Kodomonokuni：Children’s Land -Nature, Future and Metabolism Architecture
 |
2022. June.21th, Tuesday -August 28th, Sunday. |
|---|
“Kodomonokuni：Children’s Land -Nature, Future and Metabolism Architecture” was end.
Kodomonokuni (Aoba-ku, Yokohama) opened on May 5, 1965 as a welfare facility for children. It was expected by His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan, now His Majesty the Emperor, that they wished to use the congratulatory money donated from all over Japan to celebrate his marriage for a facility that would benefit children. The land, formerly an ammunition depot for the Japanese Army, reverted from the U.S. Army in 1961 and was developed with government funds and investments by many private companies, organizations, and individuals. The idea of creating a children’s playground using rich natural land of about 100 ha in Tama Hills became a pioneering model for similar facilities that followed. This exhibition featuring NAMA’s archives of materials from the time of the opening will take visitors back to the scenes of Kodomonokuni when it opened half a century ago, mainly through drawings and photographs of the facilities at the time.
The planning and construction of Kodomonokuni are of great significance to the development of modern and contemporary architecture in Japan. Many of the architects who designed Kodomonokuni participated in the formation of a group of architects and artists called “Metabolism”. They developed an architectural philosophy and a vision for the future city, with an emphasis on architecture that grows like a living organism metabolizing and harmoniously coexisting with others. These radical developments in the Japanese architectural world would prevail throughout the world. At Kodomonokuni, young architects who would later become leaders in Japan’s architectural world applied their fresh ideas to the design of the facilities where children play in nature and nurture their dreams for the future.
While some of Kodomonokuni’s facilities from the time of its opening still exist today, the exhibition is an excellent opportunity to grasp the overall picture of the facility design. Visitors will also understand the architects’ efforts and ingenuity in connecting children’s play and growth with nature and the future. In this exhibition, you will see how pioneering efforts to address significant challenges of today’s society, such as symbiosis, sustainability, and renewal, sprouted, even though the social conditions in the 1960s were more simplistic than those of today.
We believe that we can gain some insights on how to tackle various issues today by taking a fresh look at the original design of Kodomonokuni and revisiting the dreams, ideals, and attractive qualities found therein.
The exhibition also features NAMA’s recent collections as a concurrent part. We showcase seven collections from our archives that they collected recently. Please explore NAMA’s architectural collections via various libraries.
Organization：Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan
Cooperation：Social welfare corporation Kodomo no Kuni Association, Tokyo Metropolitan Parks Association
Venue：National Archives of Modern Architecture, Agency for Cultural Affairs 4-6-15 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8553, Japan
Tel: 03-3812-3401 Fax: 03-3812-3407
Date：2022. June.21th, Tuesday -August 28th, Sunday.
Closed on Mondays (expect July 18th) and July 19th.
Exhibiting architects
ASADA Takashi, OTANI Sachio, NOGUCHI Isamu, OTAKA Masato, KUROKAWA Kisho, SUZUKI Akira, KIKUTAKE Kiyonori
Concurrent exhibition: NAMA’s Recent Collections
KISHIDA Hideto Collection, KOMADA Tomohiko Collection of SAKAKURA Junzo’s Projects, MURATA Yutaka Collection, KIMURA Toshihiko Structural Design Collection, TSUNODA Shigeru Collection, Wasmuth Inc. Collection of YOSHIDA Tetsuro’s writings, SASAI Family Collection of Johana Post Office designed by YOSHIDA Tetsuro
inquiry
National Archives of Modern Architecture, Agency for Cultural Affairs
https://nama.bunka.go.jp
TEL 03-3812-3401 FAX 03-3812-3407
KOIKE Shuko s-koike@mext.go.jp