From Tadao Ando to Kengo Kuma: A Guide to Japan’s Architectural Icons

While no single description can cover the multitude of styles of modern Japanese architects, a case can be made that aspects of Japanese culture and worldview is a common thread in all of their works. For many Japanese architects, integration with nature, both environmental and building materials is a key theme of their work. For others, the simplicity that comes from Zen Buddhism, a religion that has a profound impact on Japanese culture can be seen in their work. In other works, we see the Japanese value of community over individuality at play.

While a comprehensive guide to all of the influential Japanese architects and their work would take a whole book to write, let's take a quick look at some of the field’s best-known architects and the iconic buildings they have designed.

Table of Contents

• Tadao Ando
• Kenzo Tange
• Toyo Ito
• Shigeru Ban
• Kengo Kuma
• SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa)
• Sou Fujimoto
• Junya Ishigami
• Frequently Asked Questions

Key Takeaways

• Japanese architecture blends tradition with innovation, harmonizing cultural values with cutting-edge design.

• Natural elements and materials are central to many Japanese architects' philosophies, especially Ando and Kuma.

• Architecture is often inseparable from its context - many Japanese buildings are designed to complement their environment rather than dominate it.

• Japan is a living museum of modern architecture, where cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Naoshima showcase world-class structures in everyday public spaces.

• The new generation of architects continues to redefine space, light, and form, pushing the global dialogue on sustainable and experiential architecture.

Awaji-Yumebutai, designed by Tadao Ando. Photo: Todd Fong

Tadao Ando: A Fighter for Zen Simplicity

Tadao Ando is a remarkable Pritzker Architecture Prize winning architect in many ways. He was headed for a career in boxing when a visit to Tokyo's Imperial Hotel - designed by Frank Lloyd Wright - changed his trajectory as a high school student. He eventually abandoned the boxing path to self-study interior design while travelling to study buildings around the world designed by masters like Le Corbusier. At 84 years old in 2025, Ando is still going strong with a firm that designs important works around the world.

Still, nowhere in the world will you find a wider body of Ando's work than in the city he founded his architectural firm in, Osaka, and the surrounding area. Ando has a strong affinity for his local area, designing many famous and lesser-known buildings in this area, including his iconic Osaka Row House, the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art in Kobe, and the sprawling Awaji-Yumebutai complex (pictured above) on Awaji Island completed in the early 21st century. The latter had to be significantly altered in design mid-construction due to the massive Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, but now consists of a breathtaking development of gardens, terraces, a hotel and a conference centre.

Museum design by Tadao Ando, Naoshima Island

One of the best places to experience Ando’s architectural vision in harmony with art and nature is Naoshima, an island in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea. Often called Japan’s “art island,” Naoshima is home to several museums designed by Ando, including the Benesse House Museum (1992), Chichu Art Museum (2004), Lee Ufan Museum (2010), Ando Museum (2013), and Naoshima New Museum of Art (2025). With their minimalist concrete forms and masterful use of natural light, these buildings create contemplative spaces that reflect Ando’s philosophy and elevate Naoshima into a unique cultural destination.

Church of the Wind designed by Tadao Ando. Photo: Todd Fong

Ando's work is characterized by concrete and minimalistic design choices which are made as to not distract from the true subject matter, be it museum exhibitions, natural landscapes, or water features. This philosophy is based on Zen Buddhism, and gives Ando's spaces a cleanliness and openness that is a counterweight to our image of concrete as a heavy, industrial material.

Oddly, Ando's designs have been widely selected for Christian churches, perhaps under the context that the architecture should not compete with the spiritual idea of being in the house of God. The Church on the Water in Hokkaido is the most accessible Ando-designed church, while Kobe's Church of the Wind is open only for special events, and Osaka's Church of the Light is a normal church that meets on Sundays.

Tadao Ando’s key works in Japan:

• Church of the Light – Ibaraki, Osaka

• Awaji Yumebutai – Awaji Island, Hyogo

• Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art – Kobe

• Chichu Art Museum – Naoshima, Kagawa

• Benesse House Museum – Naoshima, Kagawa

• The Hill of the Buddha – Makomanai Takino Cemetery, Sapporo

• Ando Museum – Naoshima, Kagawa

• Church on the Water – Tomamu, Hokkaido

• Church of the Wind – Awaji Island, Hyogo

• Omotesando Hills (interior design) – Tokyo

Tokyo Cathedral, designed by Kenzo Tange

Kenzo Tange: Introducing Modern Japanese Architecture to the World

Kenzo Tange (1913 – 2005) was born a generation earlier than Ando and was a teacher and inspiration to Ando's contemporary, Toyo Ito. He was the first Japanese architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1987. His first works were designed under Imperial Japan before WW2, which achieved him enough recognition to be selected to design some of the country's most important projects including the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, a venue for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. These structures continue to exist today and are must-see buildings for any fan of Tange's designs.

Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park, by Kenzo Tange

The Expo 70 in Osaka was a significant event for modern Japanese architecture, with Kenzo Tange in charge of the overall design. As a mentor and patron of the metabolist movement, Tange brought the metabolist ideals to the forefront at the World Expo in Osaka, for which he planned the entire site and included many metabolist elements. Soon after the World Expo, Tange supported one of his University of Tokyo students Kisho Kurokawa's ambitious Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo, an experiment that yielded a building that was extraordinary in appearance, but unfortunately disassembled in 2022.

Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo, designed by Kisho Kurokawa. Photo: Todd Fong

Beyond Japan, Tange's work is probably most recognizable in Singapore. Tange met Lee Kuan Yew in 1970 when Singapore was a mere 5-year-old nation, and Tange was invited to participate as an advisor to the government's urban planning organization. Several of Singapore's buildings dominating its iconic Central Business District skyline were all creations of Tange, as well as the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which will be replaced in the coming years.

Kenzo Tange’s key works in Japan:

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park – Hiroshima

• Yoyogi National Gymnasium – Tokyo

• Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (design influence) – Tokyo

• Mary’s Cathedral – Tokyo

• Kagawa Prefectural Government Office – Takamatsu

• Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting Center – Tokyo

• Suntory Museum of Art (original) – Tokyo

• Tocho Building (as advisor) – Tokyo

• Expo '70 Master Plan – Osaka

Expo 2025’s Shining Hat Hall designed by Toyo Ito, Osaka

Toyo Ito: The Reluctant Architect

It's difficult to believe that one of Japan's most prolific architects of the 20th century had little aspiration to be an architect at all. Toyo Ito's passion in life was baseball, and he entered the University of Tokyo hoping to study engineering, only to fall back on Architecture because his grades were poor. Yet by the time he graduated, his mock proposal for a redesign of Ueno Park won top prize at his university.

In a sense, Ito's work can be seen as an antithesis of his contemporary Tadao Ando's. Rather than heavy concrete, Ito's style of architecture tends toward light, airy, and at times, even translucent. One of his early works, the Tower of Winds, is an often-misunderstood piece outside of Yokohama Station. The work is functional, providing air circulation to a space under the street level. Appearing as a rather industrial-looking tubular structure in the daytime, at night it is illuminated by a series of LED lamps, neon rings, and floodlights. The lighting, however, is determined by wind speed and noise, making the illumination of the tower completely at the whim of nature, and thus completely organic.

Toyo Ito’s airy design at Sendai Mediatheque

Another example of Ito's style is the Sendai Mediatheque, a multifunctional public facility located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. 13 latticed columns support the floors in this glass-walled building, irregularly spaced to appear like trees in a forest. The lack of fully opaque materials in the building make the space feel as if it were built on air. Ito considers this building to be a hallmark of his architectural career.

Beyond Ito's iconic designs, an often overlooked factor in his career is his mentorship of the next generation of architects. Many architects who are now famous in their own rights have worked for Toyo Ito & Associates, ensuring that the creative vision Ito believes in will be passed down through the new generations of architects who follow him. Toyo Ito was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2013.

Toyo Ito’s key works in Japan:

• Sendai Mediatheque – Sendai, Miyagi

• Tama Art University Library – Hachioji, Tokyo

• Tower of Winds – Yokohama, Kanagawa

• Minna no Mori Gifu Media Cosmos – Gifu

• Za-Koenji Public Theatre – Tokyo

• Shima Kitchen – Teshima, Kagawa

• Kakamigahara Crematorium – Gifu

• Omotesando TOD’S Building – Tokyo

• Mikimoto Ginza 2 Building – Tokyo

• Expo 2025 Pavilion “Shining Hat” – Osaka (dismantled after Expo 2025)

Shimose Art Museum designed by Shigeru Ban

Shigeru Ban: Imagining Architecture that is Sustainable and Fashionable

In a country prone to natural disasters, an innovative architect like Shigeru Ban is more than a novelty, but a godsend. Shigeru Ban studied architecture in the US, and his experience there under John Hejduk informed his fascination with geometric elements in design. But what Ban is best known for is his experimentation with paper as a primary building material.

He found that paper tubes were common disposables for many global manufacturers, tubes that he found had greater structural integrity than anyone realized. Using paper tubes as a building material, Ban innovated designs for building emergency shelters during the Rwanda refugee crisis in 1994 and a year later, for victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in his own country of Japan.

