Tokyo's Heritage

「東京遺産 - 存在から再生・活用へ」
Tokyo isan - sonzai kara saisei / katsuyo he
MORI, Mayumi (森まゆみ), Iwanami Shinsho, Tokyo (2003)
ISBN 4-00-430858-5

Tokyo is in a constant state of change - leave it for a year, and on your return you'll inevitably start noticing that something's changed. The little old wooden house on the corner is now a parking lot. The crumbling mid-Showa-era concrete apartment block has suddenly metamorphosed into a gleaming new mansion-style condominum. The little leafy park (well, more of a dirt playground) is now overshadowed by a 30 storey tower block. And wasn't it a shame about the old bathhouse?

Despite a century punctuated by earthquake and war, Tokyo still managed to retain a fair number of interesting, often historically important buildings, ranging from the red-brick grandeur of Tokyo Station through to old wooden houses in the Nezu district. In a city plagued by a lack of space (caused to a large degree by a historical lack of city planning), any structure not making efficient use of its plot is fair game. This was particularly the case during the so-called bubble economy, when land prices were exploding and even the famous Tokyo Station building was slated for "redevelopment".

This book, a collection of articles previously published in the magazine Sekai, describes the efforts of the author and acquaintances to save some of Tokyo's more valuable architectural heritage. I haven't read it all, but it's encouraging to see how the activists not only managed to overturn some of the more philistine redevelopment plans but also create awareness among many Tokyoites of their city's heritage.