The lamps are made of washi paper and bamboo, and have been popular since the 1950s. Akari means "light" ("illumination") in Japanese, and the lamps are a modern version of traditional Japanese lanterns. There are over 200[1] Akari iterations in different shapes, sizes and colors.
Isamu Noguchi was born to a Japanese father and American mother, and was raised by his mother in the United States and Japan.[3] He was a well-respected sculptor and artist by the late 1940s, but he struggled financially.[3]
On a trip to Japan in 1951, Noguchi visited Gifu, a town that specialized in making traditional paper lanterns.[4] The mayor of Gifu approached Noguchi and asked him to modernize the lanterns, which were growing obsolete with the rise of electricity.[5] Noguchi did so by redesigning the lamps to use light bulbs rather than candles, and using wire to make the shapes more sculptural.[6]
Noguchi viewed his new lanterns as works of art rather than simple light sources.[7] He called them "Akari light sculptures" and compared the light they emit to "the sun filtered through the paper of shoji".[8] They could be easily collapsed and shipped flat, and were an immediate success in Japan and worldwide.[1] The resulting pieces have been exhibited in galleries, widely collected, and are held in many museums.[9][10][11][12][13] The artist's original designs continue to be handmade in Gifu by the original manufacturer, Ozeki & Co.[14][15][4]
Akari lamps are made in Gifu using Mino washi paper, bamboo, and metal. The warm patina of the paper and the lamps' "idiosyncratically sculptural shapes" make them difficult to replicate.[5] To emulate the warm glow of high-end lanterns like Akari, some people dye white lanterns with tea.[18]
The lanterns come in a variety of shapes, from round or rectangular to resembling a banana or a television set.[19]
Reception
Akari lamps have been popular since their advent, and The Strategist called them a "shorthand for taste but not flashiness".[20]
Fans of Akari include painter Georgia O'Keeffe[1] who had an Akari pendant lamp in her New Mexico home and filmmaker Mira Nair, who said in a 2002 The New York Times profile that she owned seven Akari lamps.[21]
A 2021 article by The Strategist profiled 41 Akari owners with photos of the lamps styled in their homes. The owners praised the lamps' coziness and simplicity.[20]
Vintage examples of Noguchi's "light sculptures" are considered collector's items and sell for thousands of dollars at auction.[22]
↑"超稀少！ イサム・ノグチの名作「AKARI」"[Super Rare! Traveling exhibition of Isamu Noguchi's masterpiece 'AKARI']. Huinamu (in Japanese). 12 May 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
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