Learning from 'Hōjōki': Tiny Architecture Reweaves Life
21_21 Design Sight
Starts 8/28
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21_21 DESIGN SIGHT will hold the exhibition "Learning from 'Hōjōki': Tiny Architecture Reweaves Life," from August 28, 2026.
The 13th-century essay "Hōjōki" is known in English as "The Ten-Foot Square Hut" (the Japanese title literally means "A Record of My Ten-Foot Square Hut"). In it, Kamo no Chomei ponders the ephemeral nature of life in this impermanent world. The humble hut in which he wrote no longer exists, but his words are timeless. Chomei's words have given rise to many practices again and again in similar circumstances. Both as literature and as philosophy, "Hōjōki" inquires into the very essence of human habitation. This is why "Hōjōki" can also be taken as a treatise on the essence of architecture. This exhibition will center on the small dwelling that provides the title of the text and which Chomei calls Hōjō-an - Ten-Foot Square Hut. His small hermitage is a starting point to reconsider contemporary life and the built environment.
Exhibition director and architect Yoshiharu Tsukamoto is joined by architects, designers, artists and companies, each of whom develops their own interpretation of Chomei's hut. All proposals share Chomei's minimal 9m2-square footprint, but use the participant's own selection of tools and materials to build a structure that challenges dormant human existence.
This exhibition displays these huts throughout the venue, joined together by pathways. Also featured research and studies into the nature and patterns of living that appear in "Hōjōki." While following the path and strolling between the huts, visitors experience a series of reinterpretations of the ten-foot square dwelling.
The exhibition does not intend to clarify what is "Hōjōki." Rather, it sheds light on the "living" that emerges between us today and "Hōjōki," and challenges today's livelihood from a different perspective.
The 13th-century essay "Hōjōki" is known in English as "The Ten-Foot Square Hut" (the Japanese title literally means "A Record of My Ten-Foot Square Hut"). In it, Kamo no Chomei ponders the ephemeral nature of life in this impermanent world. The humble hut in which he wrote no longer exists, but his words are timeless. Chomei's words have given rise to many practices again and again in similar circumstances. Both as literature and as philosophy, "Hōjōki" inquires into the very essence of human habitation. This is why "Hōjōki" can also be taken as a treatise on the essence of architecture. This exhibition will center on the small dwelling that provides the title of the text and which Chomei calls Hōjō-an - Ten-Foot Square Hut. His small hermitage is a starting point to reconsider contemporary life and the built environment.
Exhibition director and architect Yoshiharu Tsukamoto is joined by architects, designers, artists and companies, each of whom develops their own interpretation of Chomei's hut. All proposals share Chomei's minimal 9m2-square footprint, but use the participant's own selection of tools and materials to build a structure that challenges dormant human existence.
This exhibition displays these huts throughout the venue, joined together by pathways. Also featured research and studies into the nature and patterns of living that appear in "Hōjōki." While following the path and strolling between the huts, visitors experience a series of reinterpretations of the ten-foot square dwelling.
The exhibition does not intend to clarify what is "Hōjōki." Rather, it sheds light on the "living" that emerges between us today and "Hōjōki," and challenges today's livelihood from a different perspective.
Schedule | Aug 28 (Fri) 2026-Jan 11 (Mon) 2027 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | TBD | ||||
| Website | https://www.2121designsight.jp/en/program/hojoki/ | ||||
| Venue | 21_21 Design Sight http://www.2121designsight.jp/en/ | ||||
| Location | Midtown Garden, Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052 | ||||
| Access | 5 minute walk from Roppongi Station on the Toei Oedo or Hibiya line, 5 minute walk from exit 1 at Nogizaka Station on the Chiyoda line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-3475-2121 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it  |
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