午夜剧场

Japanese architects are full of energy. One truly feels this when visiting Paris or New York. Among them, the most spirited is Tadao Ando, who is based in Osaka and active all over the world. Now 78 years old, he is widely recognized as a social hero; while he took the world by storm with his beautiful concrete expressions, he is also known for his hot-blooded nature and his tendency to throw himself into action when facing a crisis.

I first met him in the early 1980s, when an editor of an architecture magazine introduced us so I could see his residential works. Since then, we have crossed paths on various occasions, and that connection led me to publish this biography.

It is difficult to write the life of an architect as a biography. Unlike an artist who is solely focused on their work, an architect is deeply committed to society through the act of building, and their scope of activity is diverse. Furthermore, in Ando's case, he has built a network of contacts all over the world, interacting equally with everyone from local neighborhood women to the world's leading art collectors and even presidents of major powers. Dealing with such a person, one never knows how much time and effort the interviews alone will take. Nevertheless, the reason I dared to take on this task was that I wanted to capture the cultural phenomenon now labeled in Western script as "Tadao Ando" as accurately as possible in a way that transcends national borders.

What I noticed during the actual interviews was that the evaluation of Ando in France is remarkably high, and there is a wealth of excellent criticism. The pilgrimage of French people to see Ando began in the 1980s, and based on that accumulation, large-scale exhibitions have been held many times. Ando has designed numerous art museums, and his compatibility with these institutions has likely elevated his reputation even further.

In the past, architects called "masters" used to stride about with a long trail of disciples, but Ando travels through the city alone on the subway. A University of Tokyo professor who graduated from high school and was a former professional boxer, a great architect whose motto is living in a row house—this unique, monk-like way of life has attracted many people. I would be honored if you could catch even a glimpse of this architect, who looks out at the world from a corner of Osaka and continues to send messages to people across borders.

Riichi Miyake

Misuzu Shobo

328 pages, 3,000 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.