Nikkei BP Publishes an Illustrated Book Tracing the World-renowned Kengo Kuma's Architectural Evolution

In May 2021, Nikkei BP published the Illustrated Directory of Kengo Kuma's Architecture, featuring key projects undertaken by this internationally acclaimed Japanese architect.

Kuma is widely admired and has been active in his field for over 35 years. His name became even more familiar to the public after he designed the new Japan National Stadium, which is the main venue for Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. From among some 1,000 previous projects of this architect who is representative of our time, the book showcases 50 of his key accomplishments in Japan.

The book's distinguishing feature is that it presents the evolution of Kuma's architecture in the form of a picture directory full of illustrations, highlighting the intriguing characteristics of each work with keywords. Kengo Kuma himself also evaluated the book in an interview, noting that it offers a new twist by giving a bird's-eye view of his works and explaining them from multiple angles.

The buildings featured in the book are presented with professional guidance on design and technical aspects, making it a valuable read even for experts. A long interview with Kengo Kuma can be found at the start and end of the book, and the text can be enjoyed both as a travel guidebook and a practical resource on architecture.

The book was released by Nikkei Architecture, Nikkei BP's professional architecture magazine first published in 1976. The readership of Nikkei Architecture includes leading architects, construction companies, government offices and other professionals involved in the architectural field. Issued semi-monthly, this comprehensive and timely publication provides a wealth of information on the latest trends and news from the world of architecture. With its abundant photographs and graphical explanations, it examines social and economic topics, management practices and specialized fields such as architectural design, structure and construction. Nikkei Architecture is deeply appreciated by many readers for keeping a sharp eye on the ever-changing industry, as well as for its careful explication of surrounding issues and background factors. It paints a comprehensive picture of the latest developments, covered by expert reporters in an easy-to-understand manner.

Hiroshi Miyazawa, the author of the Illustrated Directory of Kengo Kuma's Architecture, is a freelance writer/illustrator and a former editor-in-chief of Nikkei Architecture. After joining Nikkei BP, he created much unique content, capitalizing on his excellent illustration skills. His works give a heart-warming impression at first glance, and their detailed and accurate expressions are captivating. This has allowed him to build a strong fan base in Japan and other parts of Asia. Miyazawa has authored many illustrated books on architecture originally in Japanese, and much of his work has also been translated and published in China and Taiwan. There was a flood of inquiries about translation licensing for the Illustrated Directory of Kengo Kuma's Architecture from publishers in China and Taiwan even before the original Japanese version came out, and publication contracts were signed immediately.

Furthermore, the Illustrated Directory of Kengo Kuma's Architecture was mentioned by designboom, an international online magazine covering a wide range of news on subjects ranging from architecture to design and products. The website is popular in Japan, but this has been the first time that it has introduced a Japanese architectural book. As designboom notes, "sadly, it is only available in Japanese for now," and the translation and publication rights in English and other languages are still on sale. Kengo Kuma fans all over the world will surely enjoy this work, and we are eager to see it published in many different languages.

Books by Hiroshi Miyazawa, published by Nikkei BP:

Japan's Premodern Architecture

Japan's Postmodern Architecture

Japan's Legacy Architecture

The books introduced here are just a few examples of the unique, high-quality publications offered by Nikkei BP. We cover a wide range of fields, from business skills useful for career opportunities and professional fields of technology to lifestyle categories such as health and culture. We are keen to see our books published in other languages and welcome requests from publishers, agents and companies interested in translation licensing.

Please contact us for more information on the foreign rights to our uniquely positioned and unmissable books.

For further details, please contact:
Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.

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