“Japan is a dark country in love with shadows. A room with bright lights is either an office or an offense. The Japanese would much prefer a room with many small and dim sources of light than a single fixture, hung from the ceiling, glaring from two or three 100-watt bulbs, as is so common here in America. Typically, they will have 25-watt bulbs shielded behind a translucent plastic or paper shade. They have a mindset of economy in everything they do - and this is exemplified by their use of light. They only light what needs to be seen and the rest is left to the shadows. Their literature is legendary on this point.”

Consider before you over-light, over-fill, or otherwise violate the beauty of shadows.