Japan is a country that values history and tradition
Do you find yourself thinking that way?
If you live in Kurashiki City, home to the Bikan Historical Area, which preserves the streetscape of the Edo period, it is especially easy to think so.
A lecture that offered an opportunity to reconsider this assumption was held on Friday, July 24, 2026.
Here is an introduction to the “70th Ohara Magosaburo and Soichiro Memorial Lecture.”
The information presented here is current as of the article’s publication in September 2026. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About the 70th Ohara Magosaburo and Soichiro Memorial Lecture
The “Kurashiki Sunday Lectures,” founded by Ohara Magosaburo, were carried on after his death by his eldest son, Soichiro.
Even after Soichiro’s death, people who share his vision have continued the lectures across generations, changing their name and format along the way.
Today, the “Ohara Magosaburo and Soichiro Memorial Lecture” is held once a year, around late July, hosted by the Yurin-kai Public Interest Incorporated Foundation.
The lecture held on Friday, July 24, 2026, marked the 70th installment. Inoue Shoichi, Director of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, took the stage as the speaker and delivered a lecture titled “Considering Japanese Streetscapes in Kurashiki.”
Lecture: “Considering Japanese Streetscapes in Kurashiki”
At the outset, Inoue described the nature of his lecture:
“This isn’t the kind of talk that gathers evidence in the manner of an academic. I haven’t been able to make use of statistical data, either. I’ll be asking you to join me in considering things I think about regularly, and things I thought about when I aspired to become an architect as a young man, but then stopped thinking about for a while.”
He began by discussing the common characterization of Japanese people as “a people who value harmony.” A handbook for international students published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology also describes them as a people who value harmony as a whole.
But Inoue, who studied architecture, said that when he looks at streetscapes, he feels the opposite is true.
“Think of the downtown areas of major cities. How many buildings do you see that seem to harmonize with the neighboring buildings? You could say there are almost none.”
He cited Kawaramachi Street in Kyoto as an example, adding that from Sanjo to Shijo, buildings line the street as if to say, “We’ll be damned if we match the ones next door.”
By contrast, the area around the Opera House in downtown Paris is largely unified in the style of Napoleon III’s era. Buildings of the same colors and shapes line the streets, making it hard to tell where you are and even easy to get lost.
“It is European downtown areas that value harmony. It is Japan where individuality stands out,” he said.
Rivers without railings and an administration that demands them
Inoue discussed the differences between Japan and other countries through the subject of railings.
Venice, also known as the “City of Water,” has almost no railings along its canals. Drunk people sometimes fall in. Inoue says he witnessed such an incident once when he was young. Even so, Venice does not put railings along its canals. “I’m not saying the city doesn’t care about people’s health at all, but I think it’s a city that values history more than health,” he said.
By contrast, high railings have been installed along Dotonbori in Osaka. “They’re put there so that if some strange accident happens, the administration won’t be held responsible.”
This led to the story of TIME’S in Kyoto (hereafter referred to as the “Times Building”).
Sanjo Kobashi, where the Takase River intersects Sanjo Street.
The Times Building, on the southwest side, has a platform extending out over the Takase River, with no railing. It was designed by Ando Tadao.
Inoue shared an anecdote he had heard from Ando: “The Kyoto City Office came down pretty hard, telling him to put up a railing, but he flat-out refused.” Inoue added, “That’s what he said, but I wonder if it’s really true.”
But in reality, the Times Building has no railing. When Inoue asked architects in Kyoto, he was told, “He could do it because he’s Ando.”
But that’s not the end of the story. A new building was built north of the Times Building, across the bridge. It, too, has a platform extending out over the Takase River. However, it has a small railing.
“The reason there are no railings along the Takase River in that neighborhood is that the scene was made possible by Ando Tadao’s stubbornness. The administration wants to put railings even along rivers that are only two or three centimeters deep. They build the city so that, in the event of an accident, the city office won’t be held responsible for having approved a place without railings.”
“I think we are quite well protected by the administration. This may be an outrageous argument, but perhaps our average life expectancy being among the highest in the world is thanks to railings,” he said, immediately adding, “That’s an outrageous argument, of course.”
The first air raid on Rome and Italy’s decision
Another topic that took up a considerable amount of time was Italy during World War II.
Inoue first presented a timeline of Japan.
