Distinguished guests, Maestro Kengo Kuma, President Matteo Belfiore, welcome to the Embassy of Italy in Tokyo. It is a great pleasure to host you today in the House of the Italian Design, or Casa del Design italiano.
This space itself stands as a testament to the dialogue we celebrate today. Conceived as part of a renovation project launched for the Italian Design Day two years ago, this multifunction room—redesigned by Matteo Belfiore—serves as a permanent showcase of Italian creativity and excellence.
Today we gather here to listen to one of the world’s most renowned architectural minds, and a dear friend of this Embassy, Maestro Kengo Kuma, as he addresses the theme “Between Italy and Japan.”
This event is particularly significant because it marks a collaboration with the newly established association IDJ – Italian Design Japan. I wish to congratulate President Belfiore and all the founding members on this remarkable initiative.
The establishment of an association dedicated to Italian-speaking architects and designers demonstrates the extraordinary vitality of our professional community in Japan. It reflects not just a professional network, but a deep and growing interest in the values that underpin Italian design: tradition, functionality, creativity, and beauty.
Made in Italy is not merely a brand: it is a cultural heritage that finds a perfect echo in the Japanese attention for technique and detail. But design is not just about objects: it is about living. It is about the spaces we inhabit and how they shape our interactions.
Maestro Kuma’s work perfectly embodies this philosophy: his extraordinary ability to fuse organic materials with contemporary lines creates a ‘spatial poetry’ that resonates deeply with both the Japanese soul and the Italian architectural tradition.
The bond between our two countries is historic, but it is constantly renewed through culture and economic relations. By fostering high-level exchanges like today’s event, we do not only discuss aesthetics; we strengthen the fundamental bridges that connect our economies and our peoples.
These bridges find their most profound expression in the very walls of this Embassy, a place where the legacy of the past and the vision of the future coexist in an eternal dialogue.
It is precisely this unique history that I have documented in my upcoming book, “Il Giardino dei Matsudaira e l’Ambasciata d’Italia in Giappone: storia di un luogo e dei suoi protagonisti”, which will be published this May, followed by a Japanese edition in November.
I would like to thank the IDJ for its dedication in organizing this conference, and Maestro Kuma for honoring us with his presence. I look forward to his reflections on the unique synergy that unites our two cultures.
Thank you.