Mayumi Miyawaki’s Fukumura Cottage puts this lesser-known Japanese modernist in the spotlight

Designed by Mayumi Miyawaki and hidden in the leafy Japanese countryside, this unusual summer house is an intriguing example of 1970s Japanese architecture. A few years ago, it was purchased by a design-loving couple who brought it back to life, saving a valuable piece of architecture history.

Who was Mayumi Miyawaki?

During the 1970s, Japanese architecture was fragmented into different and contrasting movements. The most dominant one was the most well-known of all –Metabolism, which was based on a vision of the world and its future led by technology, blended with biological and philosophical ideas. The genre's designs for capsules, modularity and prefabrication were the result of the dramatic economic and social changes in the country at that time.

Yet, Metabolism was only the tip of the iceberg. Parts of the architecture scene of the period highly disapproved of its teachings, in favour of more personal, lyrical, spatial and conceptual projects with their own character. One of the most active critics of Metabolism was architect Mayumi Miyawaki, known for his unorthodox style, which was influenced by traditional Japanese spaces, infused with new conceptual thinking.

Using bold, concrete, geometric shapes, Miyawaki created his houses like master classes in geometry. He was born in 1936 in Nagoya. Having studied at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, he then specialised in urban design at the University of Tokyo. Influenced by his parents, both artists, he believed in architecture as a spatial poetry. As an extension of this belief, he founded the group Architext, bringing together anti-metabolist architects such as Takefumi Aida, Takamitsu Azuma, Mokoto Suzuki, and Minuro Takeyama.

Within the folds of this group, Miyawaki developed his own, unique sense of space through his idea of 'Primary architecture'. Typical of his work was the manipulation of cubic forms and primary shapes into unexpected living spaces. During the 1970s, he developed his series of box houses, including Green Box, Matsukawa Box, and the, unfortunately, now-demolished Blue Box. In all these projects, Miyawaki always combined traditional Japanese elements with a strong, elementary language and formal interpretation.

Explore Fukumura cottage

His Fukumura Cottage in Nasu, in Tochigi prefecture, is one of his most mature creations, designed during the heyday of his career. It was a commission from 1974 to design a weekend house for Mr Fukumura, close to the popular bathing area of Nasushiobara. For his design, Miyawaki came up with an imaginative variation on the idea of a tree house.

The wedge-shaped residence is elevated, placed on a blocky, compact concrete volume. Inside, the space is minimalist, containing only a small living room connected with a kitchen and a terrace on the first floor. A small tea room with tatami mats on the floor features suspended cupboards, and a bedroom in the attic with a simple bed structure is accessible only via a ladder. Raw concrete walls are combined with wooden elements, such as doors, ladders and window frames.

When design dealers and collectors Noboru and Yuka Tanaka found out this specimen of Japanese architectural history was on the market a few years ago, they decided to buy it. They restored the cottage to its original state and use it as their personal retreat, as well as a base for their design operations, while occasionally opening up the interior for the public to visit this piece of design history. Noboru and Yuka furnished the interior with their favourite Scandinavian pieces, alongside more pieces from their personal collection.

More of their lovingly chosen design items can be found inside new wooden structures on site, containing their office and gallery, and designed by Kariya Architects in 2019 and 2024, respectively. While the office is used to manage their design activities, the gallery stores Noboru's extensive collection of vintage Herman Miller furniture. Fukumura Cottage and its updated campus are now safe and can be visited and admired as the exceptional example of Japanese modernity that they are.