Coolly poised
at the starting line of the new millennium, Tokyo is the dynamic
epicenter of cultural contradictions, manic creativity and the kooky
vibrancy so central to our times. Twice laid waste by earthquake and
firebombing, the world’s largest city has re-emerged in larger and
more fascinating manifestations. Yet, people live knowing that Tokyo
could again be devastated at any moment by natural calamity. As
Japan’s economic miracle of the post-war decades metamorphosed into
the unparalleled extravagance of the Bubble Economy and then its
sobering aftermath, Tokyo struggles to re-invent itself once again.
This is the first profile of the great city in more than 25 years. It
is not a guidebook; it is a literary narrative by two fine writers,
who know the city well. It is the best introduction to contemporary
Tokyo available.
Asia 2000 has also published
Todd Crowell's Farewell, My Colony, Last
Days in the Life of British Hong Kong and
Discover Macau.
Critics Comments
"...a scintillating description of the vast
conurbation that is Tokyo, including well-chosen statistics showing
the extent to which the city dominates Japan’s economic and cultural
activity. The city is also ranked in comparison to its international
competition, against which it seems undeniably impressive....An
account of the addiction to fads that has Shibuya’s young fashionistas
in constant search for a novelty fix is an interesting addition to the
genre, while a chapter on 'outsiders' offers a revealing look at the
lives of various examples of the gaijin species.
"...A subject probably unfamiliar to many, the fate
of art collected by Japanese corporations and wealthy parvenus during
the bubble era, is discussed in one of the book’s best sections.
Despite the dearth of world-class museums along the lines of London’s
National Gallery or the Louvre, Tokyo is dotted with galleries created
by businessmen wishing to showcase their sometimes impressive, and
usually expensively acquired, collections.
"The fantastic spending spree engaged in by Japanese
collectors between 1987 and 1990 when they spent an estimated $8
billion on foreign art, is breathlessly described. In one notable
example, retired executive Ryoei Saito bought a Renoir and a van Gogh
for a total of $160 million in 1990, paintings he said he wanted to
have cremated with his body after his death. These works survived
Saito, fortunately, but they are not on display anywhere. This seems
to be true of many of the works bought during the art boom, with
experts unsure of the exact number or whereabouts of what are in some
cases undoubted masterpieces.
"...In discussing the
future of Tokyo, the authors first review the recent past, looking at
the legacy of former Governor Shunichi Suzuki and his grand
projects...includ[ing] the Tokyo metropolitan government buildings in
Shinjuki, the Edo-Tokyo Museum at Ryogoku and the Tokyo International
Forum in Yurakucho....Notions of futuristic superskyscrapers, floating
cities and underground communities take a prominent place in visions
of the future of Tokyo put forward by architects and others whose
ideas of what the city might look like one day sometimes fall just
short of fantasy....[I]t is just this spirit of experimentation that
has made Tokyo the vital, wonderful, sometimes infuriating place it
is. It is a city that has been built layer upon layer, often with
little regard for the past but full of hope for the future. Japan’s
capital is made up of mazelike streets and neighborhoods of various
character thrown one against another, a city well reflected in
'Tokyo: City on the Edge.'"
Keith
McPhalen
The Asahi Shimbun
"Few people think of
Tokyo's gray concrete mass as a fleeting phenomenon. Yet the chances
are the Japanese capital we know today, susceptible as it is to
earthquake or the Japanese propensity to tear down and rebuild any an
all structures, might not be around for very long. This is the driving
notion behind this guide to Tokyo and it's an inspired idea,
overlaying nostalgia on one of the world's most contemporary
metropolises. Despite the city's unusual offerings – neon game centers
and oddity museums – the authors claim that Tokyo "hides its
considerable charms and it takes some time to uncover them." Here's a
map to finding them - before they disappear."
Time
"The authors of Tokyo:
City on the Edge write with the same level of energy they
attribute to Tokyo. They paint the city as an ever-changing place, its
borders pushed and tugged and its dimensions redefined, as amoeba-like
as a subway's crowd capacity and mercurial as the people's spending
habits."
Asian Wall
Street Journal
"Here is Japan in all its
individualistic, self-centered glory, a vibrant, crowded, messy and
sometimes cruel place but still very much alive."
South
China Morning Post
Readers Comments
Extract
Copyright © Todd
Crowell & Stephanie Forman Morimura
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