Duck into Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto's pond-side teahouse for sake or champagne and you might not notice the light fixture. Yet the lightshade – which resembles a traditional umbrella or wagasa – says much about how Japan's former capital is moving with the times.

Kyoto is famously an upholder of tradition, which is all very well until an age-old business flounders in the face of progress. That was the case with Hiyoshiya, a fourth-generation wagasa company in the city's north-west founded in the mid-1800s and struggling to survive as demand waned for its umbrellas – carried by geiko (as geishas are known in Kyoto) and featured in weddings and outdoor tea ceremonies. Although Hiyoshiya umbrellas have shaded Queen Elizabeth and the late Princess Diana, the owners expected to be the last generation to run the business. Then their daughter made a pivotal decision: to date Kotaro Nishibori.

Nishibori was a government worker from Wakayama, 120 kilometres away. But he became so keen to preserve Kyoto's umbrella tradition that he travelled five hours each weekend to learn the craft from his parents-in-law, eventually taking over the business. One day, while holding a bamboo-boned, washi-paper umbrella to the sky (Hiyoshiya dries its umbrellas in the grounds of the Hokyo-ji Temple across the road), he had a lightbulb moment.

Hiyoshiya umbrellas have shaded British royalty as well as Japanese traditional dancers. Koichi Kamoshida

He looked at the sunlight shining through the umbrella and got an idea that it could be as good as regular lighting, says sales representative Narumi Takeuchi.

Cue the creation of a contemporary lighting range, Kotori, which uses traditional umbrella materials and techniques. In another range, Moto, the lightshade's central metal ring can be pulled to open and close the ribs, mimicking an umbrella's movements as the light is adjusted.