Restaurant designed by Shigeru Ban. Photo: Todd Fong

One of Ban's best-known works is also a building created as a result of a natural disaster. The Cardboard Cathedral was built as a replacement for the heavily damaged Christchurch Cathedral after the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake struck New Zealand. Ban designed it pro bono, and it was built for a fraction of the cost of rebuilding the old cathedral using 96 cardboard tubes with 8 shipping containers forming the walls. Two-inch gaps are left between the tubes to allow natural light to filter through the translucent polycarbonate roof into the interior.

Ban has designed several new buildings on Awaji Island, the Hyogo Prefecture island connecting Japan's Shikoku Island with the Kobe area. Between the works of Shigeru Ban and Tadao Ando, Awaji Island has become a virtual paradise for modern Japanese architecture in the 21st century. Shigeru Ban received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014.

Shigeru Ban’s key works in Japan:

• Oita Prefectural Art Museum (OPAM) – Oita

• Fuji World Heritage Centre – Shizuoka

• Paper Dome (relocated from Taiwan) – Kumamoto

• GC Prostho Museum Research Center – Kasugai, Aichi

• Shigeru Ban Office and Paper Gallery – Tokyo

• Yamanashi Press and Broadcasting Center – Kofu, Yamanashi

• Shonai Hotel Suiden Terrasse – Tsuruoka, Yamagata

• Shigeru Ban-designed Tokyo Toilet (Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park) – Tokyo

• Curtain Wall House (private residence) – Tokyo

Tokyo National Stadium designed by Kengo Kuma

Kengo Kuma: Setting the Stage for Architectural and Community Design for the Future

With a firm that employs 300 architects in Tokyo, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul, it is difficult to go anywhere in the world that Kengo Kuma's designs haven't reached. Although best known for his use of natural materials in his buildings, including the scaled down version of the Japan National Stadium originally designed by Zaha Hadid, it is more accurate to say that Kuma tends to follow a traditional Japanese approach to architecture using lighter, less intrusive materials and designs. But as with any great artists, Kuma sometimes breaks his own rules and comes up with something completely unexpected.

Kuma fans will recognize similarities in his work with the structures of traditional Japanese designs: shoji screens that let in plenty of light but keep out prying eyes, eaves made from warm wood covered with sustainable grass roofs, integration rather than competition with the natural environment.

Kumo no Ue Library in Yusuhara, designed by Kengo Kuma. Photo: Todd Fong

You need not go far to see Kuma's work around Japan, but to enjoy one of his favourite locations for creating rich architecture, you'll need to visit a tiny town in the mountains of Kochi Prefecture. Yusuhara is a logging town in rural Kochi that Kuma fell in love with. Kuma constructed six buildings in Yusuhara, four of which can be entered by casual visitors (the Kumo no Ue Hotel is under construction for an indefinite period, and the YURURI Welfare Facility is not open to the regular public). The most striking is the Kumo no Ue Library, a multi-levelled library with rich cedar accents that make you feel like you are reading books in a sunny forest.

Kengo Kuma’s key works in Japan:

• Japan National Stadium – Tokyo

• Asakusa Culture and Tourist Information Center – Tokyo

• Nezu Museum – Tokyo

• SunnyHills Minami Aoyama – Tokyo

• Kabukiza Theater Façade Renovation – Tokyo

• Daiwa Ubiquitous Research Building (University of Tokyo) – Tokyo

• Tokyo Toilet Project – Nabeshima Shoto Park – Tokyo

• Shibuya Scramble Square (with Nikken Sekkei) – Tokyo

• Kadokawa Musashino Museum – Tokorozawa

• Yusuhara Town Hall – Kochi

• Kum no Ue Library – Yusuhara, Kochi

• Yudanaka Station (renovation) – Nagano

• GC Gifu Media Cosmos (in collaboration) – Gifu

• Qatar Pavilion, Portugal Pavilion, Earth Mart, Malaysia Pavilion – Expo 2025, Osaka (dismantled)

21^st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, designed by SANAA

SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa): Light, Transparency and the Future

Founded in 1995, SANAA is an internationally acclaimed architectural practice known for its use of transparency, light, and seamless integration with surroundings. As a duo, Kazuyo Sejima (Pritzker Prize winner architect) and Ryue Nishizawa’s designs have reshaped expectations of how public and cultural spaces can feel – floating between form and function.

