Author: Heide Imai

Posted on

What will 2020 bring

In times of uncertainty, I think it is time to update you on some happy news and things happening in 2020:


Update 1:As of April 1st 2020 I will start a new tenured position as Associate Professor at Senshu Universities’ new Faculty of Intercultural Communication and I am more than looking forward to teach young, upcoming students who want to explore the world and widen their horizons, making our globe hopefully a better place. We need new innovative ideas, in Japan especially.


Update 2:We are happy to announce that our edited book “Asian Alleyways: An Urban Vernacular in Times of Globalization” (Amsterdam University Press, with Marie Gibert-Flutre) will be in print soon, but under the current circumstances we have to wait for the confirmation fo the official release date.


Update 3:We are happy to announce that our co-authored book “Creativity in Tokyo – Revitalizing a Matured City” (Palgrave Macmillan, with Matjaz Ursic), will be published soon and we will announce the publication date as soon as we know more. We think that especially this book will help Tokyo and Japan to discover new ways to approach current challenges, regardless of what will happen to Tokyo 2021 #beyond2020

Looking forward to see what else 2020 (apart from some journal papers) will bring, not just work-wise. If you want to collaborate in any way, please get in touch. Many thanks to you all, stay safe and strong.

Posted on

Study tour Ise

Fuji Museum

To make good use of the semester break another domestic study tour brought us on the first day to Fujinomiya and the Fuji World Heritage Centre in Shizuoka (https://mtfuji-whc.jp/en/), designed by Shigeru Ban and open since 2018. Due to the lack of crowds avoiding to travel in Japan caused by the worldwide corona virus outbreak, the museum was literally empty. This allowed us to take pictures from all angles on this sunny yet very windy day.

On the second day we were able to first visit the Yokoayama Observatory (https://www.iseshima-kanko.jp/en/see-and-do/1249) which allows the visitor to overlook the beautiful Ago Bay, where austers and pearls are farmed and which reminds us much of Finlands’ rough cliff landscape. Afterwards we finally arrived at the Ise Jingu Geku – the outer shrine of the very famous Ise Shrine where in 2019 the new emperor was enthroned. The shrine building which was rebuilt in 2013 and will be rebuilt in 2033 again (thus every 20 years) cannot be photographed but the atmosphere was transquil and very special. A visit to the Ise Jingu Naiku -the inner shrine of the Ise Shrine completed this visit to this grand heritage site.

On the third day we were able to visit another famous site, the Mikimoto Pearl Island (http://www.mikimoto-pearl-museum.co.jp/index.html) where Mikimoto Kokichi, a local entrepreneur, succeeded in 1893 to produce cultured pearls on an island called Ojima (相島). The trip ended with a ferry ride over the Ise Bay to reach Irago with its impressive lighthouse tower and beautiful strawberry fields.

More about Ise Jingu’s architecture can be found here:

https://www.isejingu.or.jp/en/about/index.html

Posted on

Study tour West Japan

Kohtei Fukuyama, Kohei Nawa

A recent study tour brought us to Shimonoseki (Yamaguchi) and Kitakyushu (Fukuoka), located between Japanese main island of Honshu and Kyushu, the third largest of the main islands. Starting to discover different revitalization processes in urban Mojiko, Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu (including the very interesting Toto Museum), we further discovered more local areas as the remote island of Tsunoshima (known for its colbalt blue water) and Kawatana Onsen town, kown for Kawatana Soba and Kengo Kuma small exhibition centre.

The next day we discovered Kiwanosato (Kutsuwai, Shimonoseki), a small village which tries to bring back (new) life into the community with the help of creative, local ideas and international collaborations. In comparison, Onoda village, well known for its cement and brickstone production, surprised with a very well maintained, rural development at the seaside, known as Kirarara Yakeno Beach. Almost 20 years ago Kengo Kuma was involved in the development and the area is now featuring a small glass museum/workshop and restaurant with stunning setting, especially during sunrise and sunset.

