Kyoto before Kyoto
Right down to its foundations, Kyoto, the "capital of the West", bears witness to the importance that China played in the history of Japanese urban planning and architecture. Indeed, when Emperor Kammu created his new capital at Heian-Kyo, he adopted the checkerboard layout of the Chinese city of Chang'an. This layout was not only geometric, but also spiritual, respecting the codes of geomancy and feng-shui. The temples are built to the east of the city to protect it, while the imperial palace is located to the south. The city's earliest buildings reflect the extreme refinement of the Heian period. When it comes to religion, there are two main types of building in Japan: Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. The former comprises a main gate(sanmon), a main building(hondo), a 3- or 5-storey pagoda and a study hall. The temple follows Chinese codes - wooden framework on a stone or brick platform, multi-storey pillars and lintels, roofs and eaves curved at the ends and covered with tiles - but prefers harmonious integration with the natural environment to Chinese grandiloquence. The Shinto sanctuary features a distinctive entrance with a torii, a red portico symbolizing the boundary between the sacred and the profane. From here, an alley lined with lanterns and purification basins leads to the haiden, the religious building where the faithful gather for prayer. Shinto architecture is elegantly spare and simple. The Byodo-In or Phoenix Temple and Sanjusangen-do, the Temple of 1,001 statues, are two superb examples of the Heian period. The extreme refinement of the Heian period is also reflected in the architecture of palaces and pavilions, notably in the shinden-zukuri style, characterized by a series of autonomous pavilions overlooking a garden and pond. The relationship with natural space is of the utmost importance. As a result, engawa - wooden terraces surrounding the various buildings -, lean-to galleries and corridors linking the pavilions to one another and offering superb views of the natural environment, became increasingly common. In the 8th century, the interior space was still a vast single room, to which openings were gradually added with movable (sliding) partitions or uneven floors. Screens and curtain screens were used to subtly delimit the space. A modular system of infinite lightness. The Kyoto-Gosho or Imperial Palace is a prime example.
Birth and rebirth of Kyoto
It was during the Kamakura era (1185-1333) that Heyan-Kyo became Kyoto. The city continued to develop, organizing its districts or machi functionally (commercial, artisanal, military zones...). This was also the period when Zen was first introduced to Japan. Zen temples are characterized by two main features: the absence of pagodas and the primordial importance of the garden as a support for meditation. The two most beautiful Zen temples are Kennin-Ji and Nanzen-Ji. The Muromachi era (1333-1573) saw an extreme refinement of pavilion architecture, as exemplified by the Ginkaku-Ji or Silver Pavilion and the Kinkaku-Ji or Golden Pavilion. But this period was also fraught with turmoil, and the city suffered many outrages before regaining its splendor during the Momoyama (1573-1600) and Edo (1600-1868) eras. The former was a veritable renaissance period for the city, whose nobility had temples and palaces rebuilt. It also saw the emergence of a new form of architecture linked to the tea ceremony. This is known as the sukiya-kuzuri style. The first pavilions were very simple, showing materials in their original purity. This tea architecture reached its apogee during the Edo period, as witnessed by the pavilions and gardens of the imperial villa at Katsura. The Edo era also saw the construction of castles as tools of prestige. Their triumphant verticality, massive volume and complex defensive structures are impressive. Inside, the function of each space must be immediately perceptible. These are the foundations of the shoin style. These castles are very elegantly decorated, notably with gold-trimmed murals. Nijo Castle is a fine example. New temples were built during this period, such as the Hongan-Ji complex and the incredible Kiyomizu-Dera (rebuilt in 1633, but originally built in 780). But the Edo period was most notable for the appearance of machiya, or wooden houses, lining the city's shopping streets. Perfectly aligned, the roofs follow one another in a fluid, wave-like movement, an impression conveyed by the use of dark-gray kawara tile, whose purity is not disturbed by any ornamentation... with the possible exception of the small clay gargoyles protecting the house. Small and functional, these houses are the soul of Kyoto.