The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941. The following year, on April 18, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, and other cities were bombed for the first time. Then came the Imperial Rescript announcing the end of the war on August 15, 1945. Working backward, Japan endured air raids for about three years and four months.
Air raids on mainland Italy began earlier. They started soon after Italy entered the war in June 1940, with northern industrial cities such as Turin and Genoa repeatedly targeted.
Even so, the air raid on the capital, Rome, came much later. On July 19, 1943, bombs fell on Rome for the first time.
“The July 19 air raid on Rome must have been a tremendous shock to Italians,” Inoue said.
After this air raid, Italy began to give up on continuing the war.
Six days later, on July 25, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed and arrested Prime Minister Benito Mussolini.
What caught Inoue’s attention was why Italy was able to make its decision immediately after the first air raid.
Rome is a city that dates back to before the Common Era. The Colosseum, which could hold 50,000 people, was built around 70 to 80 CE. The city is also home to great Renaissance and Baroque architecture, as well as Piazza del Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo. All of it could collapse.
And if bombs fell on Rome, the fire might spread to the Vatican Palace. The headquarters of Catholicism might burn.
“If you ask me for evidence, I have none. This is just a hunch,” Inoue said, before continuing:
“I think the General Staff couldn’t bear the prospect of the ruins and the Vatican Palace collapsing. Architectural culture became a bulwark against the will to continue the war. Architecture became a deterrent to war. I may be wrong, but I think it’s a rather beautiful story.”
Then he returned to Japan.
“The Empire of Japan held out for three years and four months after the first air raid. For the Army and Navy at the time, there was not a single building they needed to protect. They didn’t care if the cities burned. Some military officers were even considering a scorched-earth strategy.”
“As someone who once aspired to become an architect, this is deeply painful to me.”
He went on to say that Paris was the same.
On May 10, 1940, German forces began their offensive in the west, and entered Paris on June 14. Paris was surrendered without a fight. The artworks in the Louvre Museum had apparently been evacuated the previous year, but the Louvre Palace and Notre-Dame Cathedral could not be moved.
“I think the French couldn’t bear the thought of Paris becoming a battlefield. In that sense, architecture became a deterrent to war.”
The paradox of a country that does not respect architecture nurturing architects
At the end of the lecture, Inoue shared a paradox.
Modern Japan has many architects who are active around the world. There are countless names to mention, both before and after Ando Tadao. So why are Japanese architects so highly regarded around the world?
“There are architects in Florence and Venice, too. But they have almost no architectural work. With no work, they turn to designing supercars or boats. Most designers of Italy’s stylish boats and cars are architects.”
By contrast, Japan has a wealth of work opportunities, at least compared with Europe’s old cities. That is because it is a country that repeatedly tears down and rebuilds.
“Japan’s climate, which does not respect architectural culture, gives rise to a cycle of tearing down and rebuilding. Architects use that situation as fertile ground and take flight onto the world stage. Because there is a culture that does not respect architecture, architects are nurtured. I’ll end today’s speech with this paradox.”
From the Writer
In a lecture lasting about 90 minutes, with no slides or handouts, Inoue repeatedly prefaced his remarks with “This is a radical argument” and “There is no evidence,” as he moved back and forth between topics ranging from government-installed handrails to Rome during wartime, discussing why Japanese streetscapes fail to harmonize.
Yet his arguments are convincing.
For example, if someone proposed adding a promenade along the Kurashiki River in the Bikan Historical Area, I found myself wondering whether “handrails” would surely be installed—or whether such a proposal would be “unacceptable” in the first place.
The Bikan Historical Area’s streetscape has been preserved out of respect for architectural culture, and “harmony” is also emphasized in buildings constructed since then.
It was a lecture that made me feel there is meaning in considering, in Kurashiki, the Japanese climate that does not respect architectural culture.
70th Ohara Magosaburo and Soichiro Memorial Lecture Information
| Name | 70th Ohara Magosaburo and Soichiro Memorial Lecture |
|---|---|
| Date | July 24, 2026 (Friday) 6:30–8:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 p.m.) |
| Location | 2-21 Honmachi, Kurashiki City — Kurashiki Community Center, Main Hall |
| Admission (tax included) | Free |
| Website | Yurinkai Public Interest Incorporated Foundation |
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