SANAA’s key works in Japan:

• 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art – Kanazawa, Ishikawa

• Tama Art University Library (Hachioji Campus) – Tokyo

• Naoshima Ferry Terminal – Naoshima

• Teshima Art Museum (Ryue Nishizawa) – Teshima Island

• Inujima Life Garden (Kazuyo Sejima + Akaruiheya) – Inujima Island

• Sumida Hokusai Museum – Tokyo

• House in a Plum Grove (Ryue Nishizawa) – Tokyo

• Shibaura House (Kazuyo Sejima) – Tokyo

• Ogasawara Museum “O-Museum” – Nagano

The Grand Ring at Osaka Expo 2025, designed by Sou Fujimoto

Sou Fujimoto: Natural Structures and Organic Forms

Sou Fujimoto’s architecture often blurs the boundaries between nature and man-made structures. He’s known for creating “primitive futures,” using lightness, layering, and spatial flow to create buildings that feel alive.

Sou Fujimoto’s key works in Japan:

• Grand Ring at Expo 2025 – Osaka (partially dismantled after Expo 2025)

• House NA – Tokyo

• Naoshima Pavilion – Naoshima

• Musashino Art University Museum & Library – Tokyo

• Final Wooden House – Kumamoto

• Tokyo Toilet (Nishisando) – Tokyo

• Serpentine Pavilion (exhibited in Japan post-London)

• Tokyo Apartments – Tokyo

• House K – Gunma

• A House for Hiroshima – Hiroshima

KAIT Plaza, designed by Junya Ishigami

Junya Ishigami: Dreamlike Structures of the Future

Known for pushing architectural imagination to its limits, Junya Ishigami is renowned for ethereal, otherworldly structures that challenge the conventions of weight, space, and function.

Junya Ishigami’s key works in Japan:

• Kanagawa Institute of Technology Worshop – Kanagawa

• KAIT Plaza – Kanagawa

• House with Plants (private housing) – Tokyo

• Kokage-gumo Pavilion (conceptual) – Yamaguchi

• Botanical Garden Art Biotop Nasu – Tochigi

• Park Groot Vijversburg Visitor Center (displayed in Tokyo exhibitions)

Tokyo Toilet designed by Kengo Kuma

Where can you see the works of most of Japan's famous modern architects?

Surprisingly, if you visit Tokyo, you can see the works of all of these famous architects (except Tange, who passed away in 2005) without going farther than the toilet, or more accurately: the Tokyo Toilets.

The curious Tokyo Toilet Project commissioned 16 architects and designers to redesign public toilets around the Shibuya district. Many of these facilities are within walking distance of each other and with a little perseverance, you can actually visit them all in a single day.

Tokyo Toilet designed by Shigeru Ban. Photo: Todd Fong

Shigeru Ban's toilets are the most intriguing, with walls that are transparent but turn opaque when someone is using them. That function works slowly in cold weather, so if you want to see them transparent, visit them in warmer months. Toyo Ito's contributions are shaped like mushrooms on the forest floor, while Kengo Kuma designed a five-hut toilet village obscured with cedar wood boards.

From dense urban areas to tiny mountain villages, the work of Japan's Pritzker Architecture prize-winning icons can be found across the island nation. For architecture fanatics, you don't need to organize a special architectural tour to see the works of these creative geniuses; just keep your eyes on your surroundings and you are sure to recognize more than a few along your daily journeys (although if you want to see a lot of great modern architecture, we recommend Osaka and Hyogo as a good base).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I visit these buildings in Japan without joining a special tour?

Yes! Most of the buildings mentioned are public or cultural facilities. You can visit museums, libraries, toilets, and chapels on your own.

What’s the best city to use as a base to explore Japanese architecture?

Osaka is excellent due to proximity to Kyoto, Hyogo, Naoshima, and Shikoku. Tokyo is also great for contemporary architecture lovers.

Do I need to book tickets in advance to visit any of these buildings?

Some, like museums or art islands (e.g., Naoshima), require advanced reservations. Always check ahead.

What is the Tokyo Toilet Project and where can I find it?

It’s a public initiative involving top architects redesigning toilets in Shibuya. Each is unique and most are within walking distance.

Are these buildings accessible for families with children or strollers?

Yes – especially public museums, toilets, and libraries. Note that some mountain or island locations may require extra effort.

Which architect is best known for sustainable architecture?

Shigeru Ban is globally respected for using recyclable materials and creating disaster relief shelters.

Are there guided architecture tours in Japan?

Yes! At Japanspecialist, we offer tailor-made architecture-themed tours across Japan, customized through online consultation with our local experts to match your interests and schedule.

Are photography and drones allowed at these sites?

Photography is usually allowed outdoors. Drone usage is restricted and often requires special permit. We recommend checking local guidelines.

When is the best time of year to enjoy architectural walks in Japan?

Spring (March - May) and autumn (October - November) offer the best weather and seasonal beauty that enhances architectural elements.