午夜剧场

"Landscapes of Memory." I believe that one of the roles of architecture is to symbolize the history and culture of a city. For example, the Holy Resurrection Cathedral near Ochanomizu Station. Its exotic appearance, nicknamed "Nikolai-do," still attracts the hearts of viewers today and has been captured in paintings by many artists, including Shunsuke Matsumoto, who was active before the war. The small wooden Harajuku Station building, which has since been demolished, is also fixed in my memory as being integrated with the crowds of young people around it. When people think of a symbol of 午夜剧场, many probably imagine the red-brick Old University Library.

While many of these landscapes fixed in memory consist of the exterior of buildings, the core of an architectural tour is the interior visit. This is because through the experience of the space, one can see and learn about the architect's attention to detail, the owner's emotional attachment, and the history of additions and renovations. However, after April 2020, when the world changed completely, architectural tours involving interior visits had to be cancelled, leaving me feeling frustrated at home. As a last resort, I came up with the idea of a walking architectural tour of the Yamanote Line. Starting from Takanawa Gateway Station, I decided to walk the 30 stations of the Yamanote Line one by one. As the sessions continued, I began researching unfamiliar neighborhoods and became interested in the undulating topography. By connecting the dots (architecture to architecture), I began to perceive the city of Tokyo as a whole surface, and my understanding of the historical background and the transition of eras—such as the reuse of former sites of daimyo mansions—deepened. Furthermore, the repeat participants who took pride in their physical fitness eventually began aiming for over 10,000 steps.

However, as I entered the second round of the Yamanote Line tour, I immediately felt a sense of unease. It was the loss of architecture. The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, which had converted a private residence into a contemporary art museum, and the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building, with its randomly stacked box-shaped units, had disappeared from the familiar landscape. Every time I heard news of the demolition of these famous buildings, I was stunned. What is the lifespan of architecture? After thinking about what I could do, I returned to the idea of architectural tours. To burn the landscape that exists there now into my eyes, to listen to the voice of the building. To share the spatial experience with everyone. To archive the records of the tours through photos and text. Architectural tours are the lifework I have found.

Nahoko Wada

X-Knowledge

224 pages, 1,980 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.