| Title |
The Historical Significance of the Architect Tetsuro Yoshida's Travel Abroad |
| Keywords |
Tetsuro Yoshida ; Travel Abroad ; Traditional Japanese Architecture ; Architectural Exchange between East and West |
| Abstract |
The purpose of this paper is to consider the historical meaning of the Japanese architect Tetsuro Yoshida (1894-1956)'s year-long travel in the West from July 1931. Belonging to Teishinsho or Ministry of Communications, he was sent out to the West to investigate into broadcasting station facilities. Beyond the official duty, however, Yoshida seemed more interested in visiting European architecture in the flesh, which he had experienced only through publications in Japan. During the stay in Europe, he had extensively travelled, base-camping in Berlin, and met many leading architects. Without doubt, this travel was important for his architectural career thereafter and it was directly related to the development of Japanese modern architecture. However, this paper argues that his travel was more crucial, in a broader sense, in terms of the architectural exchange between East and West. His existence in Europe - and also his Japanese house designs in his publication Shin-Nihon-Jutaku-Zushu (1931) - aroused Europeans' keen interest in and more curiosity about the traditional Japanese house. As a result, he came to publish the well-known Das japanische Wohnhaus (1935), one of the classics on Japanese architecture in the West, which has had a strong influence on Western architects. This is the resounding historical significance that distinguishes Yoshida's travel abroad from that of other contemporary Japanese architects. |