Teruhiro Yanagihara on the importance of imagination

TNE           When launching your lighting collection Numbra for &Tradition in Copenhagen earlier this year you spoke about the importance of light and shadow in your work. What does shadow mean to you as an interior architect — not only in relation to lighting, but also to interiors and installations?

TY              As an interior architect light and shadow are inevitably very important to me when thinking about three-dimensional space. I'm always considering where the light is and where it doesn't reach. When I design lighting, I am also always conscious of the shadow. I see lighting design as one element of spatial design. Light and shadow are inseparable. For example, without an object, there is nothing to cast a shadow. Space is always about the relationship between objects and people, and as long as there is an object and there is light, there will also be shadow. You could say that without an object reflecting the light or creating a shadow, it becomes difficult to perceive the light itself. Light, shadow and the object are all interconnected. For me, they form one relationship.

TNE           That reminds me of Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's essay In Praise of Shadows from 1993. Has his thinking influenced the way you approach architecture and interiors?

TY              Yes, the book has inspired my relationship with light. In a broader sense, I think about light and shadow as the relationship between a world that becomes visible through light and a world that remains invisible through shadow. The important thing is not simply that an invisible world makes a space physically larger. It is that we begin to imagine the world we cannot see. A space is not enriched only by the things that are actually visible. It can become richer through imagination. This also connects to “less is more”. When there is a world that remains unseen, your imagination can become greater. That is one of the important connections I have with Tanizaki's book and one of the ways it has inspired me.
 

TNE           How does this philosophy relate to Numbra for &Tradition?

TY              I’m always thinking about light and shadow within space. Numbra is a product, but I don't see it simply as a lighting fixture whose function is to make a space brighter. By existing within the space, it makes presence of both light and shadow. It's not simply about function. Rather than thinking about it as something flat, I think about the object within a three-dimensional space. When you place an object there, it creates light and shadow, and that can give the atmosphere greater depth.

TNE           Going back to Scandinavian culture, where do you see differences between Scandinavian and Japanese culture?

TY              Actually, this relates again to Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows. When Tanizaki wrote about this sensitivity towards shadow and darkness, he was describing something that Japanese people possessed as part of their aesthetic sensibility. But he was writing about it in the past tense. In Praise of Shadows was, in a way, a warning to Japan. Japan had this wonderful spiritual and aesthetic way of thinking, but as the economy and industry developed, everything became brighter and brighter. Spaces became flatter. Restaurants became brighter. I found that loss very unfortunate. In Scandinavia, I encountered a different relationship with light. Rather than using flat, uniform light to illuminate an entire space, lighting is often used to create smaller areas of light within the room. When I looked at contemporary Scandinavian life, I actually found inspiration for Numbra there. In Japan, we have in some ways changed using light in the way Tanizaki described. But Scandinavian countries still have this sensitivity in the way they use light in their homes.

TNE           Is imperfection important in your work?

TY              Actually, that also comes from Japanese philosophy. Traditionally, the Japanese people didn't only find beauty in a perfectly full moon. There was also an aesthetic appreciation for the moon when it was slightly incomplete. This relates to what I was saying earlier. If something is too perfect, then everything is already there in front of you. What you see is everything. But when something is imperfect, something remains unseen, and you need your imagination. There is a richness in imagining what you cannot see. It is the same with space. If you prepare a completely perfect space, people may be satisfied simply with the visible world that has been presented to them. But if you deliberately leave something incomplete — if you leave a margin or an opening — then the person experiencing that space can begin to imagine. By leaving a space open rather than closing it completely — by leaving something without a complete answer — people begin to use their imagination. That's where the beauty lies.