Architects: junya ishigami + associates
Year: 2021
Photographs: junya ishigami + associates
Construction: FORM GIVING CORPORATION, KOBAYASHI SEKIZAI
Structural Engineering: Jun Sato Structural Engineers Co. Ltd.
Category: Installations & Structures, Pavilion, Temporary Installations
Principal Architect: Junya Ishigami
Project Leader: Masayuki Asami
Project Manager: Yusei Koizumi
Landscape: Inohana musouen
Sponsors: TOHO LEO Corporation/Cartier/Nakagawa Chemical Inc./Beijing Yihuida Architectural Concrete Engineering Co.,Ltd/ XinY structural consultants/ChongQing Weitu Landscape Design Co.,Ltd./UNION CORPORATION JAPAN/SHISEIDO CO., LTD./TAISEI CORPORATION
Material Support: Kadowaki Co., Ltd/Yamadai Corporation/DAIKO ELECTRIC CO.,LTD./Sangetsu Corporation/KOBAYASHI SEKIZAI
City: Tokyo
Country: Japan
Kokage-gumo Pavilion, a temporary pavilion designed by junya.ishigami+associates in Tokyo, altered the historic garden of the 1927 Mankichi Yamaguchi residence with a seasonal sunshade built for the summer of 2021. The design aimed to integrate into the early Showa-era setting with an immediate sense of age despite its new construction. Wooden pillars and roofs were installed throughout the garden, then charred using the yakisugi technique to carbonize the cedar surface and in some areas, burn the structure itself. The form was shaped to weave around existing old trees, creating a fluid architectural field that adapted to the garden’s natural conditions. The blackened structure, evoking the look of a ruin, gave the impression of compressed time as if the building had already undergone decades of weathering. By filtering light through perforations and tree cover, the pavilion reshaped the sensory experience of the garden. Harsh sunlight was softened, allowing visitors to reconnect with the historical atmosphere of the site.
An old house in Kudanshita, constructed in 1927 by industrialist Mankichi Yamaguchi, stands as a historical structure. Among those involved in its original development was Tacchu Naito, the structural designer of Tokyo Tower. In the house’s mature garden, a sunshade was proposed to gently filter sunlight specifically during the summer of 2021.
The concept behind the new sunshade was to integrate it seamlessly into the historic landscape, giving it an immediate sense of antiquity despite its recent construction. More precisely, the design involved covering the entire garden with wooden pillars and roofs, which were then charred using the traditional yakisugi (burned cedar) technique.
By regulating the heat during the charring process, the surface of the cedar was carbonized, and in certain areas, the structure itself became visibly charred. As the material burned, the wooden framework extending through the garden was shaped with flexibility to accommodate the positions of the existing old trees. The resulting pitch-black structure, scorched by flames, evoked the appearance of a ruin. It appeared to have leapt through time, transforming from a newly built form into a ruin instantly, as if absorbing in a single moment all the transformations that architecture typically undergoes over time.
The surrounding high-rise buildings, which did not exist during the early Showa era, are obscured by the blackened structure, while numerous openings in the canopy allow sunlight to filter through in combination with the tree cover. Glimpses of the modern landscape visible through the trees fade from view, and the intense summer sunlight is diffused. Visitors experience time differently within the garden, engaging with the historical atmosphere that persists there. The pitch-black structure forms a cool, suspended shadow among the old trees on a summer afternoon.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: 1 Chome-15-9 Kudankita, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 102-0073, Japan
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