The awakening of the sleeping city
In 1868, as the Meiji era began and Tokyo became the emperor's official residence, Kyoto seemed to fall into a kind of torpor. Temples and palaces were regularly renovated in keeping with tradition, but modernity seemed slow to arrive. It wasn't until the reconstruction period of the 1950s-1960s that new buildings sprang up, including Mamoru Yamada's Kyoto Tower. All in reinforced concrete, the material of choice for reconstruction, at 131 m it symbolizes the city's renewal. In 1997, Hiroshi Hara completely redesigned the city's railway station, transforming it into a temple of glass and steel. The same year, a few kilometers from the city, Ieoh Ming Pei designed the Miho Museum. To respect the natural site - the wooded mountains of Shiga - Pei buried three-quarters of the building and designed a monumental entrance and access tunnel. An architecture in touch with nature can be found in the Jardin des Beaux-Arts designed by Tadao Ando, the first outdoor art garden, and in two recent projects, the Hotel Aman (2019), which recreates the atmosphere of a ryokan (traditional travellers' inn) at the foot of Mount Hidari Daimonji, and the Ace Hotel (opening in 2020) designed by Kengo Kuma. Housed in the former telephone office headquarters - a 1926 building - the hotel now incorporates wood, pure geometric lines and shapes, and large, luminous spaces. The rooms have also been designed in keeping with tradition, with wood panels and fabric screens. To be continued!
The origins of the Tokyo giant
Before it became this sprawling megalopolis, Tokyo was just Edo, a small fishing village... until the Tokugawa shogun established his military power here and transformed it into a center of power. His ambition was to organize the new city on the model of Heian-Kyo, but on a terrain between sea and hills, it was difficult to organize a checkerboard plan. The city therefore had to adapt to the topography. The heart of the city is Edo Castle, where the shogun resides in an imposing central keep. Moats and fortifications surround the complex, around which the lords establish their residences, while merchants build their small wooden houses below. The town was thus organized according to the jokamachi principle (the city at the foot of the castle), with a separation between the warrior quarters(yamanote) and the merchant quarters(shitamachi). Unfortunately, a great fire destroyed the complex in 1657, and only a few remains have survived to this day. These can be seen on the site of today's Imperial Palace. Some shopping districts still retain this atmosphere, such as Asakusa, where a few wooden houses still stand. This is also where you'll find Senso-ji, the city's oldest temple. The second oldest temple, Jindai-ji, is in Chofu. From its very beginnings, Edo grew spontaneously, without any planning, conquering marshland and surrounding farmland, becoming a major center of merchant capitalism. No planning, but a determination from the outset to integrate green spaces into the city. The Tokugawa family is credited with the Koishikawa Botanical Garden, conceived in 1684.
In 1868, the Meiji era began and Edo became Tokyo, the "capital of the East". This period of prosperity and openness to the West was reflected in the architecture of the giyofu style, meaning imitation of the Western style. This led to the emergence of astonishing European-style buildings housing the city's major institutions. The Bank of Japan is a neoclassical brick and stone structure. Its architect, Tatsuro Kingo, drew much of his inspiration from the masters of English classicism. Akasaka Palace, a neo-Baroque behemoth, was designed by Englishman Josiah Conder, who also transformed the Marunouchi district into the City of London. Envisioned in 1889, the first development plan for the center only came into force in 1914. At that time, the city's feudal structure underwent little or no change. The new western-style buildings were simply added. In those days, the building - the representative of values - dictated urban development. But in 1923, a terrible earthquake devastated the city. The city had to be reinvented. Public spaces were laid out and aerated with parks, squares and avenues, and the city was equipped with bridges and viaducts in line with the multiplication of transport and communications routes, which defined the new contours of the city. In terms of architecture, on the other hand, Western codes were maintained, as evidenced by the imposing building of the National Diet.
