Modern Architecture in Japan

Manfredo Tafuri, a famous Italian architectural historian, first published Modern Architecture in Japan in 1964. At the time he was twenty-nine and had not yet visited Japan. His small publication on the country’s postwar architecture became the first in a series of modern architecture guides led by Leonardo Benevolo.

Now translated into English for the first time, the book offers a rare outsider’s perspective on the Metabolist movement and figures such as Kenzō Tange.

Tafuri’s ideas about Japanese architecture were largely shaped through texts, including magazine articles and contemporary photography. Why did he choose the achievements of Japanese architects as the focus of his reflections on modern architecture? What happens when an architectural historian relies solely on photographs to evaluate a building?

Edited and annotated by Mohsen Mostafavi, this book reflects on these and other questions.