Megalopolis and Wasteland: Peripheral Geographies of Tokyo (1961/1971)

In this article, I juxtapose Tange Kenzō ‘s vision for a new civic and business axis to be built over Tokyo Bay in his proposal “Tokyo Megalopolis” (1961) and the Private Landscape series by photographer Hosoe Eikoh (1971–). These very different projects—Tange’s paper architecture and Hosoe’s art photography—share an interest in exploring the area surrounding Tokyo Bay. Through this comparison, I examine the ways that Tokyo’s periphery is invoked as a site of anxiety in the context of the radicalized politics and high-growth economics of the Japanese 1960s. What does it mean that these projects concern themselves with Tokyo’s periphery? Ultimately, this question leads me to a reconsideration of the nature and function of landscape, as a ghostly double of the built environment. In this article, I argue that the peripheral landscape opens itself up as a potential site from where to think an affective counter-history of Japan’s postwar experience.