(b Tokyo, 19 Dec 1894; d Tokyo, 24 March 1974). Japanese architect. He graduated from Tokyo Art School in 1923 and travelled to Europe in 1925. Recognizing elements of Modernism in sukiya (tea house), a traditional style of Japanese residential architecture (see JAPAN, §XIV, 2), Yoshida formulated a modern version of the style with a distinctive freedom of planning and individuality that broke away from the traditional modular structural system. By enclosing structural members within the wall using the okabe (large wall) system, he was able to ignore the structural grid and place columns where he wished. Other technical innovations included the replacement of corner columns with windows and the introduction of special lighting effects and a sense of the opulence found in kabuki and other traditional Japanese stage design. The modern Sukiya style, for which Yoshida established his reputation in the 1930s, was one of the most successful attempts to reconcile tradition and modernity in Japanese architecture in the 20th century.