Press Area

• Japan House London appointed interior designer Katayama Masamichi/Wonderwall to transform a building in central London into a new home for Japanese creativity, invention and business in the UK
• Katayama has created a space that embodies the aesthetic and notional concepts that Japan House is based on
• Spread over three floors, Japan House London offers a social retail floor, café The Stand on the ground floor, a Gallery, events space, library on the lower ground floor, and Japanese restaurant on the first floor all designed by Katayama/Wonderwall.

Located on Kensington High Street in central London, Japan House is a new cultural centre offering visitors an experience of the best and latest from Japan in art, design, food, technology and retail.

Beauty & attention to detail
Japan House London appointed Katayama Masamichi, founder and Principal of Wonderwall and prominent interior designer, to create a space that would embody the aesthetic and notional concepts that Japan House is based on. It successfully embraces tradition with a vision for the future.

Katayama's spatial concept is based on the tokonoma, an empty, raised alcove in a Japanese home where guests can admire displays of art such as a hanging scroll (kakemono) or seasonal flowers (ikebana). The centre of attention is not the design, but rather what occurs in that space. Katayama's intention is for Japan House to be a tokonoma in London for the authentic presentation of Japanese aesthetics.

His meticulous design for the ground floor and lower floor is a conscious reflection of the emptiness of the tokonoma, which allows Japan House to become a focal point for the diverse range of activities that it hosts.

In the restaurant, Katayama has incorporated his interpretation of a specifically Japanese sense of place and home - the concept of the doma. The doma is a space that sits between indoors and outdoors in a Japanese house and has various purposes. Part kitchen, it is also a social space where family, friends and neighbours gather together.

Alongside Los Angeles and São Paulo, London is one of three global locations where Japan House has been established to offer insights into Japan that go beyond stereotypes. Each of the three Japan House locations are beautifully designed by internationally acclaimed Japanese architects and interior designers, under the guidance of Hara Kenya, the Chief Creative Director. For Los Angeles, Tanigawa Junji's creative concepts are delivered by second floor designer, Nawa Kohei, and fifth floor designer, Kosaka Ryu. The design of Japan House São Paulo was supervised by architect Kuma Kengo, whose works include the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium and the V&A Museum in Dundee.

Katayama Masamichi, Principal of Wonderwall and prominent Japanese interior designer said:

"This project gave me great pleasure and an opportunity to relearn, revisit and reevaluate Japan's aesthetics and the mindset of our people. I wanted to create a purposeful and meaningful space which can be a stage and provide a spotlight to the very broad and creative programme on offer at Japan House London."

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

About Katayama Masamichi / Wonderwall
Interior designer Katayama Masamichi is Founder and Principal of interior design agency Wonderwall and Professor at the Department of Scenography, Space and Fashion Design at Musashino Art University. He is internationally renowned for his sense of aesthetic balance, which incorporates contemporary elements while paying respect to free-thinking, tradition and style. His main projects include; Intersect by Lexus ‒ Tokyo/Dubai and soon in NY, designed the bar OZONE at The Ritz-Carton, Hong Kong, Samsung’s first experiential space Samsung 837 in the U.S.A., PIERRE HERMÉ PARIS Aoyama, Hyundai Card Travel Library in South Korea; KAWS STUDIO in New York; and, UNIQLO’s flagship stores – including those in London, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai. 

About Japan House London
Japan House London is the new cultural centre offering visitors an experience of the best and latest from Japan. Located on London’s Kensington High Street, the experience is an authentic encounter with Japan, engaging and surprising even the most knowledgeable guests. Presenting the very best of Japanese art, design, gastronomy, innovation, and technology, it deepens our appreciation of all that Japan has to offer. Part of a global initiative led by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are two other Japan Houses in Los Angeles and São Paulo.

MEDIA CONTACTS

For more information or images please contact:

Hollie Mantle, PR Manager [email protected]