Reinventing yourself
After the earthquake of 1923, the bombings of the Second World War left the city bled to the bone. It has yet to reinvent itself. It was this awareness of its impermanence that quickly transformed Tokyo into a champion of architectural innovation. The symbol of this renaissance is the Tokyo Tower, modeled on the Eiffel Tower... but bigger, of course! The great architect of the reconstruction was Kenzo Tange, who came up with a new plan for the city, which he presented in 1959. For him, the city should no longer grow around its buildings, but from its infrastructures, in a step-by-step development along the new transport and communications lines. He thus imagined great suspended arteries, freeing up public space to be occupied by towers almost 200 m high, linked by platforms. This ultra-modern plan should be seen in the context of a major event that the city was to host: the 1964 Olympic Games. For the occasion, the city wanted to showcase the dynamism and modernity of its architecture. Hence the creation of the first section of the metropolitan freeway in 1962 to link the various stadiums. Today, this snake of concrete and steel runs for hundreds of kilometers across the metropolis. It was Tange who designed the Olympic Halls, comprising two stadiums built in steel, glass and reinforced concrete. Both stadiums feature the same tent-like roof structure, with an organically light framework. Tange is also responsible for the Shizuoka Group's astonishing head office, comprising a cylinder containing the elevators and technical rooms, and 14 levels of fully glazed prefabricated elements adjoining the cylinder, housing the offices. An ingenious way of saving space on a narrow plot. In 1965, he also designed Sainte-Marie Cathedral, an astonishing concrete structure covered with stainless steel sheets, whose eight curved walls form a cross. Inside, concrete and wood are illuminated by glass slabs that let in an almost mystical light. Kenzo Tange is certainly an architect of concrete and modernism, but he is also an architect of spirituality, driven by a constant concern for order and clarity... even if he allows himself some astonishing experimentation, as he did a little later in 1991 with the two gigantic towers of his City Hall, covered in granite and reflective glass. As for the city itself, it continues to grow, encompassing surrounding towns and villages, becoming a polynuclear city where each district lives almost autonomously. Initiated in the 1960s by the architects of "metabolism", who advocated greater flexibility in form and function (the Capsule Tower is a good example), post-modernism developed particularly in the 1980s. In 1984, Toyo Ito imagined the Silver Hut, an elementary shelter allowing maximum contact with nature, thanks to a light framework that defines open spaces delimited by translucent partitions, in the image of the pavilions of past centuries. This elegance is echoed by Tadao Ando, a master of light and an almost ascetic economy of materials. The Villa Kidosaki, isolated by high concrete walls, surrounded by a garden and letting in light via a superb bay window, appears like an oasis of calm amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. An elegance that the architect also applies to commercial architecture, as evidenced by the Omotesando Hills complex. In the 1990s and 2000s, starchitects also made their mark on Tokyo. Norman Foster designed the Century Tower, comprising two twin towers linked by a central atrium bathed in light, whose facades are enlivened by visible elevators and suspended mezzanines. The golden flame in the Asahi Beer Hall was designed by Philippe Starck. The Maison de Verre Hermès, with its translucent façade, was designed by Renzo Piano, while the small glass and steel tower of the Prada boutique was created by Swiss architects Herzog et de Meuron. At the same time, Shigeru Ban and Kengo Kuma gave new impetus to Japanese architecture. The former with his buildings built around PTS - Paper Tube Structure - a resistant cardboard tube that allows him to evacuate stresses and strains to the benefit of flexible, dynamic spaces, such as the Miyake Design Studio Gallery or the Paper House... or the art of virtuously handling a recycled element in far-reaching buildings. The latter, with its extremely fine wooden architecture, is reminiscent of traditional architecture. The Asakusa tourist office, a sort of stack of traditional houses, and the Suny Hills showroom, with its shell of Japanese cedar slats, are by Kengo Kuma... as is the superb Olympic stadium designed for the 2020 Olympics. 2,000m3 of cedar wood were used to create this structure, a harmonious blend of wood, metal and recycled materials. Kuma's aim is to go beyond the all-concrete approach. In this jungle of glass and concrete, where every square metre is occupied by buildings that all seem to have to sell something, another path is possible: that of sustainable, environmentally-friendly architecture, as Japanese architecture has always been.
