Nobuaki Sato 
This winter, Lei will open its first boutique in Yoyogi-Uehara, Tokyo (date to be announced). For years, Lei has drawn inspiration from the spirit of “In Praise of Shadows” — a Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in the gradations of light and shadow, and in subtle presence — creating objects that delicately enrich the moments they accompany.
Each one was an attempt to give form to silence, and to bring presence to what is usually unseen.
Now, that sensibility takes shape as space itself: we present a boutique where the essence of Lei can be experienced.
I am Nobuaki Sato, Brand Manager for Lei. This is the story of how this space came to be.
The Beginning of Lei
(Lei00)
Lei began in 2020, under the vision of our founder and inventor, Yasuyuki Nagato. The first object he created was Lei00 — a non-electric aroma diffuser, a silent sculpture where light and scent meet in stillness. Light the flame. The air stirs. Fragrance unfolds. There is nothing to do — only to feel. Lei00 emerged through subtraction — a choice to shape calmness rather than display, to design with tenderness instead of excess.
We live in an age defined by convenience — where progress is measured by efficiency and accumulation. But we found ourselves wondering: is convenience the only form of richness? Perhaps there is another kind — one that lives in what endures, in what rests softly beside us. The slow turn of a propeller. The gentle breath of scent through air. Lei00 was our answer.
(Lei Light Reflection)
After Lei00 came Lei Light Reflection. A piece inspired by the spirit of the traditional andon lantern — illuminating presence without demanding attention. At once a lamp, a mirror, and an aroma diffuser, it allows one to sense the passing of time through shifting light and shadow. We wished to surprise without spectacle — to create something both poetic and practical. Design that speaks softly, yet lingers. Recognition followed — including Red Dot, New York Design Award, and European Product Design Award. Yet the recognition we value most was spoken with calm sincerity: “It feels alive, even when it rests.”
The Aesthetic We Stand By
We are drawn to what does not insist on being seen.
A shadow shifting across a surface. Light softened through shōji. The faint glow of a candle. The space between things — what the Japanese call ma(間). This sensibility is often described through the phrase In Praise of Shadows — a way of honoring quiet presence, restraint, and the beauty that emerges when light and darkness meet.
As Tanizaki wrote, “We find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and darkness, that one thing against another creates.” For us, this is not a concept to explain, but a way of making — a way of shaping objects that stay close to life, asking nothing, yet remaining. Beauty, for us, lives in what stays — what asks nothing, yet remains.
(Lei Card Diffuser)
The Search for Shared Moments
For us, the growth of Lei brought many opportunities — exhibitions, pop-ups, collaborations, and a growing community of people who resonated with our work.
We were grateful. Yet, there was a sense of incompleteness. What was missing was the ability to meet each person — to see their expressions, to share the moment when a fragrance, texture, or form truly moves them. The most meaningful part of creating is not simply offering an object. It is witnessing that moment of recognition, when something unspoken is shared. This boutique was born to make that moment possible — a place where our creations can be encountered in their truest form, and where those who visit might feel something shift, even slightly, within themselves. We hope that those who step inside leave with a sense of quiet excitement — a feeling of having discovered something genuine, and of carrying a trace of that experience back into their daily life.
This is not merely a shop. It is a place of resonance —
a space where beauty lingers, softly, after you leave. And for those who return, the space never feels quite the same. Because you too, have changed — even if only slightly.
A Room for Encounter
The boutique is a room that changes with time. In the day, the space holds a gentle clarity — light moving slowly across surfaces, inviting unhurried attention. As evening comes, the atmosphere deepens; voices soften, shadows lengthen, and the room begins to feel closer, more intimate.
A soft, natural resonance lives here — sounds that do not ask to be heard, but simply join the space, like breath, like weather. Those who visit may find themselves in unhurried conversation, in shared silence, or in a moment of recognition — not only of objects, but of themselves.
From time to time, this room welcomes artists and makers
who share our way of seeing — those drawn to shadow, restraint, and the beauty held in things that do not insist on being seen. Their presence shifts the room, subtle yet unmistakable.
There are also moments when fragrance, light, and warmth gather differently — when the room invites one to stay a little longer.
Nothing here asks to be hurried. You may come to choose an object. You may come simply to be here. Either is enough. For some, something changes — gently, and in its own time.
Experience the harmony between shadow and light.