A Home for Japanese Modernism
Written by: The editors
Photography by: Yoshihiro Makino
The 1942 home of modern architect Kunio Maekawa brings together ideas we care deeply about at Herman Miller: purposeful design, the honest use of materials, and craftsmanship. And like Charles and Ray Eames in America, Maekawa helped modernism feel at home in Japan, showing that modernism and tradition aren’t mutually exclusive. So when we had the opportunity to pair pieces from our like-minded designers with this remarkable home, we couldn’t pack our bags fast enough. Here we take a closer look at the way modernism and tradition meet inside it.
Born into privilege as the son of two samurai families, Kunio Maekawa attended Tokyo Imperial University and, after graduation, parlayed family connections into opportunities with the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier and the Czech architect Antonin Raymond, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, who also famously blended modernist design principles with Japanese design in Tokyo’s iconic Imperial Hotel.
Maekawa established his own office in 1935 at a time when Japan was again wrestling with its cultural identity. In the seven decades since 1868, when the samurai class was dismantled, the country had been modernizing in order to become part of the global community, and some Japanese architects, in turn, adopted the global “International Style” of modernism. But nationalism resurged in the 1930s, when Japan was at war, and architects were left with a pressing question: How could a building be both modern and Japanese?
Maekawa helped answer that question in his 1942 paper, “Memorandum: On Tradition and Creation of Architecture.” In it, he recast “tradition” not as a matter of surface decoration but as a living process, helping to clear the way for his fellow architects to fully embrace the idea of Japanese modernism.
If Frank Lloyd Wright helped Americans imagine a modern architecture of their own, Maekawa did something similar for Japan. His home, which now sits at the Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum in western Tokyo, shows how he reinterpreted Japanese architectural traditions through a modern lens to create something entirely new. Simple lines and an unadorned roofline are grounded by a single central post, an element inspired by the traditional Japanese architecture of Ise Shrine, a holy site in the Shinto religion. Inside, the soaring ceiling and open floor plan bring living and dining areas together, dismantling the traditional programmatic spaces of individual rooms. Details such as the pass-through window between the dining area and the kitchen also reflect the rational thinking Maekawa encountered through European modernism.
But the experience of moving through the house is unmistakably Japanese. Rather than walling off nature, the house—with its open design and sets of windows and doors at the front and back—becomes a passage to the garden. Even as the architecture embraces modern forms, the house invites a new way of living.
Sliding, gridded shoji screens have been used for centuries in Japanese homes. In his own home, Maekawa combined screens and glass, softening the boundary between the house and the garden while also protecting the interior from the elements. (Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair, Land Table)
Rather than just ornamental, the central pillars are functional—a hallmark of modernism. Because they do the work of interior load-bearing walls, the house can have both a double-story living room and an open plan, a more egalitarian arrangement than traditional interior walls that indicated social hierarchy within the home. The open floor plan and double-height windows allow natural light to permeate the interior. (Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Nelson Bubble Lamp, Pawson Drift Sofa, Pawson Drift Table, Nelson Daybed, Girard Stool)
Although his commercial buildings often featured concrete, Maekawa chose wood for his home because of wartime material shortages (and possibly because of his previous experience living in an uncomfortable concrete complex). This room was designed to be both a study and a guest room; it includes a small sink (not pictured). When Maekawa’s Ginza office was destroyed in an air raid in 1945, the open design of his home allowed him to repurpose some of its spaces to accommodate work and workers. He moved drafting tables into his living room and used this study as a meeting room and break room. (Girard Stool, Aeron Chair, Eames Desk Unit)
In Japan, exterior and interior spaces are considered continuous, with the engawa—a transitional space traditionally built on short posts—serving as the link between them. Maekawa’s veranda offers a modern interpretation of this architectural feature. (Girard Flower Table, Eames Wire Chair)
