Built approximately 2,000 years ago, the world's oldest surviving window, the Pantheon, is located in Rome.

Interviewer: Terunobu Fujimori (architectural historian, architect)

Built approximately 2,000 years ago, the Pantheon's skylight shines light into the darkness

"The Pantheon in Rome is a temple with a dome that is about 43.3 meters in diameter. At the top is a window that is about 9 meters in diameter, through which sunlight pours in. The window has no glass or anything, so rain gets in, but the original form of a window, the hole, has a refreshing feeling of cleanliness and a feeling of clearing your mind. This is the oldest surviving window in the world."

That's what architect and architectural historian Fujimori Terunobu says. The Pantheon, also known as the "Pantheon," was built in 25 BC. It was later destroyed by fire, and what remains today was rebuilt in 128. When you enter the concrete space that seems to contain the entire giant sphere, far above your head you will see a perfectly circular hole called the oculus. The light that shines in through it moves over time, illuminating the interior of the building in sequence.

Why on earth was there a window at the top of the dome? Fujimori gave us a hint in the "porous body theory" of architect Hiroshi Hara.

"The idea is that by opening a hole in a pitch-black, dead space, light can enter, air can flow, people can move around, and the building can become alive. I was really shocked by this theory."

The story begins about 20,000 years ago, in the Paleolithic period, in the caves of Lascaux in southwestern France.

"Deep underground from the entrance, a few dozen meters further on, there are murals of deer and cows. People probably thought that the darkness, cut off from the outside world, was the space of the Earth Goddess, who governs life. They painted these pictures as prayers for the revival of the prey they hunted for food. In other words, the darkness of the cave is the 'other world.' There is no opening yet."

A hole appeared in this world during the Neolithic period, when agriculture began. People realized that it was the sun that made plants grow and also sustained the animals that ate them. The object of worship changed from the earth goddess to the sun god. People began to erect pillars of huge stones or trees facing the sky to show their admiration and worship of the sun.

"Eventually, people began to drill holes in buildings to let sunlight into them. The Pantheon is a pantheon dedicated to all the Roman gods, so this skylight must have symbolized solar worship. The idea of sunlight illuminating the gods in the temple became the basis for Western religious architecture thereafter."

So, where is the oldest surviving window in Japan? The answer is at Horyuji Temple in Nara, the oldest wooden building in Japan. It is said to be a "renji window" made of a series of long, thin lattices set into a wooden frame. The renji window at Horyuji Temple is located in the wall of a corridor. Roman temples used light from skylights to illuminate the gods, but in Japanese temple architecture, the concept of illuminating Buddha with light pouring down on it probably did not exist.

"The origins of windows in architecture are different in the West and Japan," says Fujimori.

"The origin of architecture overseas is the 'wall.' First, there was a strong wall to protect food and family from external enemies such as other ethnic groups and animals, and then windows and entrances were opened into it. At Çatalhöyük, the world's oldest urban ruin in Anatolia in Western Asia, there are remains of a settlement dating back to around 7000 BC, but the dwellings are just walls with almost no windows. It is believed that people would have hung a ladder on the outer wall and entered and exited from the roof to go outside."

On the other hand, pillars are at the heart of traditional Japanese architecture. Since the structure can be created by erecting pillars and placing beams, there is no need to build walls out of stone or brick. This is where the openings appear.

"If a window is a hole in a wall that lets in light or breezes, then traditional Japanese architecture, which has no walls, had very few windows. However, the Japanese, who built frameworks using pillars and beams, have used their ingenuity to combine holes in the openings with sliding doors, shoji screens, and glass to create comfortable spaces. Why did humans create windows? The answer is different in the West and Japan, but the fact remains that there are holes there. Holes open up in the darkness, light enters, and architecture has become a living thing."