The third and final day brought us to the outskirts of Fukuyama where the the remote, yet tranquil Shinsoji Zen Garden and Museum complex first ask wellknown architect and historian Terunobu Fujimori to built a central building in 2014. In 2016, artist Kohei Nawa developed together with Sandwich Architects a floating, almost spaceship-like building which features inside an impressive Zen installation. As the bathhouse and several cafes where closed, it will be for sure not the last visit to this beautiful spot in West Japan.

More on https://szmg.jp/en/explore/kohtei/

Posted on

Visitors from Oxford Brookes

Visitors

A student from Oxford Brookes University, doing a Master in Architecture (how small the world can be as I was doing my master there 2004-2005) approached me a while ago to talk semi-public and semi-private spaces in the case of Tokyo, especially in relation to different housing projects which are either preserved/revitalzided, refurbished or newly built. Coming to Tokyo, in early January we had the chance to talk about more specific aspects including the situation of low rise, traditional neighbourhoods, their appeal and problems, how the government and local municipalities are reacting to these and how a better, medium type of housing (not being either an old, wooden low rise building or sparkling new (tower) manshon) can be planned or realized. Questions about general or personal lifestyle choices, diversity, mixed use, gentrification, commodification, akiya banks and alternatives came to mind and I look forward to see what the student will come up with in the end. Good luck and looking forward to discuss more during your next visit.

Posted on

2020

Belated Happy New Year and the new year is not even two weeks old but many things already happened, including a new PhD student I am going to supervise for the next coming years, two books (co-authors and edited) being almost ready for publication/coming out soon and many more little projects (research, fieldwork, workshops), papers and plans which can hopefully realized in 2020. The year – as olympic it can be – is hopefully a fruitful one for all of you and I look forward to continue to connect and collaborate in diverse ways. More important news will be announced soon.

Posted on

Kagurazaka Fieldwork

Fieldwork

The lecture “Urban Space, Identity and Gender”, given for the ESOP course “Multiple Japan: Stability and Flux”, raised interesting questions about the conceptual and physical set-up of different public spaces. In connection, students were asked to conduct fieldwork in the Kagurazaka neighbourhood to observe for example how many women and men use the place, how they move across space and what kind of positions, behaviour and different relations/ interactions they are engaging in. The main aim was to analyse and understand the importance of (inangible) aspects as informal rules, bodily exposure, performance, feeling of comfort and belonging in comparison to formal aspects as regulations, security cameras or similar. These characteristics are often overlooked but are crucial when trying to understand what contemporary urban spaces are lacking and how to design better, gender-conscious spaces.

For more refer to:

https://www.researchgate.net/project/Shared-City-and-Japan

Posted on

Urban Development Lecture

meijigakuin

Recently I was kindly invited by Prof. Prajakta Khare, Meijigakuin University to give a guest lecture about the recent urban development in more and less developed countries, including Japan, India and Costa Rica. To engage actively with the topic, the students were asked to identify current issues caused by the urbanization processes taking place in different countries around the world and to discuss urgent issues, challenges and solutions these countries might be able to utilized. Thanks to everybody for a very engaging talk which helps to inspire new ideas for ongoing research, including:

https://www.researchgate.net/project/Creativity-Social-Entrepreneurs-and-Urban-Revitalization

Posted on

Foreign Women in Japan

Recently I was interviewed by my former student Mizuki Nakata for her research about professional migrant women in Japan, where she is aiming to understand what difficulties including for example isolation, exclusion and discrimination but also challenges as building up a social network, realizing some kind of work-life balance and finding the right niche in Japanese society, they faced and even overcame. As there are nowadays so many different kind of women in Japan, living, working, surviving but also thriving here, it will be important to see what kind of results the research will reveal and how it might help other women to take control of their own life, set goals, and make positive choices, or in other words, how can we empower women to change Japan from inside.

