1900-1945 : Hijiribashi @ the Nexus of Edo/Tokyo’s Constructed Urban Landscape
Presented by Ken Tadashi Oshima
February 16, 2023
This talk examines the transformation of the capital of Edo to the modern metropolis of Tokyo at the urban nexus of Hijiribashi. This bridge crossing the Kanda River, constructed following the destruction of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, represents the reconstruction of Tokyo according to modern planning principles intersecting with the underlying feudal infrastructure. Designed by pioneering modern architect Mamoru Yamada, Hijiribashi also expresses the aspirations to create modern meisho (famous sites). Standing at the intersection of these multiple historical layers and infrastructural vectors, Hijiribashi provides a lens to understand the complex nature of urbanism in Japan.
Topics to be covered
- The construction of Edo’s infrastructures
- The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the Reconstruction of Tokyo
- Hijiribashi’s site history
- Yamada Mamoru and the Challenge of the Bunriha
- Hijiribashi in the Twenty-First Century
SPEAKER PROFILE
Ken Tadashi Oshima
Ken Tadashi Oshima is Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle where he teaches trans-national architectural history, theory and design, and has been a visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and UCLA. He is a Fellow of the Society of Architectural Historians and served as President of the Society of Architectural Historians from 2016-18. Dr. Oshima’s publications include International Architecture in Interwar Japan: Constructing Kokusai Kenchiku, Arata Isozaki, Kiyonori Kikutake: Between Land and Sea, and GLOBAL ENDS: towards the beginning.
This is the second of four events in the talk series, Transforming Cities, Buildings, And Culture.
RELATED EVENTS
EVENT DETAILS
February 16 (Thursday), 2023
6:00pm-7:30pm AEDT
45min talk + 30min Q&A
Onsite & online via Facebook Live (FB account not required)
Speaker to present remotely
Free; bookings not required
MORE INFO
Find out about the Architecture Talk series.
VENUE
For onsite attendance, find us at:
The Japan Foundation, Sydney
Level 4, Central Park
28 Broadway, Chippendale NSW 2008
ENQUIRIES
(02) 8239 0055
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