Manufacturer: Vitra | Designer: Isamu Noguchi, 1951

The Akari 16A is a smaller suspension light with a quietly sculptural quality. Its compact washi paper shade produces a warm, focused glow — well suited to low-hung dining arrangements, bedside pendants, or grouped in multiples for greater impact. Designed by Isamu Noguchi in 1951, it is one of the most accessible and adaptable forms in the Akari Light Sculptures series.

Each Akari luminaire is meticulously handcrafted at the Ozeki workshop, a traditional family-run company based in Gifu, Japan. Bamboo rods are stretched across Noguchi’s original wooden forms to create the framework, before strips of washi paper — derived from the bark of the mulberry tree — are glued to the bamboo ribbing. Once dry, the wooden form is removed and the shade folded into its final shape. Every piece carries a stylised sun-and-moon logo as a guarantee of authenticity.

Specifications

• Dimensions — W52 × D48 × H28cm
• Cable — 220cm
• Shade — Handcrafted washi paper over bamboo ribbing
• Structure — Bamboo and steel wire
• Light source — E27, max. 12W (not supplied; 4W LED recommended)
• Collection — Vitra Design Museum Collection

Part of the Vitra Akari collection and the Pendant Lights collection.