Shoichi Inoue (born 1955) is a Japanese architectural historian and scholar of cultural and social history. Born in Kyoto, he studied architecture at Kyoto University and completed a master's degree in engineering there. After serving as a research associate at Kyoto University's Institute for Research in Humanities, he joined the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, where he is currently Director-General. Beginning with architectural history and design theory, his research has expanded to encompass popular customs, concepts of beauty, Kyoto and Kansai culture, and sports. He received the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities for work centered on "Tsukurareta Katsura Rikyu Shinwa." The book traces changing assessments of the Katsura Imperial Villa among modern architects and intellectuals, showing how its reputation as an embodiment of quintessential Japanese architectural beauty was historically constructed.
