SYLLABUS
Aim
The built environment in Japan does not resemble its American or European counterparts. Visitors often characterize it as visually chaotic, while recent observers praise the lively traditional neighborhoods.
This course will explore characteristics of Japanese cities, their history and presence, and examine the particular cultural, political, economic and social context of urban form in Japan. The course is aimed at a better understanding of Japanese cities and should point towards lessons in urban organization that recent movements such as the "New Urbanism" might learn.
Apart from giving an introduction to Japanese architecture and planning, the course is also designed to help students develop their analytical skills, their ability to read and write.
Requirements
This course requires active class participation and reading (20% of final grades). Weekly summaries of readings and discussion questions will be prepared in assigned groups. Each group will e-mail them to Carola Hein and the class each Monday by 9am. They will be corrected and graded. Two group assignments are to be presented on paper and in class. (group works 20%) There will be no additional assignments later. Each student will give one presentation on an assigned topic (20%).
A final paper will allow students to research an individually chosen topic related to the class. An oral presentation and final paper are required (40%). All these should be submitted in a timely fashion.
Textbooks
You should buy the required books. These books and some other major texts are also available on reserve.
CLASS SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
(Explanation of syllabus and readings)
1. Japanese Urban Life Today - Impressions and Comparisons
(Sept. 4th)
Required readings:
- START: Taniguchi, Jun'ichiro, In Praise of Shadows, Leete’s Island Books, 1977
II. JAPANESE URBAN SPACE IN A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
2. Traditional Japanese Architecture, Cities and Villages I
(Sept. 11th)
Required reading:
- Karan, P. P.: "The City in Japan" and Mather, Cotton, "Urban Landscapes of Japan," in Karan, P. P.; Stapleton, Kristin, The Japanese City, The University Press of Kentucky, Kentucky, 1998, p. 12-39; p. 40-55
- Inaji, Toshirô, The Garden as Architecture, Kodansha International, Tokyo, New York, London, 1998, p. 3-80
Further references:
- Steinhardt, Nancy, Chinese Imperial City Planning, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1990.
- Schinz, Alfred, The Magic Square, Menges, Stuttgart, London, 1996.
- Jinnai, Hidenobu, Tokyo, A Spatial Anthropology, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1995.
Assignment I:
- Form groups (3 students)
- Read and discuss:
- Ishida, Yorifusa, "Japanese Equivalents for French 'Quartier' in Professional and Popular Languages," in: Kogakuin Daigaku Kenkyûjohô n 81, p. 213-220
- Berque, Augustin, Japan, Nature, Artifice and Japanese Culture, Pilkington Press, 1997, p. 15-46
- Discuss meaning of words such as metropolis, city, neighborhood, community, suburb, plaza, street in the Western (and Japanese) context. (Each group chooses one or two terms)
- Prepare 2-3 page summary of your definitions for Week 3, present and discuss
3. Traditional Japanese Architecture, Cities and Villages II
(Sept. 18th)
Readings:
- Coaldrake, William H., Architecture and Authority in Japan, Routledge Japanese Studies Series, London 1996:
-
- Ch. 3: "Great Halls of Religion and State," p. 52-80;
- Ch. 4: "Heian Palaces and Kamakura Temples," p. 81-103;
- Ch. 5: "Castles," p. 104-137
FINISH: Taniguchi, Jun'ichiro, In Praise of Shadows, Leete’s Island Books, 1977
4. Views of Japan
(Sept. 25th)
Required reading:
- Smith II, Henry D. Hiroshige: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. New York: George Braziller/The Brooklyn Museum, 1986, p. 9-15
- Lewis, Martin; Wigen, Kären, The Myth of Continents, A Critique of Metageography, University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 1997, p. 47-103
- START: Barthes, Roland, Empire of Signs, Hill and Wang, 1982
Supplementary reading:
- Morse, Edward, Japanese Homes and their Surroundings, Dover Publications, New York, 1961 (original: 1886) (Intro and - 14, 45-77, 108-183, 234-272)
- Friedman, Mildred, Tokyo: Form and Spirit, Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, New York, Abrams, 1986.
Assignment II:
- Find maps or drawings of a Japanese city (or city part) and a foreign city (or city part) from the same period.
- Compare and discuss your findings.
- Present in class Week 6.
- Give your materials and outline to Carola Hein by Friday Oct. 6th.
