Japanese design brand Muji has revealed the prototype for its latest prefab house, which it will test by having a competition winner move in rent-free for two years (+ movie). More about Muji to test prefab house by letting a competition winner live in it for free
Osaka studio Sides Core has created a house in Kobe, conceived as a series of simple wooden containers (+ slideshow). More about House in Mikage by Sides Core contrasts white surfaces with exposed wooden beams
Wooden crosses mark the entrances to this house in Japan, which features an intentionally complicated layout designed by Alts Design Office to create more privacy for residents (+ slideshow). More about Uji House by Alts Design Office features a deliberately complex layout
Atelier HAKO Architects has squeezed a three-storey house onto a four-metre-wide site in Tokyo, suggesting that skinny houses are still the rage in Japan (+ slideshow). More about Four-metre-wide house built in Tokyo by Atelier HAKO Architects
Translucent curtains surround a mezzanine tea room in the heart of this home, designed by Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates for a retired couple in Japan's Aichi Prefecture (+ slideshow). More about Tea room and veranda provide socialising space in Katsutoshi Sasaki's Wengawa House
A photography series documenting 20 contemporary Japanese homes and their owners joins 500 more examples of Japanese houses on our extensive Pinterest board.
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More about Dezeen's updated Pinterest board features over 500 Japanese houses
This series of images by photographer Jérémie Souteyrat captures the everyday activities of people living in contemporary Japanese houses (+ slideshow). More about Jérémie Souteyrat photographs 20 contemporary Japanese houses and their owners
Arched openings and curved walls feature throughout this compact family home in Japan, designed by architecture studio Alts Design Office to make the interior feel more cosy (+ slideshow). More about Alts Design Office uses arches and curves throughout Outsu House in Japan
An oversized dormer window extends from the asymmetric roof of this house designed by architects Hiroki Tominaga and Yae Fujima for an elderly couple in Japan's Gifu Prefecture (+ slideshow). More about Hiroki Tominaga Atelier completes Japanese retirement home featuring a huge dormer window
Japanese architect Ninkipen! has completed a house in Osaka Prefecture, featuring a metal surface that appears to be peeling up from the structure (+ slideshow). More about Gandare house by Ninkipen! has a metal skin that appears to peel up
This house in Japan features bright white walls and mirrored surfaces inside and out to make the most of the surrounding greenery and natural light (+ slideshow). More about Mirrors and white walls draw light through House in Okazaki by Kazuki Moroe Architects
For this house on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japanese architect Tetsuo Yamaji aimed to create a unique building using mass-produced components (+ slideshow). More about Tetsuo Yamaji builds "a non-mass-produced house with mass-produced components"
A wooden structure and hand-built joinery are left exposed throughout the interior of this compact house in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, by architecture studio Hitotomori (+ slideshow). More about Hitotomori completes small house with a custom-made plywood interior
Architecture studio S Plus One has built a pair of matching micro homes in a Japanese village, one clad in cedar and the other clad with pine. More about Twin micro homes by S Plus One are both finished in different woods
Red cedar provides a golden-hued exterior for this small gabled house, designed by local studio Atelier Kukka for a Tokyo street featuring a Japanese cherry tree (+ slideshow). More about Atelier Kukka's House U is designed to frame a nearby cherry tree in Tokyo
This clifftop holiday home by British designer John Pawson presents white windowless facades to its guests, but at the rear large windows and a roof terrace face towards the sea (+ slideshow). More about John Pawson completes bright white holiday home on Japan's Okinawa island
Osaka studio Process5 Design created this weekend retreat in western Japan to accommodate activities that are usually impossible in a city house (+ slideshow). More about T Weekend Residence by Process5 Design lets residents dine and bathe in sea breeze
Apollo Architects & Associates has completed a top-heavy building in Japan's Aichi Prefecture containing both an art gallery and a family residence (+ slideshow). More about Gaze house in Japan also contains a gallery for displaying the client's art collection
Traditional Japanese floor mats define the proportions of this house in Niigata, designed by Tokmoto Architectures Room as a strict grid of squares (+ slideshow). More about Tatami mats create gridded layout for Kenrak Tokmoto's Inari House
A metal roof completely surrounds this house by Japanese studio Suppose Design Office, sheltering terraces and a garden so that residents can use these spaces all year round (+ slideshow). More about All-encompassing roof frames terraces for Suppose Design Office's House in Utsunomiya