I would like to thank Shimomura Iku for her comments and criticism on this article. Unless otherwise noted, illustrations are mine.

1. The Japanese word in'ei, implying both "shade" and "shadow", has been used subjectively in different contexts to convey the mood of the gloom of the traditional Japanese room. The term "shadowy world" used here is, however, a personal terminology to represent that same notion.

2. Tatami are modular reed mats that make the surface of the traditional Japanese floor. Shoji are sliding latticed doors, almost "movable walls," typically with rice paper panels that diffuse the exterior light.

3. See Gorge Ferras' essay "Frontal Perception in Japanese Architectural Space," published in Process Architecture 25 - Japan: Climate, Space, Concept; Process Architecture Publishing Co. Ltd., Tokyo. Ferras comprehends the Japanese room as an outcome of the technique of okosheizu, or frontal perception, as against the Western concept of space perceived through perspective depth. According to him, the Japanese room is thus understood as a space generated by the autonomous understanding of the various walls that make it.

4. Built in the 1950's, the Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut at Ronchamp in France, by Le Corbusier, is considered to be a masterpiece of modern architecture. See Jeodicke, Jurgen, Space and Form in Architecture, published by Karl Kramer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1985, for an analysis and interpretation of the spatial and lighting concepts of the Chapel at Ronchamp.

5. The tokonoma is the decorative alcove found in a quintessential Japanese room. Typically it contains a kakejiku, or "picture scroll," that is used to display the mood of the event therein. The tokonoma originated as a symbolic gesture of ancestor worship. Though it bears a tradition of being placed close to a window of a room, thus diffusing more light on it than other parts of the room, the overall illumination emphasis is still ambiguous enough for it to be perceived as a holistic part of a gloomy, diffused interior.

6. Tanizaki Junichiro (1886-1965) was one of Japan's most eminent novelists and the author of the seminal writing In Praise of Shadows (In'ei Raisan). His literary career spanned more than half a century and included such writings as Some Prefer Nettles (Tade Kuu Mushi, 1928-29), The Makioka Sisters (Sasameyuki, 1943-48), and Diary of a Mad Old Man (Futen Rojin Nikki, 1961-62).

7. Built in the sixth century by Emperor Justinian, the Hagia Sofia in Constantinople, Turkey, is a masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. The church dedicated to Christ as Holy Wisdom has four pendentive arches that support a dome rising some 50 feet high above the ground. See Jeodicke, Jurgen, Space and Form in Architecture, published by Karl Kramer Verlag, Stuttgart, 1985, for an analysis and interpretation of the spatial and lighting concepts of the Hagia Sofia.

8. The Soan (literally "grass cottage") tea hut in Kyoto is an example of a Soan style chasitsu, or space in which the cha-no-yu ("tea ceremony") was held. Typically, the hut was designed as a remote rustic cottage with a tea room for the ritual proper and an ante-room for preparations and storage. Also see footnote 9.

9. The tea ceremony originated as a technique of meditation and social gathering involving a host preparing tea for a guest. Today it has evolved into a secular ritual. The entire act traditionally occurred in a tea Hut that was approached through a tea garden designed to evoke the feel of a forest. The ritualistic process, from entering the tea world to the completion of the ceremony itself, demanded rigorous training and attention to be comprehended in the proper way. The architecture of the tea ceremony too was a contemplative experiential compound that was carefully designed to enhance the state of tranquility needed to generate the necessary emotions.

10. There is no historical evidence to validate the conscious perception of dimness and gloom in the narrow streets and alleys of old Japan. It is at best, therefore, a plausible speculation based on personal perceptions in some of Japan's traditional remnants.

11. The roji (literally "dewy path") represents the path through the traditional tea garden that the participant traverses in order to reach the tea hut during the cha-no-yu ("tea ceremony"). Typically, its careful siting of trees, stepping stones, lanterns, and enclosures produce a sense of seclusion and tranquility appropriate for the preparation for the tea ceremony ritual. Also see footnote 9.

12. Noh is a traditional Japanese form of theater. The bare simplicity and austerity of its performance is a reflection of the aesthetic principle of Zen. Some authorities claim that the movement of its actors is based on the art of swordsmanship, which aims at loyalty, self-sacrifice, reverence, benevolence, and the cultivation of other higher feelings.

13. See Chang, Ching Yu, "Japanese Spatial Conception," paper series published in The Japan Architect, The Japan Architect Co. Ltd. Tokyo, Japan, for further reading on such "notions of beauty."

14. The Tale of Heike (Heike Monogatari) is the classic thirteenth century Japanese historical account of the vicissitudes of the Heike family and their downfall in battle with the Genji family.

15. A Haiku is a traditional Japanese sonnet comprising 17 syllables that are sequenced in the order of five, seven, and five, typically seeking to connote a momentary flash of insight or a deep intuitive instantaneous happenning.

16. See Buntrock, Dana, "Without Modernity: Japan's Challenging Modernization," published in Architronic Vol.5 n3.02

17. See Tanizaki, Junichiro, In Praise of Shadows (In'ei Raisan), translated by Thomas J. Harper and Edward G. Seidensticker, published by the Charles E. Tuttle Company Inc., Tokyo, Japan, an essay on Japanese aesthetics elucidating the fading significance of darkness in the Japanese tradition. It was first published in the December 1933 and January 1934 issues of Keizai Orai.