Japanese architecture is world renowned and appears not only on the island chain itself but all across the globe. Its style — that so effortlessly fuses futuristic modernity with Japanese traditions in aesthetics and building materials — is bound to leave a lasting impression. We rounded up five of the biggest names in Japanese architecture, all Pritzker Prize winners, one of the most prestigious prizes in the world of architecture. A brief introduction to their individual styles is followed by a list of notable examples of their works in Tokyo for those interested in an architectural sightseeing tour of the Japanese capital.

The contemporary superstar: Kengo Kuma

The name Kengo Kuma has probably not evaded you. Without doubt, the Yokohama-born architect is the most revered of current times. Kuma is well known for his airy structures, and states himself that ‘transparency is a characteristic of Japanese architecture; I try to use light and natural materials to get a new kind of transparency.’ Traditionally, he and his contemporaries have used wood and glass to achieve this effect, but Kuma has also challenged himself by using stone and steel in the same manner. For example, in the Nezu Museum building he re-designed in Aoyama.

Notable works include the New National Stadium that is currently under construction for the 2020 Olympic Games in Shinjuku, the wood lattice building of Sunny Hills in Aoyama, and the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery building, that was opened in 2019 in Nakameguro. Kengo Kuma also teaches and runs an architectural research lab at Tokyo University.

The 20th-century icon: Kenzo Tange

Kenzo Tange (1913–2005) is regarded as one of the most influential architects of the last century. Influenced by Le Corbusier from an early age, his early works mirrored the aesthetics of Bauhaus architecture and the works of Walter Gropius. His first assignments included post-war redevelopments, which sharpened his sense for practicality in architecture. He became one of the main proponents of the Japanese Metabolism movement and Brutalist architecture, which subscribed itself to radically clean form and functionality, using block-like structures and often exposed concrete.

Later, after he attended the re-construction of the Ise Shrine, the main shrine of Japan’s Shinto religion. Japanese elements permeated his style and he effortlessly fused them with his minimalist handwriting in architecture.

Notable works in Tokyo include the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office in Shinjuku, St. Mary’s Cathedral (also called Tokyo Cathedral) in Bunkyo Ward, and the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Yoyogi Park.

Zen architecture: Tadao Ando

Tadao Ando’s architectural style is equally influenced by American architectural icon Frank Lloyd Wright and the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, which emphasises nothingness and inward sensations over outward appearances. Said to create a haiku effect, empty space highlights the beauty of simplicity in many of Ando’s creations. They are designed to follow to nature around them, rather than disrupting it. Circulation paths are a frequent, complex element in his buildings that seek to fuse the outer environment with the inner one of the structure.

Many of Ando’s works include religious buildings, both Christian churches and Japanese places of worship, as well as privately owned houses. Notable public examples in Tokyo include Omotesando Hills complex in Omotesando, Tokyo Skytree in Sumida Ward, and the 21_21 Design Sight Museum in Roppongi.

Defining urban life in Japan: Toyo Ito

Toyo Ito creates conceptual works of architecture with the goal to fuse the physical world around us with our perception of it. He is strongly influenced by the typical life of urban dwellers in Japan and defines architecture as ‘clothing’ for them. A trademark example of his conceptual, interactive work is the Tower of Winds in Yokohama. The purpose of the structure is rather mundane, as it is a large air exhaust for the metro system below. Yet, Ito designed it as an organically shaped structure of perforated metal. It appears solid and opaque during the day but seemingly dissolves into its environment at night, using a computer-controlled light display that also picks up and reflects inputs from its surroundings, like noise level.

Famous works of Toyo Ito in Tokyo include the TOD’s Omotesando building, Mikimoto 2 building in Ginza, and the Library of Tama Art University in Hachioji.

Expanding modern architecture: Kazuyo Sejima

A former apprentice of Toyo Ito, Kazuyo Sejima now owns her own architectural firm. One of only two women to receive the prestigious Pritzker Prize to date, her designs draw in visitors and inhabitants by the fluidity they create with the surrounding environment and the purpose they serve. Many of Sejima’s projects are built with the notion to fluidly connect two spaces. Her philosophy is to go beyond the scope of modern architecture in Japan that in some parts has been stuck on minimalist cubic forms and exposed concrete walls. While still often using cubes as her base building blocks, she introduced slick and clean surfaces as a trademark of her work, combined with large windows and glass panes.

Many of her famed works in Tokyo are private residences; two of the most well-known public buildings include the police box outside Chofu Station and the Hokusai Museum in Sumida Ward.

By Mareike Dornhege

Similar to this:

Uniquely Tokyo: 10 buildings you couldn't imagine anywhere else

Tokyo: Capital of modern Japanese architecture

Tsugite: The tetris of Japanese joinery