How Tokyo Taught a French Architect the Power of Colors

The Life-Changing Color Experience

Emmanuelle, who has lived in Tokyo for 29 years, was born and raised in seaside towns in France. As an avid reader, she began reading Japanese literature, such as works by Natsume Soseki, and was also drawn to Japanese films, such as those by Ozu Yasujiro.

Aspiring to become an architect, she wanted to write her university graduation thesis on Tokyo, but could not raise enough money to travel there. Then, one day, something unexpected happened.

"My grandmother won a ticket in the lottery! She gave it to me so that I could travel to Japan."

It was only a week, but the impression the trip left on her was so strong it changed her life.

"I remember everything like it was yesterday. As I was heading into Tokyo from Narita Airport on the Narita Express, I saw a really vibrant blue roof on a house from the window and it amazed me."

While a common sight in Japan, Emmanuelle had never seen anything like it in France. Her train finally arrived in the heart of Tokyo, and she made her way to Ikebukuro, where she had booked a guest house.

"At that moment, my eyes saw Ikebukuro as a space with countless 'floating' colors. Excitement burst in my heart, like I was seeing colors for the first time in my life. I felt the colors with my entire body and was immersed in 'emotion.'"

Emmanuelle began exploring the streets of Ikebukuro, which were overflowing with colors. It took her only an hour or two to decide that she was going to live in Tokyo. She returned to France temporarily to complete her studies and earn an architect license, and then soon after, she packed a single suitcase and moved to Tokyo.

"French towns are monochromatic. In general, walls are the color of stones, and roofs are orange tiles in the south and grey, thin-cut clay slates in Paris. Building facades stretch down both sides of the streets, which means your eyes can only look straight ahead, and you can only see the sky when you look up. But the streets of Tokyo are lined with buildings of different sizes and colors. There is also an architectural law that mandates a certain amount of space be made between buildings, so you can see the sky almost anywhere. Tokyo is a city that is formed in ways that allow you to pick up a spectrum of sensations from every direction."

Emmanuelle uses the term "layers" to describe the way Tokyo is built, where various different elements are "layered" one on top of the other in any given space. She says she draws inspiration from this abundance of colors and layers.

Traditional Spaces Are Disappearing from Japan

Emmanuelle has a strong interest in traditional Japanese architecture as well and studied the subject through books even before moving to Japan.

"Traditional interior spaces in Japan are highly pragmatic. Architectural dividers that have existed since the Heian period (794-1185) like kabeshiro (wall curtains), fusuma (door partitions), sudare (screens) and shoji (paper screen partitions) enable residents to use such spaces in flexible ways and even make seasonal changes. Unlike walls, dividers allow us to feel the presence of nature and people on the other side."

However, once she started living in Tokyo, Emmanuelle began to notice how modern Japanese people were gradually doing away with traditional architecture and ways of living.

"The first apartment I lived in had a Japanese room with shoji partitions, but then the landlord renovated the place into a Western style and removed both the shoji and tatami mats."

The buildings in her neighborhood that she had loved were also deconstructed one after another and replaced with monochromatic ones.

"It made me really sad. So when I founded my architectural firm, I announced the concept of shikiri. I wanted to create a new form of dividing layers that could fit modern aesthetics so that we wouldn't lose the wonderful culture."

Shikiri was a creation born from destruction.

It is a concept for "dividing and creating space through colors," says Emmanuelle. "I use colors as three-dimensional elements, like layers, in order to create spaces, not as a finishing touch applied to surfaces." She created this concept by drawing inspiration from the colors and layers she experienced in Tokyo.

"I think colors have the power to make people smile. Whenever I install a piece of work and open it to the public, I always hide close by to watch people's reactions to it. The moment they see it, they smile. Their bodies feel the colors. Some art can be complex and baffling, but mine isn't. The colors are seen by the eyes, felt by the body, and the works can be enjoyed by anyone, from children to the elderly."

100 Colors and a Message on Diversity

"100 colors" is an installation series that creates space using the 100 colors that Emmanuelle feels are the most beautiful. The shape of the colors is altered to fit the installation's environment and fully draw out the colors' appeal. The works fill up the viewer's sight with 100 colors all at once, allowing them to take in the colors with their whole body and feel the colors themselves.

Each color included in "100 colors" is beautiful, but could there be a message on respecting diversity incorporated within the artworks?

"I'm glad you feel that way. In fact, I treat colors equally. I make sure not to be partial to, for example, not to use more greens than the other colors. The seven rainbow colors may come to mind for many people when they think about respect for diversity, but I don't feel seven colors are quite enough."

Emmanuelle says, "Spaces feel kinder when lots of colors are used."

Emmanuelle expresses her feelings about Tokyo: "I still love the colors overflowing on the streets of Tokyo. The city has been changing a lot over the past few years, and I think the cityscape is growing more and more monochromatic. But I don't want the city to lose its colors. The colors and layers are what make Tokyo Tokyo."

Emmanuelle says that the architecture of a country is deeply tied not only to its climate but also to society. If Tokyo's colors and layers are starting to fall apart, perhaps it is a sign that the society is starting to fall apart. Emmanuelle's "100 colors" series showcases her great love for Tokyo and is also, at the same time, a warning.

Emmanuelle Moureaux

French architect, artist and designer living in Tokyo since 1996. Inspired by the layers and colors of Tokyo that built a complex depth and density on the street, and the traditional spatial elements like sliding screens, she has created the concept of shikiri, which literally means "dividing (creating) space with colors". Her notable works includes "100 colors", "Forest of Numbers" at The National Art Center, Tokyo. She is also a professor at Tohoku University of Art and Design. "100 colors" has added colors to various places in the world, including New York, Paris, Dubai, London.