First published 2012
Tokyo emerges as a city in constant flux through more than 170 visual documents spanning over a century. Dower examines how Japan's capital reinvented itself during three pivotal eras: the Westernization wave of the mid-1800s, the rise of modern urban culture before World War II, and the economic miracle of the postwar decades. The book presents prints, photographs, paintings, and textiles that capture each transformation. Five scholarly essays analyze these changes alongside a catalog organized into ten thematic sections. Each section opens with narrative context for the visual materials. The volume originated as an exhibition at Amherst College's Mead Art Museum, curated by Samuel C. Morse. Readers discover how Tokyo's identity shifted with each reinvention, from traditional Japanese city to Western-influenced metropolis to modern economic powerhouse.
Genres: history, 20th-century, 21st-century, art-history, asian-american, cultural-studies
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cultural-transformation, historical-perspective
Setting: Amherst College, Japan, Tokyo
Period: Mid-1800s, Pre-World War II, Postwar Decades
203 pages · Paperback · Amherst College