A large audience gathered Tuesday night as people came together to hear professor Hiroo Ichikawa from Tokyo’s Meiji University talk about the chaos surrounding the reconstruction and urban planning of Tokyo after the bombing raids of World War II, and the continuing effects of that planning.
The talk was the second in the Savage Lecture Series on “Cities in War, Struggle, and Peace: The Architecture of Memory and Life-Rebuilding Cities after War and Disaster.”
Ichikawa has an extensive background in urban planning in Tokyo and many other places around the world.
“This has been my life’s work,” Ichikawa said.
Ichikawa is currently the dean and professor of urban policy at Meiji University’s Graduate School of Governance and Policy. He is also working as a consultant for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. He has worked in urban planning in several developing countries, taught political science and written specifically about the reconstruction of Tokyo after World War II.
After a brief introduction from professor Howard Davis, the series’ organizer, Ichikawa launched into his presentation.
Ichikawa explained that despite attempts to develop a master urban growth and development plan, Tokyo failed implementing any after the war. The result was that with a lack of overall structure behind rebuilding, the city exploded into a tightly packed, overcrowded, disorderly urban sprawl.
Tokyo experienced so much destruction as a result of the fire bombings during World War II that nearly half the city was destroyed. Those who survived faced severe food and housing shortages, leading to a very practical approach to rebuilding. Necessity and functionality were the leading motivation behind building, and without a strict urban plan, the city became tightly and chaotically packed.
Despite attempts to “decentralize” Tokyo and reduce the huge population of the city center by spreading some of its citizens into the surrounding cities, Ichikawa explained, for some reason the Japanese people seem to be drawn into Japan’s capital.
Today the city continues to grow. More than 12 million people live there and more and more are returning to the city center. Ichikawa concluded his presentation by pointing out one of the main reasons Tokyo is able to continue on despite its chaotic planning: “the perseverance of its people.”
Because Tokyo is so overcrowded, the people make a big effort to keep things as orderly as possible. They form orderly lines and even separate out their trash. Their efforts help the city to run as smoothly as possible.
At the conclusion of the lecture, Ichikawa took questions from audience members, many of whom were interested in getting the professor’s opinion on why there were such stark differences between the post World War II reconstruction in Berlin (the subject of the previous lecture, held on Jan. 8) and that in Tokyo.
In contrast with the rapid and disorganized development that Ichikawa described in Tokyo, officials in Berlin put much more thought and planning into not only the urban layout of the city but also what the architecture and building style would mean to the people and how it would aid in the overall process of recovery.
Ichikawa explained that there were a number of reasons. First, the Japanese people were more interested in quickly alleviating the poverty that the fire bombings caused to the remaining population, so reconstruction needed to be much more functional.
Also, “the failure of an overall urban structure” limited the city planner’s ability to make those kinds of plans.
In addition, the Japanese people wanted to forget the war’s events. Because so many died and there was so much trauma, that generation of people would rather not be reminded of it and move forward instead, he said.
Wen Lee, a graduate student in environmental studies, was very inspired by the lecture.
“This lecture has peeked my interest,” Lee said. Lee has been interested in going into urban planning in developing cities, but after Tuesday’s lecture, she is not so sure.
“I’m very interested now. I’m thinking how can a city run without some kind of urban planning? I’m wondering where the trash goes, who sanitizes the water? I would really like to talk to (Ichikawa) more,” Lee said.
The coordinator, Davis, was also surprised by what he heard.
“I had no idea!” he said afterwards, “I knew about (the reconstruction process) in Berlin, but I didn’t know about Tokyo!”
Bringing Ichikawa in from Tokyo adds diversity to the series, Davis said.
“I wanted to bring in some of the lecturers from the actual places we are talking about and not just have American experts, and professor Ichikawa comes highly recommended,” Davis said.
The lecture series will feature four more presentations to run on Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. in 177 Lawrence Hall. The lectures are free and open to the public.