5. The Modernization of Japan in the Meiji Era and the Introduction of Western Style Architecture and Urban Planning
(Oct. 2nd)
Required reading:
- Okamoto, Satoshi, "Destruction and Reconstruction of Ginza town" in Fukui, Norihiko; Jinnai, Hidenobu, Destruction and Rebirth of Urban Environment, Sagami Shobo, p. 51-84
- Stewart, David B., The Making of a Modern Japanese Architecture, 1868 to the present, Kodansha International, Tokyo and New York, 1987, p. 13-62
- Alofsin, Anthony, Frank Lloyd Wright, Europe and Beyond, University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 1999, p. 24-44
6. Taisho/Showa Period: Japan as a World Power - From Tange Via Maki to Ando and Beyond
(Oct. 9th)
Required reading:
- Yatsuka, Hajime, "Internationalism Versus Regionalism," in: Koshalek, Richard; Smith, Elizabeth A.T., At the End of the Century; One Hundred Years of Architecture, Moca, Los Angeles, 1998, p. 186-198
- Boyd, Robin, New Directions in Japanese Architecture, George Braziller, New York, 1968, p. 7-33
- Maki, "Notes on Collective Form," in: Fumihiko Maki: buildings and projects, New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 1997 p. 206-217
- Krier, Alex, "Maki's Quarter of a Century at Hillside Terrace," in: Fumihiko Maki: buildings and projects, New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 1997 p. 236-255
- Banham, Reyner; Suzuki, Hiroyuki, Contemporary Japanese Architecture, New York, Rizzoli, 1985
- Krstic, Vladimir, "Liquid Constructions, Tokyo and the End of Space," in: Bognar, Botond, Tokyo, World Cities Series, John Wiley & Sons, 1997, p. 38-39
FINISH: Barthes, Roland, Empire of Signs, Hill and Wang, 1982
NO CLASS on Oct. 17th (Fall Break)
7. Presentation of attributed topics/outline to be sent to Carola Hein by e-mail until Oct. 19th.
(Oct. 23rd)
(For example: Japanese film, sports, food, literature, anime, sci-fi (cyber-punk) art, photography, theater and dance, transportation, shopping, housing, working in Japanese cities, geomancy, women in Japan, world exhibitions, etc.)
You may choose a topic that is related to your final paper.
III CASE STUDIES
8. Urban Issues in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe 1:
Social Structures, Reconstruction, Land Use
(Oct. 30th)
Required reading:
- Fujita, Kuniko; Hill, Richard Child, "Together and Equal: Place Stratification in Osaka," in: Karan, P.P.; Stapleton, Kristin, The Japanese City, The University Press of Kentucky, Kentucky, 1998, p. 106-133
- Callies, David, "Urban Land Use and Control in the Japanese City: A Case Study of Hiroshima, Osaka, and Kyoto," in: Karan, P.P.; Stapleton, Kristin, The Japanese City, The University Press of Kentucky, Kentucky, 1998 p. 134-155
- Sugimoto, Toshimasa, "Atomic Bombing and Restoration of Hiroshima," in: Fukui, Norihiko; Jinnai, Hidenobu, Destruction and Rebirth of Urban Environment, Sagami Shobo, p. 17-38
- Hein, Carola, "Visionary Plans and Planners," in Fiévé, Nicolas; Waley, Paul (Eds.) Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective: Place, Power and Memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo, Curzon, (6/2001 projected)
Paper topics due: October 30th
9. Urban Issues in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe 2:
Neighborhood Planning, Community Design, Recent Trends in Architecture
(Nov. 6th)
Readings:
- Hein, Carola, "Urban Planning Versus Community Building," in Archis 5/99, p 44-51
- Enders, Siegfried; Gutschow, Niels, Hozon: Architectural and Urban Conservation in Japan, Edition Axel Menges, 1998, p. 12-16, p. 22-24, p. 28-59
10. Planning and Architecture in Tokyo I
(Nov. 13th)
Required reading:
- Cybriwsky, Roman, Tokyo, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, etc. 1998, p. - 99
Preliminary Outline due: Nov. 13th
11. Planning and Architecture in Tokyo II
(Nov. 20th)
Required reading:
- Cybriwsky, Roman, Tokyo, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, etc. 1998, p. 100-end
12. Presentation of Paper Topics
(Nov. 27th)
13. Tokyo and the Regions - Decentralization Politics
(Dec. 4th)
Required reading:
- Ashihara Yoshinobu, The Hidden Order: Tokyo through the Twentieth Century, Kodansha International, Tokyo, New York, 1989.
- Rimmer, Peter J., "Reshaping Western Pacific Rim Cities," in: Fujita, Kuniko; Hill, Richard Child, Japanese Cities in the World Economy, Temple University Press, 1993, p. 257-279
14. Japan - A Model for the Future? Conclusions/Discussion
(Dec. 11th)
Final paper due: December 11th
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