{Inter} Cultural Japan

In the Middle Ages, all Japanese cities imitated the then capital Kyoto, which resulted in a large number of “small Kyoto’s,” as lovely Tsuwano; in the Edo-period, the model was Edo, so we have numerous small Edo’s as, for example, Kawagoe. Now the model is Tokyo and all cities in Japan seem bent on imitating the capital again. Not so Fukuoka, claims Kaori Shoji, writing in the IHT, as this city has set its design on being different. For one thing, it is close to the Asian mainland and that has led to more contacts with the rest of Asia than elsewhere in Japan. One, beautiful, outcome of that has been the Asian Art Museum (a museum I can very much recommend!).

(The Riverain complex housing the Asian Art Museum)

Fukuokans are liberal and open-minded, according to the article. There is no Tokyo inferiority complex and the architecture of the city is getting more interesting as well - the city has a new, design-conscious mindset. Kaori Shoji gives a few examples of modern design in Fukuoka, one related to furniture and interior fixtures from the town of Okawa (near Fukuoka), the other to a new apartment complex (Jyosui Resist). Personally, I would like to include the Toto toilet company (headquartered in nearby Kitakyushu); although its high-tech toilets are perhaps more gadget than design, this is really a nationwide force to be reckoned with (read a recent article on Toto)!

Anyway, after reading the article in the IHT I must confess that I am not wholly convinced. Fukuoka appears to me as just such a concrete jumble as other Japanese cities and new developments as Hakata Riverain or Canal City Hakata stand right next to rather ugly places. I was also surprised to see the Fukuoka City Museum with its nice glass facade almost obliterated by neighboring apartment towers in the “fashionable” Momochi district (near Fukuoka Tower) – not a good example of city planning (on top of that, the museum is difficult to reach by public transport). Much is made good by the Fukuoka Art Museum in Ohori Park, by the yatai (food stalls) along the Naka River, and Fukuoka’s boisterous festivals, but within certain boundaries all large cities in Japan, although imitating Tokyo, have such redeeming features. Is Fukuoka really different?

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