women
Posted on

The Future of Onagawa

onagawa

In July 2019, we had the chance to visit Onagawa to conduct interviews with local residents about the current stage of recovery work and development, more than 8 years after the Great Tohoku Earthquake which hit on March 11 2011. The situation in Onagawa is something we plan to observe over the coming years, as a lot of ‘flagship’ projects (e.g, a new station and public bath by Shigeru Ban) were realized but residents have their doubts about their lasting efforts as on weekends many tourists come, but on normal weekdays the city can look deserted. In our coming fieldwork we would like to focus on questions as 1) what will happen to the neighbourhood and city in the next coming years, 2) how can local residents make a living, not relying alone on the tourism sector and 3) how are basic needs, including tangible (e.g. facilities as super markets, school/kindergarten, bank etc) and intangible aspects addressed. Thus, how is the community network functioning day in day out and what problems are overlooked but should be solved to secure a livable community development.  In a final step we plan to compare the case of Onagawa with other cases in Yamagata (Tsuruoka) and Fukushima (Kitakata).

Shigeru Bans Suiden Terrace in Tsuruoka

Suiden Terrace in Tsuruoka (by Shigery Ban) opened in 2018.

Posted on

Nikkei Interview

Recently I was interviewed for the Nikkei Business Newspaper, talking about the differences between Japan and Germany business concepts. During the interview, which was published in the newspaper on monday, 7th October 2019, we touched upon different topics, but especially talked about traditional Japanese values including the ‘mottainai‘ concept, which can be translated in German as ‘zu schade..‘ or in English as ‘what a waste‘. The concept is in times of promoting SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) reemerging again to encourage people to “reduce, reuse and recycle” more. Lets hope it is not just a trend but a return to some basic and great values the Japanese culture has to offer.

Posted on

Typhoon Faxai and the Consequences

Broken trees block trainline

In the night from 8 to 9 September, typhoon faxai swept across Shizuoka, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Tokyo, and the typhoon was the strongest in Japan’s recent history. With 965 hPa air pressure and wind speeds of up to 210 kilometers per hour, up to 400 millimeters of rain were observed in some places. Next to train delays, school closures and a chaotic situation at Narita airport (some 17000 people were stranded at some point in the terminal) many electric pylons were destroyed and up to 900,000 people were without power. As of today, there are still ca. 500,000 people without power and heavy thunderstorms make the restoration work very difficult, so that some are afraid that the electricity will just be back at the end of the month in some places.

Apart from the lack of power, running water (which is urgently needed to cool down as temperatures still reached 36 degree on 10 september) and food (most stores in Chiba stayed closed due to damage and a lack of power) many people complain about the lack of information and guidance from the government. These adds extra stress to the already severe situation which hits especially elderly, young children and other marginalized members of the society very hard.

With the start of new semester next week, I am currently reworking the content of the course “Sociology of Disaster” to see what can we learn from the disaster and how we can be better prepared.

For more information, please check:

http://tiny.cc/1ckncz

Posted on

Coming soon – Book on Asian Alleyways

IIAS

The book “Asian Alleyways – An Urban Vernacular in Times of Globalisation”, authored by Marie Gibert-Flutre and Heide Imai, was recently introduced at the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS), taking place fron 16-19 July 2019 in Leiden, as part of a session entitled “Taking stock of the IIAS Book Series published by Amsterdam University Press”. We will keep you updated when the book is available in stores and online. Many thanks to Marie Gibert-Flutre and Paul Rabé (head of the AUP series on Asian Cities) for the chance to promote the book.

Posted on

Boundless – 100 Faces of Yokohama

Boundless Yokohama

On saturday, 6th July Heide Imai had the chance to talk with Dennis Chia, CEO of Boundless International and Sosei Partner (a learning and empowerment platform for the international community to contribute to Japan’s regional revitalization) about her image of Yokohama.

The interview was conducted as part of the Boundless – 100 Faces of Yokohama project, which is supported by the Yokohama City Government and aims to portray 100 international residents and their perspective on the city. The interview took place in the new Boundless Office and next to the interesting aspects as the history, social mix and attractive points of Yokohama, also points of improvement and new ideas for future living in Yokohama were discussed.

