Japan Art, architecture and travel

Japanese minimalism meets Scandinavian design in Karimoku Case Study

The Azabu Residence by Keiji Ashizawa and Norm Architects’ Frederik Alexander Werner is part of the Karimoku Case Study project, and features a sombre material palette and restrained colour scheme for a peaceful family interior

By Rosa Bertoli • Last updated 6 October 22

Kazuhito Kawai’s quest for ugly beauty in ceramic art

Ahead of a show at Steve Turner Gallery, LA, Japanese ceramic artist Kazuhito Kawai discusses the origins of his deliberately deformed kaleidoscopic creations

By Minako Norimatsu • Last updated 6 October 22

The Trip: explore the ancient and modern worlds of Nara, Japan

Weekly at Wallpaper*, ‘The Trip' takes you on a detailed tour of an under-explored town, city or territory, direct from your living room. This week, we journey to the revered Japanese capital, Nara, which has been experiencing a cultural renaissance, led by a savvy herd of young creatives

By Jens Jensen • Last updated 6 October 22

MMA crafts Japanese home around a series of boxes

Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios. Today, we welcome Japan's MMA Inc to our 2022 list

By Jens H Jensen • Last updated 6 October 22

Aman Tokyo’s new patisserie is a culinary destination

The legendary hotel's first standalone patisserie is a culinary theatre where customers can watch the highly skilled chefs at work

By Melina Keays • Last updated 6 October 22

Sou Fujimoto judges Wallpaper* Design Awards 2022

We chat with Wallpaper* Design Awards 2022 judge Sou Fujimoto about his work in Japan and abroad, and our shortlisted designs and winners

By Jens Jensen • Last updated 6 October 22

Torus House floats over Chiba prefecture’s natural landscape

Torus House by Noriaki Hanaoka Architecture is perched floating above a hillside in Japan's Chiba prefecture

By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated 6 October 22

Tanabe Chikuunsai IV wraps Casa Loewe Barcelona in 6,000 strips of tiger bamboo

Inside the newly revamped Casa Loewe Barcelona, Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV reflects on family traditions and environmental destruction with a staggering bamboo installation 

By Malaika Byng • Last updated 6 October 22

Yoshio Taniguchi’s new Heisei Chishinkan wing is a minimalist counterpoint to the Kyoto National Museum

By Jens Jensen • Last updated 5 October 22

Nendo and Georg Jensen create silver vases inspired by nature

Japanese design studio Nendo and Danish silversmith Georg Jensen create a set of three silver vases that combine organic forms and minimalist aesthetics

By Mary Cleary • Last updated 1 October 22

Kazuyo Sejima: from light engineer to architectural heavy hitter

By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated 30 September 22

Explore Junya Ishigami's cave-like house and restaurant design

Japanese architect Junya Ishigami has completed his impressive, cave-like Home/Restaurant project in his home country's Yamaguchi

By Jens H Jensen • Last updated 28 September 22

Kyoto's Maana Kiyomizu boutique hotel is the epitome of modern craftsmanship

Maana Homes’ latest boutique hotel with a twist opens in Kyoto, including suites, a café, and a shop specialising in modern Japanese craftsmanship

By Danielle Demetriou • Last updated 27 September 22

Scandinavian design meets Japanese heritage in OEO Studio’s Tokyo apartment

OEO Studio has collaborated with Japanese property developer ReBita on a luxury new apartment at Tokyo’s Opus Arisugawa Terrace & Residence

By Hannah Silver • Last updated 27 September 22

Kai Yufuin by Kengo Kuma revisits Japanese farmhouse architecture

Hoshino Resorts has launched Kai Yufuin, a hot spring ryokan hotel by Kengo Kuma on the island of Kyushu in the Ōita Prefecture

By Feride Yalav-Heckeroth • Last updated 27 September 22

This Hayama house offers a twist on Japanese seaside living

A new house in Hayama by architects Case-Real offers a new take on living in the Japanese seaside town

By Jens H Jensen • Last updated 26 September 22

Apollo design Grigio, a minimalist concrete house in Tokyo

By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated 26 September 22

The softer side of nature: Aesop’s evocative new Sapporo store

By Tom Howells • Last updated 23 September 22

Issey Miyake opens a Kyoto boutique in a timber townhouse

By Danielle Demetriou • Last updated 22 September 22

Tobeyaki blues: a new Shiro Ao pottery line, from Japan’s Shikoku island

By Jens Jensen • Last updated 21 September 22

Japanese minimalism: John Pawson's crisp white residential offering in Okinawa

By Sara Sturges • Last updated 16 September 22

Snøhetta designs experimental culinary space in Tokyo

Snøhetta co-founder Craig Dykers discusses the architecture of Burnside – a Tokyo event space for art and design outfit En One and the Bronx chef collective Ghetto Gastro

By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated 15 September 22

Architects reinvent the residential tower block in Montpellier with L’Arbre Blanc

By Jason Sayer • Last updated 15 September 22

Philippe Fragnière captures the myth and magic of mountain life

In ʻBalancing Actʼ at SAI Gallery, Tokyo, Swiss photographer Philippe Fragnière explores the mythologies of his native Alps

By Sophie Gladstone • Last updated 14 September 22