This course is a study of architecture and related visual cultures of modern and contemporary Japan. We will cover approximately one and a half centuries from the latter half of the 19th century to the present. While Japanese architecture has enjoyed much international recognition in the 1980s and 90s, little attention has been paid to its process of development. We will start at the very beginning: the importation of the very discipline of architecture from Europe in the mid-19th century. We will cover a variety of themes that contributed to the development ofarchitecture and visual culture in modern and contemporary Japan. They will include: the attempts by Japanese architects and designers to negotiate the strong influence of contemporary European trends with Japanese designs; various architecture movements; nationalism and the design of state-sponsored projects; reconstruction efforts following natural and human catastrophes; and a number of large-scaled urban planning attempts. Throughout the semester, we will examine issues familiar to the study of architecture such as expressions of national identity, imperialism, monumentality, modernism, and the influence of technology, in the context of Japanese culture.
