Floor Lamp
Manufactured by Nichiden Electric Co., Ltd.
Japan, 1962
Steel, aluminum and teak
Measurements
60 × 31 × 173h cm
23,6 × 12,2 × 68,1h in
Details
Original white version. Adjustable aluminum shade with height-adjustable mechanism. E26 socket (100W max.).
Provenance
Private Collection, Japan
Literature
Japanese Modern Lighting Design, Nichiden Electric Co., Ltd., 1962.
Design: Isamu Noguchi and Isamu Kenmochi, Bonnie Rychlak, Dakin Hart, Mutsuko Mori, Masayo Murayama and Kengo Matsumoto, The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York, 2022.
About
Designed by Kenjiro Ikeda in 1962 for Nichiden Electric, this floor lamp is one of the most sophisticated examples of Japanese modern lighting from the postwar period. The design was admired and used by architect Kunio Maekawa, who kept one in the study of his residence, now preserved at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum.
Its most distinctive feature is the ingenious height-adjustment mechanism. The teak support is joined to the aluminum shade through a suspended hook system that allows the shade to be repositioned effortlessly along the central shaft. By means of a subtle upward angle and the weight of the shade itself, the hook locks securely into place while remaining easily adjustable.
This mechanism was inspired by the traditional jizaikagi, the adjustable suspended hook historically used above the hearth (irori) in Japanese vernacular houses. By adapting this centuries-old device into a modern lighting fixture, Ikeda created a design that balances technical ingenuity with cultural continuity.
Combining aluminum, steel, and warm teak, the lamp exemplifies the refined material palette and functional clarity that characterized Japanese modern design during the country's period of rapid postwar industrial growth. Both sculptural and highly practical, it remains a remarkable example of the dialogue between traditional craftsmanship and modern engineering.
Biography
Kenjiro Ikeda (池田健次郎) was a Japanese industrial designer active during the postwar decades, a period in which Japan established itself as one of the world's leading centers of modern design. Working closely with Nichiden Electric Co., Ltd., Ikeda developed a series of lighting designs that combined innovative engineering with a distinctly Japanese sensitivity toward materials and construction.
Rather than treating lighting as purely functional, Ikeda explored ways of integrating traditional Japanese mechanisms and spatial concepts into modern industrial products. His work frequently employed aluminum, steel, and carefully selected hardwoods, emphasizing precision, durability, and elegant simplicity. The 1962 adjustable floor lamp is regarded as one of his most accomplished designs, notable for reinterpreting the traditional jizaikagi mechanism within a modern lighting object.
Although less internationally known than contemporaries such as Isamu Kenmochi or Sori Yanagi, Ikeda contributed significantly to the development of Japanese postwar product design. His work embodies the principles that defined the era: technological innovation, functional refinement, and a thoughtful dialogue between traditional craftsmanship and industrial production.
