons so few historic homes have survived or been preserved.

This is a beautiful book, showcasing contemporary Japanese residential style.

[Tommy Panigot · Rating 3 out of 5]

I def lean modern and appreciated the interiors greatly. Started to feel like once you’ve seen one you’ve understood it all. I wish there was greater coverage of diversity in aesthetic and class. It only featured mid-upper class interiors, so didn’t feel comprehensive enough to title this Japanese Interiors.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and especially the Japanese author’s reflections on how Japanese and Western approaches to home differ in essential values. The homes were interesting and the photos gorgeous — I only wanted more photos for each home!

[Mad Hapa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of insights for readers curious about modern Japanese homes with minimal knowledge of architecture or Japanese culture. Am only giving it three stars because, though there are many photographs, the author will occasionally write about an interesting feature of the home and there won't be a photo of that feature.

[Cody]

An enjoyable read for the photography and alone, I also find Iida's inclusion of a "functional" section quite timely and inspiring as so many of us have found our home and work lives blurring over the past few years.

[Grant Starrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although one of the most beautifully designed covers I've seen (and evocative of its subject), the content underwhelms. I didn't love the especially modern but liked the combination of traditional and modern and the idea that the interior should be driven by the exterior. This is also a very different perspective than the United States: "If you talk to real-estate agents today in Japan, they will tell you that homes have zero value after twenty to thirty years and may actually cost you money if you decide to sell because dismantling fees need to be paid in advance for the transaction to proceed."

[Alexandria Blaelock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely photos of beautiful houses, none of them looking as if anyone lived there.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book!