The outcomes of the project look very promising and for updates on new publications, events and workshops in relation to this project, please check the Boundless 100 Faces of Yokohama website.

http://boundless.international/projects/100facesofyokohama

Posted on

Update Research Projects 2019

Kiyosumi Shirakawa

The second half of 2019 is already in full swing and next to existing research projects which will be out in print soon (update follows) new research projects focus on alternative lifestyles and new social entrepreneurs in areas as for example Koenji, Kyojima or Kiyosumi Shirakwa.

In a recent fieldnote about Kiyosumi Shirakawa:
“Many similar cafes have popped up in the last year, turning Kiyosumi Shirakawa more and more into Tokyo coffee paradise, a trend the neighbourhood is already known for. Shop owners offer you happily something to try, the tofu store is crowded with locals who look for healthy and cheap products just before dinner time, and hip places like the Artichoke chocolate store or the newest shop Cheese no Koe, a cheeseshop specializing in cheese from Hokkaido, blend in a unique way into the local neighbourhood. Nevertheless, some locals fear that also this neighbourhood becomes a burgeoning place in which hip and new alternatives settle, causing a new wave of gentrification.” (19th June 2019)

For more updates, please check the research project site: https://heideimai.com/portfolio/gentrifying-japan/

Posted on

Cultural Typhoon Conference 2019

Cultural Typhoon 2n June 2019

Heide Imai was presenting together with Florian Purkarthoefer (University Vienna) the paper Gentrification, Revitalization or what: Changing Scapes, Spaces and Places in Japan at the Cultural Typhoon Conference 2019, taking at Keio University from 1st-2nd June, as a first result of an ongoing research project called Gentrifying Japan.

The presentation attracted a wider audience and people from the field of interdisciplinary Asian and cultural studies including visual anthropology, critical social and community studies. The main questions which were raised during the presentation were 1) who is not included/not profiting and in what way people resist, protest or find other ways to make their voices against the ongoing processes heard, 2) what role do artists play in the process, as these often do not want to be part of differen tcreative policies, yet also need spaces and means to make a living, and 3) how our paper is contributing to the wider, global debate which we critized for being too general to be cover the diversity and complexity of different cases, especially of the existing variety of urban spheres in East Asia. With this feedback in mind, we will finalize our data set and prepare our paper for publication.

For more information and updates, please refer to https://www.researchgate.net/project/Gentrifying-Japan

Posted on

Prof. Jung In Kim and students visit GIS, Hosei University 29-30 May 2019

As both cities, Tokyo and Seoul, face similar challenges as an aging society, shrinking birthrate, hidden poverty and changing social values, it is to compare the specific reasons, consequences and solutions. Between 29-30 May 2019, Prof. Jung In Kim and 15 architecture students from Soongsil University visited the Faculty of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies, Hosei University to take part in a workshop about political space, which was very successful and a good chance to collaborate together. In a second session, the architecture students presented and discussed their design projects for Seoul 2035 with GIS Students, exchanging new ideas and comparing urban life in both cities.

To get a real impression of ongoing changes in Tokyo, the whole team also conducted fieldwork in Kagurazaka to study ongoing trends as gentrification, commercialization and social segregation. We look forward to collaborate and work together on common problems and solutions.

For more information, please check the GIS website http://gis.hosei.ac.jp/cms/?p=1457

Posted on

Urban and Rural Contestation in Vietnam, Fieldwork 2019

Hanoi

In early May 2019 Dr. Heide Imai was able to visit Vietnam (Hanoi and Ninb Binh) to compare urban and rural landscape of contestation. The fieldwork was conducted with the help of students from different local universities, who would like to compare Vietnams urban and rural contestation with the case of Japan. At the end of the year a visit in Japan (Tokyo and Chiba) is planned, during which the students will compare the case of Hanoi and Tokyo, trying to figuring out what both can learn from each other. A joint conference and journal paper will be published in 2020.

