1986 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Comparative Study on the Structure of Townscapes Drawn in the Edo Period's Town Guidebooks
| Project/Area Number |
60550421
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
建築計画・都市計画
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| Research Institution | Mie University |
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Principal Investigator |
KITAHARA Toshio Mie University, Faculty of Engineering, Associate Professor, 工学部, 助教授 (60115558)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1985 – 1986
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| Keywords | Structure of townscape / Description of townscape / Meisho-zue(Old Japanese town guidebook) / 都市空間構成 |
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| Research Abstract |
This study investigates the structure of townscapes of four cities --Tokyou, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka-- by analyzing the scenery drawn in the Meisho-zues. Meisho-zue is a town guidebook with many illustrations which was published in the 18th and 19th centuries' Japan. To describe a townscape is a process of abstracting the valued elements from the actual townscape. The values used in its process are not necessarily private, but usually public shared by the society, class and city. So we can elucidate the characteristics of the publicly perceived townscape by analyzing the description of townscape which has been widely accepted by the citizen.
We have analyzed those illustrations in the Meisho-zues in four viewpoints. First, where were distributed the favorite scenes of the Edo priod citizens ? Second, what sequence did they adopt in constructing a story of their city's townscape from a series of scenes ? Third, what means and techniques did they adopt to express the charms of their townscape ? Fourth, what kinds of elements were drawn in those illustrations ?
This study explains the correlation between the structure of townscape and the organization of urban space. In the Edo period, Tokyo was a town of waters and terraces. Its structure of townscape was deeply influenced by the waterfront and the terrace edge. Nagoya was a castle town on a low and flat terrace. Its structure of townscape was framed by the north-south main street and the terrace edge. Kyoto was an old town of temples and citizens in a basin. Its structure of townscape was composed by the topography and the gridiron street pattern of ancient origin. Oaska was a town of bridges and merchants on a low reclamation land which was fringed by a long terrace on the east side. Its structure of townscape was dominated by the water and the mercantile values.
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Research Products
(11 results)
