Mapping Japanese modernism: Urbanist Kon Wajiro and his Tokyo

The Master’s Program in Urban Design invites to the fourth session of Season Two of our Colloquium Series Urban Imaginations and City Form:  Mapping Japanese modernism: Urbanist Kon Wajiro and his Tokyo

Arch. Shira Noy Goren and Dr. Erez Golani Solomon host Dr. Helena Čapková, a Tokyo/Kyoto/Prague based curator, researcher, and art/architecture history professor at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto.

Japanese modernism is an inherently transnational phenomenon, a fabric woven by both Japanese and non-Japanese creators. This hybrid nature is clearly evident in the work of the Japanese urban thinker and architect Kon Wajiro (1888–1973), particularly in his magnum opus Kogengaku–Modernology (mid-1920s). Kon was fascinated by the dynamics of Japanese modernity and how cities and peripheries were transformed through new infrastructures and ideas introduced from above, as elites engaged with and imported foreign models and standards. This lecture explores Kon’s texts in the context of contemporary Japanese design and architectural creativity.

Wednesday | March 25, 2026 |18:30
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