More information will follow soon on the research website.

Posted on

Magazine Internazionale – Special Edition featuring Tokyo Roji

Internazionale (1)

Three excerpts from the book Tokyo Roji were featured in the Italian Magazine Internazionale: Junko Terao, editor in charge, featured in this special edition on Tokyo different parts from the book focusing on a portrait of the neighbourhood Yanesen (Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi) and the typical yokochos, different alleyways found in Tokyo. The excerpt , translated into Italian, appeared along with texts from Ian Buruma, Moriyama Daido and Jinnai Hidenobu.

For more information and the full text see:

http://tiny.cc/kd1k5y

Posted on

Presentation IPHS Conference 2018

IPHS 2018 (1)

The 18th biannual International Planning History Society (IPHS) conference took place 15–19 July 2018, in Yokohama, Japan. Themed ‘Looking at the World History of Planning’, the conference asked to enhance and promote the diversity of perspectives and narratives existing in the research of
cities and their planning history (select full papers and abstracts are available for public access from the IPHS website: https://journals.library.tudelft.nl/index.php/iphs/issue/archive). The conference consisted of diverse events.

In the panel entitled Planning Community without Planners, chaired by Nancy Kwak Dr. Heide Imai gave a presentation entitled “Urban Ordinaries – Vernacular Landscapes as Places of Diversity, Difference and Displacement”. The presentation was given as part of the Global Urban History Project (GUHP) which aims to encourage the study of cities as creations and creators of large-scale or global historical phenomena.

For more information:
http://www.globalurbanhistory.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=803980&module_id=305237

Posted on

Paperback Tokyo Roji (2018)

Paperback Tokyo Roji (2018)

With great pleasure I can announce that Routledge is satisfied with the sales numbers for 2018 and decided to bring out the paperback much earlier, already one year after the hardcover (normal are 18-24months). Imai, Heide (2018) Tokyo Roji: The Diversity and Versatility of Alleys in a City in Transition https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317363651

Paperback: 9780367140991 Hardback: 9781138949102

ABOUT THIS BOOK The Japanese urban alleyway, which was once part of people’s personal spatial sphere and everyday life has been transformed by diverse and competing interests. Marginalised through the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces, re-appropriated by different fields, and re-invented by the contemporary urban design discourse, the social meaning attached to the roji is being re-interpreted by individuals, subcultures and new social movements. The book will introduce and discuss examples of urban practices which take place within the dynamic urban landscape of contemporary Tokyo to portray the life cycle of an urban form being rediscovered, commodified and lost as physical space.

Posted on

Visit to Soongsil University, Korea 21-23 March 2019

Visiting Seoul Fishmarket

Recently, Dr. Heide Imai was invited to Soongsil University, Seoul by Prof. Jung In Kim (Department of Architecture) to give a lecture about the Olympic Games taking in 2020 in Tokyo, talking about rapid urban change, social stratification and other issues, especially related to the destruction of old structures like the Tsukiji Fish Market which was replaced with a new generic structure, located in Toyosu. Visiting among many other rapidly changing places as Gangnam, Euljiro and Hongdae, the Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul, the researcher was able to compare both places which underwent almost identical transformation processes.

As both cities, Tokyo and Seoul, face similar challenges as an aging society, shrinking birthrate, hidden poverty and changing social values, it is important to focus on the human perspective and how people experience those cities to create spaces which are open for all. Accordingly, Dr. Imai
discussed with the students new ideas and concepts for public spaces, housing and equal work spaces which they will integrate in their final design and thesis projects. In May 2019 Prof. Jung In Kim and students from Soongsil University will visit Hosei University to discuss their projects with GIS Students, planning to exchange new ideas and compare urban life in both cities.

