TAITO/E

Report on the Survey of Modern Architecture in Taito-ku

　 The following is a survey report on the present condition of architecture in Taito-ku (Taito Ward) constructed after the Meiji Period (late 19th century). The survey was conducted by Professor Masaru Maeno of the Department of Architecture in the School of Fine Arts at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Professor Maeno is also a member of the Taito-ku Council on the Protection of Cultural Property and is in charge of the Architecture Section of the Taito-ku Committee on the Survey of Cultural Property. The first phase of the survey was conducted in 1988 to confirm the locations of modern (late 19th to early 20th centuries) architecture in Taito-ku. The second phase of the survey was conducted from 1990 to 1994 during which full-scale survey of modern architecture was held at 108 locations throughout the ward.
An outline of modern architecture in Taito-ku was published in 1995 in the "Report on the Survey of Modern Architecture in Taito-ku (I)." The present report provides further analysis of modern architecture listed in the previous report. The content of this report is as follows.

Topography of Taito-ku and Its Urban Characteristics
Taito-ku is situated in the north-central part of Tokyo. It is shaped like a fan with the Ueno heights that comprises Yanaka and Ueno districts being the pivot and the plains area that stretches from Ueno to Asakusa being the fan portion. Located on the heights is Ueno Park where we find various religious facilities like Buddhist temples, including Kan'ei-ji, the burial ground of the Tokugawa shogun family, and Toshogu Shrine as well as cultural facilities like museums, art galleries, concert halls and a zoo. Connecting the Ueno heights and the plains area is Ueno Station. The area from Ueno to Asakusa used to be the northernmost limit of the city of Edo during the Edo Period (until the late 19th century) and there are still many temples in this area. Today, the northern section of this area and beyond is a home-industrial district while the southern section and toward Nihonbashi is a mercantile district and the section along the Sumida River from Asakusa to Asakusabashi is a wholesale district. Throughout this area there are many historic buildings of the Edo Period as well as urban architecture of the Meiji, Taisho and Showa Periods (late 19th to mid-20th centuries).

Masaru MAENO

back to INDEX