Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) is one of the most influential sculptors and designers of the twentieth century. Born in Los Angelos and raised between the United States and Japan, his practice moved fluidly across sculpture, design, architecture and public space, consistently rejecting any strict division between art and utility. After early training with the sculptor Onorio Ruotolo in the United States and subsequent study under Constantin Brancusi in Paris, Noguchi developed a language that merged modernist abstraction with Japanese craft traditions. His work is defined by material sensitivity, sculptural experimentation, and a sustained engagement with cross-cultural exchange. 

Exhibited internationally and held in major museum collections worldwide, Noguchi’s work remains a touchstone for discussions of material intelligence and the aesthetic potential of everyday objects. In 1985 he founded The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (now The Noguchi Museum) in New York, establishing a permanent site for the study and presentation of his oeuvre. His designs continue to broaden how we imagine form, space, and the role of art in the world.

In the postwar era, Noguchi searched for materials that could give modern design a more human, tactile quality. His return to Japan in 1950 came at a moment when designers around the world were rediscovering the value of handmade processes and local craft as a counterweight to industrial production. In Gifu, a region where paper lantern making had been refined over generations, he found a vocabulary of light, structure and tradition, that felt both ancient and radically new. During his first visit Noguchi approached and began collaborating with Ozeki & Co. This collaboration laid the groundwork for the Akari light sculptures, which remain among Noguchi’s most influential contributions to modern design.

Ozeki’s workshop brought together every stage of traditional lantern making: the production of Mino washi, the splitting and shaping of bamboo ribs, and the construction of collapsible internal frames. This integrated system gave Ozeki an unusual ability to translate complex forms into stable, lightweight structures. Artisans could adjust rib spacing, vary paper weights, or rework frame geometry on site, responding directly to Noguchi’s experiments. The production method remained rooted in traditional handcrafted lantern-making: fine bamboo ribs shaped over wooden molds, coated on both sides with Mino-washi, then the internal mold removed so the shade could collapse and be shipped flat. 

During these early years, the Akari series expanded steadily. Meaning “light” or “brightness” in Japanese, Akari captured Noguchi’s ambition to shape illumination as a sculptural material. He created a distinctive red sun-and-moon symbol for the series, a stylized interpretation of the traditional character combining sun and moon. On the earliest versions of Akari, the mark is applied by hand, reflecting the small scale of the first production period. As the workshop refined its processes in the mid-1950s and production expanded, they adopted a stamped version of the mark. With Akari increasingly circulated internationally, the stamp was later accompanied by “Japan,” and in subsequent decades by Noguchi’s own signature. These markings, together with subtle differences in materials and structure, now help distinguish the earliest Akari from later production periods.