Working with Prof. Jung In Kim's tudents at different design projects
Working with Prof. Jung In Kim’s tudents at different design projects
Posted on

Conference Cultural Typhoon 2019

Dr. Heide Imai will present together with Florian Purkarthoefer (University Vienna) at the Cultural Typhoon Conference in June 2019 results of the ongoing research project Gentrifying Japan. Entitled Gentrification, Revitalization or what: Changing Scapes, Spaces and Places in Japan, the
paper will move beyond the general concept of gentrification to ask how the ambiguity of urban change can be understood. Being rich in data coming from different urban spheres in Japan, which experienced decline, failure but also rebirth and revival, the case studies presented will allow the reader to develop a deeper understanding for the ongoing restructuring processes which happen around us, yet cannot be fully understand until we know how they affect the everyday life of the ordinary residents, users and visitors (often in contrasting ways).

Cultural Typhoon Conference, Mita Campus, Keio University, Tokyo, from June 1–2, 2019.

For more information:
http://cultural-typhoon.com/act/en/2018/11/call-for-papers-2019/

Posted on

FCCJ Book Break Tokyo Roji, 10th April 2019

At 10th April 2019 Heide Imai will give a Book Break at the FCCJ (Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan) to talk about her most recent book Tokyo Roji – The Diversity and Versatility of Alleys in a City in Transition”.

Date and Time:
Wednesday, April 10, 2019, from 6:15 pm to 8:30 pm (The talk will be in English)

The FCCJ library committee is offering a cocktail party – “Meet the Author” – starting at 6:15 pm, followed by dinner at 6:45 pm.

For more information, refer to:
http://www.fccj.or.jp/events-calendar/book-breaks/cat.listevents/2019/02/07/-.html

Posted on

Sense of Place -Tokyo, Books on Asia featured Tokyo Roji

Books on Asia, run by Amy Chavez, has included Tokyo Roji in their recent issue which introduced books which are essential reading to understand the great capital city of Tokyo. From historical reads and memoirs by English language authors Edward Seidensticker, John Nathan and Ian
Buruma, the issue also included books of contemporary authors as Banana Yoshimoto, Hiromi Kawakami and Haruki Murakami.

For more information:
https://booksonasia.net/issues/four/

Posted on

OAG Walk: Koganecho, Yokohama – from Red Light and Homeless to Artist District

Dr. Heide Imai took on 2 February 2019 18 participants from the OAG Tokyo (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Natur- und Völkerkunde Ostasiens/オーアーゲー・ドイツ東洋文化研究協会) around the Noge, Hinode and Koganechō neighbourhood in Yokohama, in order to explore the spatial and
social transformation of the district. The neighborhood has undergone major changes over the last 20 years, especially with regard to the use of local spaces. The former run-down neighborhood, which was mostly populated by homeless people, prostitutes and day laborers, has since become an attractive neighborhood for artists, hipsters and all sorts of alternatives. This tour was one of the walks which will be offered to specific groups interested in the transformation of the city, especially before mega events as the Rugby Worldcup in 2019 and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

For more information:
https://oag.jp/events/heide-imai-yokohamas-koganecho-vom-obdachlosen-und-rotlichtviertel-zur-kunststadt/

Photograph by Thomas Gittel (2019).

Posted on

OAG Talk and Walk 2018 – Tokyo Roji: Tsukajima’s Backlanes between Tradition and Modernity

Dr. Heide Imai gave in April 2018 a lecture at the OAG Tokyo (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Natur- und Völkerkunde Ostasiens/オーアーゲー・ドイツ東洋文化研究協会) with the title “Tokyo Roji – Tsukajima’s Backlanes between Tradition and Modernity”. After an engaging discussion and Q+A session, the group travelled to Tokyo’s bay area to discover the backlanes of Tsukudajima with their own eyes.

After a delicious Monjayaki lunch, the group walked through a maze of green alleyways which are so typical for this historical neighbourhood, yet have fastly disappeared in the last years due to large construction and redevelopment processes.

For more information:
https://oag.jp/events/tokyo-roji-tsukudajimas-hintergassen-zwischen-tradition-und-moderne/

Photograph by Thomas Gittel (2019).