Lighting techniques that change your life

Yuichiro Noguchi
Aug 25
2 min read

Updated: Aug 26

"Lighting will change your life." If you are told that, many people may think that it is to buy an expensive pendant light and feel a sense of satisfaction.

The mainstream value was to have things that people didn't have until now, such as fashion, cars, and housing. In Japan, where modern material wealth is fulfilled, it is no longer valuable to have "things" alone, but I feel a change in values such as what kind of "things" to have, such as better things than people and cutting-edge things.

Lighting itself is just a light source. The many downlights on the ceiling can be said to be a symbol of that. What is required for downlights as a function is to be arranged so that it does not get in the way of the space as much as possible, and if possible, its presence should be zero, but it should illuminate the space and objects brightly. I hear such voices from architectural designers who like simple and inorganic spaces.

As if responding to that, the size of downlights from lighting manufacturers is getting smaller and smaller every year, and the types are increasing. However, if such an inorganic and sophisticated space like an art gallery is suitable for people to live in, it should never be the case.

Simple and modern houses, which are currently popular, are considered a virtue to eliminate waste, thoroughly increase efficiency and functionality, as stated in the words of Adolf Lawh, the male of modernism who advocated "decoration is a sin" in the 1920s. As a result, if you look at the current situation where many inorganic and uniform houses are being built, you will realize that people prefer time and effort unexpectedly and feel attached to something different from function and convenience.

I think there are more people who feel that it is more beautiful to see the warm lights emitted from their beloved lighting fixtures than an inorganic space illuminated by light without a sense of presence, and walls with light gradients and shading rather than uniformly illuminated walls and floors I think there are more people who feel that the floor is good.

However, unfortunately, in Japan, the mainstream idea is that the brighter the better, as usual.

I also feel that the sensibility of ancient Japan, which is also described in Junichiro Tanizaki's "Yinko Reizan" published in 1933, is gradually being forgotten in a rationalist world.

As for lighting, the culture that the brighter the better is is too shallow, and really good lighting is what brings "just the right brightness" in the space.

In the space with "just the right brightness" emitted from the beautifully shaped lighting fixtures, a scene that touches the strings of people is created, and you can feel the true richness there. The title "Lighting that changes life" refers to the way of lighting that creates such a scene.