The Yoyogi National Stadium is another of Kenzo Tange’s brilliant works. When I first saw the building, it reminded me of the curving roofline of traditional Japanese architecture. In particular, it resembles the sloping straw roofs of farmhouses one finds in northern Japan.
Built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the roof is made possible [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘architecture’
April 29, 2009
Yoyogi National Stadium
March 15, 2009
A Side of Frank Lloyd Wright with my Crepe
This past week, I stumbled upon a Frank Lloyd Wright building. Who knew that Mejiro, one of the minor stops on the Yamanote Line is one of the hotbeds of architecture in Tokyo. There are a lot of gems in this neighborhood, most notable is Kenzo Tange’s St. Mary’s Cathedral, which strangely is [...]
December 10, 2008
Kamakura in Autumn
I went to Kamakura last Wednesday and it was pretty much the peak of the autumn colors. I can’t get used to how late autumn is in Tokyo. It’s mid December now and the reds, oranges and yellows are just now past the peak.
A History of Austerity
Kamakura was the capital of Japan during [...]
May 14, 2008
St. Mary’s Cathedral
Japan’s most important architect is the late Kenzo Tange. Previously I wrote about visiting one of his works, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. And I also wrote about one of his works being featured in an exhibit about architectural photography. I visited this structure, St. Mary’s Cathedral. Built in 1963, the [...]
March 7, 2008
An Art Deco Masterpiece
Before the Japanese emperor regained control of Japan in the mid-19th century, the Shogun exerted control over the warlords through a variety of means. The most important way was to require his lords and their families to live in Tokyo. This allowed the Shogun to keep an eye on them, keep their families [...]
