The importance of culture when building urban space in Japan

Abstract

Western urban planning has always valued the use of perspective and the highlighting of squares, monuments, and streets. However, this notion of the city as a hierarchical and linear structure goes against the nipponese idea of urban space, where space always reflects the principles of the culture. By learning the culture and techniques of other peoples, the japanese have managed to preserve their own traditions. Western ignorance explains its enormous difficulty to perceive and interpret Eastern spaces, and in order to overcome obstacles we must resort to non-linear spatial language. Before we understand the japanese spatial system, we need to study the complex relations between the visible and invisible worlds, as the principles defining the characteristics of the japanese space are: ku - empty space, oku - inner space, and ma - in-between space. They create a more organic and more natural order, with an open and dynamic structure, common to the expansion of typical japanese cities. This article intends to help build an understanding of the above principles. As the West faces difficulties conceiving a suitable urban environment today, we should search for a new vision, such as the japanese vision, which is briefly describe in this article.