This family house in northern Japan was designed by Tokyo studio Hannat Architects to embrace darkness as well as light (+ slideshow). More about Light and shadow get an equal billing inside E House by Hannat Architects
The swooping ceiling of this house in Japan by NKS Architects is designed to improve acoustics inside a living room that is also used for music recitals (+ slideshow). More about Curving roofline enhances acoustics inside house with a music hall by NKS Architects
Layers of fine stainless steel mesh envelop this house in Tokyo by local architect Fumihiko Sano, making it look like it is wrapped in gauzy fabric (+ slideshow). More about Metal mesh shrouds Fumihiko Sano's MoyaMoya house
A cantilevered box containing a wood-lined terrace extends from the vertical core of this house in the Japanese prefecture of Shiga by local architects Alts Design Office (+ slideshow). More about Projecting terrace intersects Minakuchi House by Alts Design Office
Japanese firm International Royal Architecture (IRA) minimised partitions and balustrades inside this split-level house in Tokyo to make the interior feel as spacious as possible (+ slideshow). More about International Royal Architecture aims for spaciousness with minimal KKZ House interior
Two light-filled courtyards and a private parking space are concealed behind the metal-clad facade of this small house in Osaka, Japan, by local firm Arbol Design (+ slideshow). More about House in Otori by Arbol Design hides courtyards behind slatted metal walls
Japanese architect Makiko Tsukada has completed a house in Yokohama with a cave-like interior that opens out to one of two rooftop lawns (+ slideshow). More about Makiko Tsukada's Grass Cave House features rooftop lawns and a dark interior
Japanese studio TSC Architects modelled the roof of this house in Japan's Mie Prefecture on the folded paper shapes of origami (+ slideshow). More about Origami House by TSC Architects features a roof modelled on folded paper
There are barely any partitions between the rooms of this family house in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, which was designed by architect Yamazaki Kentaro as an open container that "changes as you design and live in it" (+ slideshow). More about Yamazaki Kentaro's Unfinished House offers little privacy to residents
Shifting ceiling heights, sliding partitions and contrasting materials create a variety of spaces inside this house in Shiga, Japan, by Kouichi Kimura of Japanese studio Form (+ slideshow). More about Kouichi Kimura's Tuneful House features contrasting materials and split levels
This small gabled house by Japanese architect Naoko Horibe has two openings in its facade – the first is triangular and contains a recessed balcony, while the second is rectangular and comprises a protruding terrace (+ slideshow). More about Geometric shapes puncture facade of House in Fukai by Horibe Associates
Japanese studio Level Architects squeezed this all-black house onto a narrow plot in Tokyo's Fukasawa district, adding sloping offset walls around the lower floors to protect residents' privacy (+ slideshow). More about Black house in Tokyo by Level Architects reveals little to its neighbours
Japanese architect Eto Kenta has hidden a narrow garden behind the metal-clad exterior of this house in Ōita Prefecture, Japan (+ slideshow). More about Metal-clad house in Japan by Eto Kenta conceals its garden
A concrete tunnel slices through the base of this Tokyo house by Japanese architect Makiko Tsukada, creating a round hole in the facade that reveals the underside of a staircase (+ slideshow). More about Curving concrete creates a tunnel through Tokyo house by Makiko Tsukada
This narrow building in Tokyo by local studio Apollo Architects & Associates accommodates an 85-year-old restaurant within its base, while its upper floor is a residence with a cantilevered balcony (+ slideshow). More about Switch by Apollo Architects gives a new home to an 85-year-old restaurant
This metal-clad house in Chiba, Japan, was designed by architect Yuji Kimura to fill its site, meaning a car-parking space and balcony had to be slotted within its boxy volume (+ slideshow). More about House in Chiba by Yuji Kimura hides a garage and balcony behind its walls
Pointed doorways and openings throughout this house in Kyoto, Japan, were designed by Alts Design Office to mimic the building's gabled profile (+ slideshow). More about House-shaped doorways puncture Hazukashi House by Alts Design Office
Charred cedar clads the walls of this house in Aichi, Japan, by architecture studio MDS, while exposed wooden beams create a rack-like effect on the underside of the diagonally slanted roof. More about Charred timber clads walls of Okazaki House by MDS
Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates built this unusually skinny house on a three-metre-wide site in a residential district of Aichi Prefecture, Japan (+ slideshow). More about Katsutoshi Sasaki's Imai house is just three metres wide
A grid of chunky timber beams criss-crosses a void between the ground and first floors to allow light to circulate in this Studio Aula-designed house in Shiojiri, Japan (+ slideshow). More about Criss-crossing wooden beams fill a void inside Studio Aula's Cocoon House