"Tamashī" and "Orientalism in reverse" in Kurokawa's Agricultural City (1960) Open Access

Abstract

This thesis examines Kisho Kurokawa’s Agricultural City (1960) through the lenses of “tamashī” (魂,spirit) and “Orientalism in reverse.” Both concepts function in his powerful strategy to appeal to two “clients,” the Japanese attendees and the Western attendees at the 1960 World Design Conference in Tokyo. On the one hand, with the concept of “tamashī,” Kurokawa satisfied Japanese viewers by engaging in the then-active Japanese intellectual trend to construct positive cultural identity through national tradition. On the other hand, with the idea of “Orientalism in reverse,” Kurokawa appealed to Western viewers by utilizing Western fascination with Japanese tea culture, a Zen garden and indigenous religion. Kurokawa’s specific strategies to employ the two concepts are discovered through my reading of Agricultural City as a complete project comprised of architectural plans, elevation drawings and actual models, paired with primary texts. In doing so, this thesis demonstrates that Kurokawa was quick and sensitive to incorporate trends both in Japan and the West into Agricultural City, and therefore gained international reputation during the period of the growing demand for the modern revival of Japanese tradition.

Kurokawa’s strategy to employ the two concepts of “tamashī” and “Orientalism in reverse” in both visual and rhetorical languages of Agricultural City was unique among the Metabolist group at the World Design Conference. Kurokawa’s strong desire to be recognized both by Japanese and Western audiences as a competitive architect seems to have clearly set Kurokawa apart from other architects in the Metabolist group. In this sense, although Kurokawa has been celebrated as the representative Metabolist architect, Agricultural City deserves to be viewed as an independent architectural design worthy of in-depth analysis, not as a partial illustration of Metabolism.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ……………...………………………………………………………...1

SITUATING KUROKAWA IN EXISTING LITERATURE………...………….…….…4

JAPAN IN THE 1950s…………………………………………………………………….8

ON THE ORIGINS OF JAPANESE TRADITION…………………………………….10

ON WESTERN RECEPTIONS OF JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE…………….……..13

JAPAN RETURNS TO THE WORLD STAGE: WODECO…………………………....17

AGRICULTURAL CITY…………………………………………………………………21

OVERCOMING MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE THROUGH “TAMASHĪ”……………………………26

WESTERN OBSESSIONS WITH TEA CULTURE AND ZEN GARDEN IN JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE…………31

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………..37

APPENDIX 1………...…………………………………………………………………..44

APPENDIX 2………...…………………………………………………………………..49

APPENDIX 3………...…………………………………………………………………..53

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………...……………………………………55

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Art History
Degree	M.A.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Asian Studies Art History Architecture
Keyword	World Design Conference Japanese gardens Zen Buddhism Tamashī Tea room Metabolism Kisho Kurokawa Orientalism in reverse
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Christina E. Crawford, Emory University
Committee Members	Todd Cronan, Emory University Cheryl Crowley, Emory University

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