5 Japanese Lighting Tips for More Atmospheric Ambiance

A kitchen in a Japanese home with a backlit shelf, a leaning cutting board, a bowl, and some glasses — Japanese homes are adept at the art of lighting to promote a sense of calm.

(Image credit: Felix Speller. Design: Studio Hagen Hall. Styling: Emily Farbrother)

"As the evenings draw in, most homes reach for the same solution," says interior designer Yoko Kloeden. "The overhead light goes on at dusk and stays on until bed."

However, she points out that Japanese lighting has never worked that way. Traditionally, these homes are lit in pools, harness paper, illuminate surfaces, cover low ground, and tune brightness to the time of day. All of these tricks help create atmospheric ambience and make spending time indoors feel warm and welcoming.

So, let's explore these five Japanese lighting tips the designer says are worth borrowing for your own home. And according to Yoko, none of them actually require rewiring, so no excuses.

1. Light in Pools, Not One Wash

A Japanese dining room with banquette seating, a wood and steel table, a tea set, a window, and a large hanging pendant — This way pockets of light guide you through the various moods of a home.

"Japanese design has a separate word for the warm, human-made glow of a lamp — akari (明かり) — as distinct from hikari, the natural light of the sun," says interior designer Yoko Kloeden.

"A room lit by akari has several small sources rather than one bright one — a lamp beside a chair, another on a shelf, a third low in a corner," she adds. "Pools of softness rather than an even glare."

She explains that this simple change to the way you plan your lighting scheme makes the biggest difference, and it usually starts with switching the big light off and relying instead on warmer alternatives to overheads.

H&M

Light Beige Large Rice Paper Pendant Light

Yoko Kloeden

Yoko Kloeden Design is a London-based architecture and interior design studio, founded by Yoko Kloeden in 2016. Located in West London, the studio specializes in crafting mood-enhancing sanctuaries, seamlessly blending Japanese aesthetics with natural, serene elements. Each project aims to create spaces that feel both harmonious and deeply restorative, reflecting Yoko’s commitment to calm, balanced interiors. The studio provides a full range of architecture and interior design services for private and commercial clients, carefully crafting every space to bring balance, beauty, and well-being to those who inhabit it.

2. Place Lights Low

A living room beside a garden with a wood stool, a potted tree, a rice paper table lamp, and a candle — Consider bringing your lighting to a lower level for an organic warmth.

"Traditional Japanese lighting always sat near the floor. The andon, the standard lamp of the Edo period, was a paper-covered wooden frame with an oil lamp inside, most often set on the floor or a low stand," Yoko notes.

"Isamu Noguchi said he found the andon fascinating as something suited to a way of life centered on tatami, the woven floor mats of a traditional room. Light arriving from below the eyeline is kinder to a room, and to a face, than anything coming down from the ceiling."

So while your table lamps might be presently perched on shelves and desks, descending them to a spot closer to the floor is a simple way to evoke a more rooted atmosphere. This Andon Table Light from Form & Refine, for one, would look beautiful on a low and long console.

Audo Copenhagen

Hashira Handmade Portable Dimmable Linen Table Lamp

3. Use Paper

A Japanese home with a small study with a wooden desk, a rice paper table lamp, and sliding doors — This is the ultimate material to soften your lighting scheme.

Yoko tells me that paper lamps are a soothing Japanese lighting trick to transform austere spaces. "Washi paper diffuses light through the fiber rather than blocking it, so the shade itself becomes the source rather than a screen in front of one," she says.

"The best-known example began in 1951, when Noguchi stopped in Gifu and watched cormorant fishing boats on the Nagara River lit by paper chochin lanterns."

"The town’s lantern trade was failing, and the mayor asked him to help. He replaced the candle with an electric bulb, went on to design more than a hundred models, and called them Akari. They are still made in Gifu by Ozeki, the lantern maker he partnered with, founded in 1891."

This Akari 9A Floor Lamp from Vitra is a thoughtful way to pay homage to Noguchi's craft or, more simply, illuminate a bare corner.

Westwing

Misaki Rice Paper Design Wall Lamp

4. Light the Surface, Not the Room

A display nook with a single spotlight over a ceramic bowl in a living room with a structured chair — Note how the spotlight gives the wooden nook and its ceramic pride of place.

There's a moment of theatricality that comes from using light to amplify texture. And it's quite possibly the least performative way to show off the thoughtful accents of your home.

"Point a lamp at a plastered wall, a timber panel, or a drawn curtain and let the surface do the work," Yoko advises. "Light that arrives by reflection carries no glare, and a textured surface hands back something broader and softer than any fitting aimed into the middle of a room."

It's all about using lighting for a better atmosphere, and this small tweak to where the glow lands makes a notable difference.

West Elm

Mooney Table Lamp

5. Let It Get Darker

A minimalist hallway with dark wood cupboards by a staircase, an orange Togo, and a spherical pendant lamp — Tuning your light to the time of day will magically help you wind down.

Yoko tells me one of the biggest lighting mistakes you could make is holding one level from dusk until bed. "Dim as the evening goes on and let the edges of the room fall away," she recommends.

"A room that changes through the evening keeps pace with what the body is already doing, and dark corners are not a failure of the scheme," she adds. "They are what give the lit parts their depth."

This Dimmable Margin Pendant Light from New Works is perfect for a more classic look. Or you can style in a more contemporary light, like this Beige Rechargeable Lamp from H&M.

M&S

Wooden Table Lamp

One of my favorite Japanese philosophies is komorebi. It teaches you just how valuable splotches of natural light can be inside your home.

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Amiya is a Home Wellness Writer at Livingetc. She recently graduated with a Masters Degree in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London, and has lent her words to beauty, fashion, and health sections of lifestyle publications including Harper’s Bazaar and Women’s Health. Her experience as a research analyst has equipped her with an eye for emerging trends. When she’s off the clock, she can be found reading, listening to music, or overanalyzing her latest Co-Star update.