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Sogetsu Plaza designed by Kenzo Tange

Prominently known as the Sogetsu Plaza in the English-speaking world, after several failed attempts to visit it, I finally managed to make a visit during an open art exhibition held by Tomio Koyama Gallery in 2025. Located within the Sogetsu Kaikan, a Kenzo Tange-designed building of the Sogetsu Foundation Headquarters Building, the Sogetsu Plaza within the Sogetsu Kaikan sits within one of the most prominent spaces in the home to Sogetsu Ikebana. Ikebana, the ancient Japanese art form of flower arrangement, specifically, the Sogetsu school for this art form commissioned the build of this building, as well as the Sogetsu Plaza. Whilst the building was completed in 1977, the indoor stone garden designed by Isamu Noguchi was completed in 1978, and the building received the honourable Building Contractors Society Award in 1979.

Tengoku, a Noguchi-designed garden shaped by stones and water. Image by Von Chua.

In 1977, Noguchi’s indoor stone garden titled “Tengoku” or translated into English as “Heaven” was designed under the commission of Sofu Teshigahara, who is the founder of the Sogetsu-ryu school of ikebana flower arrangement. The design brief for Tengoku at Sogetsu Kaikan to Isamu Noguchi, with approval from the building’s architect, kenzo Tange, is the intention for a two-storey plaza to be used for exhibitions of Sogetsu artists. Acting as a stage for the works born out of the teachings that the building represents, Isamu Noguchi sensitively responded to the brief and described Tengoku as “a garden of time shaped by flowers, stones, and water.” Noguchi’s response was a modernist approach to the traditional Japanese landscape garden.

“If you set a pine, it should not look like a pine. It is very difficult not to make it look like a pine, though. Am I right, Sofu?” Was what Noguchi once said. In the design of Tengoku at Sogetsu Kaikan, did Noguchi anticipate how different plants and flowers would be presented by the disciples of the Sogetsu school - what should they look like if they did not look like their original form? During the exhibition by Tomio Koyama Gallery titled Keiji Ito / Group Exhibition “The Seven Hands of Mino” which includes works by Keiji Ito, Hiromi Itabashi, Tsubusa Kato, Kentaro Kawabata, Akio Niisato, Takuro Kuwata, and Keita Matsunaga, the varying medium of art that does not necessarily represent fresh flowers, showcases the versatility of Noguchi’s design.

On Noguchi’s approach to larger spaces, including Tengoku at the Sogetsu Kaikan, Noguchi conceived them as gardens; Noguchi did not approach large scale projects as sites with objects, but rather as relationships to a whole. What is interesting about Tengoku at the Sogetsu Kaikan is its prominence at the building’s entrance. Tengoku’s footprint takes up almost the full width of the building’s entrance, on both the ground floor and first floor. This is certainly a different approach and placement priority when compared to a number of workplace project discussions that I have recently been involved in. Consisting of stone and water, Tengoku at the Sogetsu Kaikan serves as an excellent blank canvas with a strong presence when there are no exhibits placed. On the other hand, when it serves its purpose - as a plaza to display the Sogetsu artists’ works, the stone and water subtly retreat into the background, acting as a strong supporting actors to the different main characters. Plants and flowers take center stage as main characters when they are exhibited. This may be the key strength of Noguchi’s response to this design brief for Sofu Teshigahara, serving the works of the teachers and students of Sogetsu in the years to come.

Tengoku, a garden shaped by stones, during the Keiji Ito / Group Exhibition by Tomio Koyama Gallery. Image by Von Chua.

During the time Tengoku at Sogetsu Kaikan was designed and constructed, on the other side of the globe, Noguchi was also designing the Philip A. Hart Plaza in Detroit, United States. It is an 8-acre civic centre that sits along the Detroit River, completed slightly later in 1979. With a huge difference in size and scale, would there be more similarities or differences with Tengoku? How did the design brief and location of these two projects differ?

In 2027, the Sogetsu School of Ikebana will mark its 100th anniversary. Tengoku would have been part of its history for the past 50 years. I look forward to the exhibitions they may curate for this occasion at Tengoku. To visit Tengoku at Sogetsu Kaikan, please check the official website for public openings. If there are no public opening dates available, the cafe at the Sogetsu Kaikan has a view into Tengoku. The address is: The Sogetsu Kaikan, 2-21, Akasaka 7-chrome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8505.