Dear UFT friends,
Our speaker will be :
Charles Laurier, Lakeland College Japan Campus
The Disappearing Doban Buildings of Pre-war
Shitamachi Tokyo:
What is worth passing on of our 20th century city-scape and
history?
The copper-plated doban buildings of pre-war shitamachi
represent one of the last living connections to traditional Edo and survived
the building of a "modern" Tokyo after the 1923 Earthquake.
Unique in world architecture, these mostly 2-story retail /residential
buildings, like all structures in Tokyo, have a very short life expectancy, and
there are only a few left. Laurier will discuss their origins, noteworthy
features and variations(part of kamban commercial architecture), and
will conclude with some thoughts about the prospects for preservation.
Sunday, February 14
3:00-5:00 (with dinner afterwards for those who can stay)
International House (（国際文化会館)
between Azabu-juban and Roppongi stations. See their website for a
map.
News update: Our January speaker Michael Berman made a thoughtful and
enlightening discussion of modern (even post-modern) "relationless"
society with a focus on Japan. We all felt it would be great to invite him
again during the next year or so that he pursues his research based in Tokyo.
Peggy Kanada, moderator
