Tange Kenzo. A leading architect in Japan who brought Japanese architecture onto the world stage.

The Pritzker Prize, the “architecture Nobel”, was founded in 1979. From Japan, seven groups (eight people) have won the prize, even though only a single prize is awarded each year. 

I have no hesitation in saying that, without Kenzo Tange, Japan could not have produced such a number of great architects.

Tange played a central role in leading the construction industry after World War 2, and educated superb young architects to follow after him. Now, many of his disciples (Arata Isozaki, Kisho Kurokawa, Fumihiko Maki, Yoshio Taniguchi) are key players both in Tokyo and around the world. And buildings, which Tange designed are still an ornament to Tokyo.

One of Tange's masterpieces, a bold piece of modernism, is Yoyogi Gymnasium.  The Olympic Games were first held in Tokyo in 1964. The monumental Yoyogi stadium was an embodiment and symbol of Japan’s rapid economic growth since the war.

photo: Casa Brutus

<National Yoyogi Stadium> Completion: 1964
Built as a sub venue for the Tokyo Olympic Games. A dynamic curving roof uses a "suspended roof structure." The roof is suspended from two large pillars. As a result, the large interior space is uninterrupted.

Another is Tokyo Cathedral.

photo: Casa Brutus

<Tokyo Cathedral> Completion: 1964

The silhouette that stretches heavenward is reminiscent of Yoyogi Gymnasium. The exterior is made of stainless steel. The entrance doesn’t lead you straight inside, like a typical church. Rather, your route goes round up stairs to the nave. The ceiling has a cruciform sky light, and the mystical light falls on the nave as if leading worshippers to the presence of God.

Here are some others of Tange’s works that we can see in Tokyo. Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, United Nations University, Shinjuku Park Tower, Fuji Television Head Office Building. Each is a landmark of the area where it stands. 

Now, let's take a look at a photo of Kenzo Tange. 

He looks gentle and cheerful. It seems that he really was good at socializing and, at one time, his house was a kind of salon for international celebrities such as Gropius, Waxman, Isamu Noguchi and Charlotte Perriand. Photographs of them all at the house survive. 

It is said that Tange was a very nice person. He treated everyone gently and equally. As an educator, his guidance of Arata Isozaki, Kisho Kurokawa, Fumihiko Maki and Yoshio Taniguchi to the heights of architecture was a great achievement.

Tange also created grand designs of cities on a large scale, rather than just for individual buildings. For example, he designed the visionary schemes for the Hiroshima Peace Memorial park and the Osaka Expo1970.

However, his works in later years, such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building and Unite Nation University are sometimes criticized as “authoritarian gothic.”  The style of his design changed a lot from his works in 1980s. 

I watched these two buildings grow in real time, and remember thinking they were intimidating. Some say that, as Tange succeeded, he was drawn into the circles of power and forgot the spirit of the common people.

It was when I went to Odaiba that I really noticed Tange's greatness. Odaiba is an artificial island and Tokyo's last frontier, developed as futuristic city. Today, it hosts the Fuji TV headquarters building, convention centers, science museums, huge amusement facilities, shopping centers, and so on. 

Certainly, Odaiba has all the necessary amenities, but to be honest, it doesn’t look futuristic, it is just a boring new city. With coherent urban planning, it could have been designed in any way and become something like the Marina District in Singapore. Still among the indifferent buildings, there is one that has a strong presence. That’s the Fuji TV headquarters building Tange worked on. It stands out as a unique beacon in the area.

photo: Tange Associates

If I could go back in time, there is a project I would like to ask Kenzo Tange to undertake. That is the redevelopment of Odaiba. If Tange had worked on a grand design for Odaiba, what would this last frontier have looked like? Even imagining it is exciting!