THE NEW TOKIO

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 125, 29 May 1930, Page 18

THE NEW TOKIO

ft, CITY REMADE

MODERN BUT UGLY " FAILURE OF IDEALISTS A few weeks ago Toldo celebrated the completion of the years-long task of rehabilitation after its destiuction by . earthquake and fire in 1923. But the Japanese city of to-day, conceived on • grand lines, has.fallen far short of its '" - ideal. '' '. The Tokio of to-day, likto Paris in £ some respects, occupies among tho capi- ?,, 'tals of tho world the same position that ' Becky Sharp enjoyed among the great' ladies of Mayfair. It is quite attractive, yet more than slightly suggestive of impropriety, especially when one goes through the geisha quarters or the more sordid districts.'.; Parts of the city are full'of .indigested-imitations of things foreign. The'latest in cubist decorations', thY most slatternly studies in female nuditY, iiro to be found cheek by. jowl with splendid types'of Grecian architecture.. ,: v .... It was my good- fortune and privilege tq sho-vif-the, wife of a French banker around this jcongiomeration of villages (for that is 'what llokio really is) that .■js yet: struggling to achieve unity, and beeonio; a city, and her characterisation ■of Japan's capital had the.' value of being both pointed' and-succinct. "Toldo,''she said, "is not any better; it is worse.'-' And what is true of Tokio is, in great measure, applicable to the other largo cities of Japan—they nay be counted on. the fingers of one's hand— with the possible exception of Kyoto. Oiip recalls the grand visions that the builders of the new Tokio indulged in when, after tho fires that followed the earthquake of 1023 tho greater part of down town Tokio was destroyed. While the flames were still feasting on a city that was for the most part paper and wood, cleverly ■■concealed..behind flimsy coats of mud and sand that gave the appearance of being mad,o of. less perishable material, those entrusted with tho rebuilding of the city, especially the lato Count Goto,, who was then Mayor, began to dvoam great dreams. . MODEKNITY FIRST. ■ fl'M.OTe i , modern even than New York," was the prediction of what , Tokio would be, and it may be regarded as an indication of the mentality of new , Japan that modernity came first and 'beauty or aestheticism afterwards, if these were'ever thought of. But fhe ' dream soon faded, especially when realists confronted tho visionaries with financial facts. Dr. Charles A. Beard, the American "city beauty doctor," was invited to Japan and asked to draft plans for the new capital. But, unfortunately, politics played havpc, and the result has been a regrettable departure from the dreams and even of the har- , monious plan that aimed at blending the architecture of tho United States with the first conceived by China. x Soon after the 1923 disaster, one could not have had anything but admiri ation- for the splendid spirit and tho courage with Thich icn, women, and children, with blackened zinc shoets from' the ruins or with 'plain rough. ■■• boards, built temporary stores, offices, and homes. But aspirations soon cooled. The people wanted the narrow, congested streets, tho wooden boxcß they had been used to for generations, and the crowded areas that were so greatly responsible for the firo with its toll of human c and material loss. With all the obstacles confronting it, thfe greatest of .which was the refusal of the public to brqak with the old tradition, the, reconstruction bureau has done some splendid' work- and has achieved what was humanly possible. SHORT OP MONEY. .Yokohama was throughout treated in a» stepmotherly fashion. . Short replies and v'ory conservative treat--1 went was the portion of the port . city whenever it sought assistandc from the ' coffers of tho Central government. One reason for this was that many' believed Yokohama would never come back, while others insisted that Tokio should bo attended to first, for it was tho capital, the seat of the Imperial family, the centre of the land. Yokohama, ■ however, had a great advantage over. Tokio because, being a port city, its traditions were not so hidebound. The parsimonious' mann-r in ■which she was treated made her only i the more determined to recover by her own'efforts, while; the fact;that there was no-politics to interfere helped enormously. / Tho result is that': Yokohama to-day has harmonious architecture, good streets,, and up-to-date port facilities.;. . ' Tokio ' has some splendid; buildings and somo splendid roads, but the greater part of the city is the same old Tokio, the same old bamboo-and-paper dwol- \ lings. .* . Like*most other cities, Japanese cities w?r» founded at the mouth of a ; river or, on an inlet of tho sea, and with '. the exception of. two or three, they | were the headquarters of rival feudal j lords. After the. restoration of the j Emperor to power, when th,o entire land ■ came under the control .of a centralised j government, the bigger cities became \ tho sites of the headquarters of prefec-■•>--tural governments, of army., divisions, J of railway terminals, and "trade centres, • while in tho case of cities situated » : along the coast, some were, converted \ into naval bases. i HOW ROADS CAME. '.. ; The advent. of the motor-car more ~-,\ i than any, • othor singlo thing led to the building of better roads in Japan. Thoro is, in this connection, a classical Bt : ory of John'l' 1. Stevens, the American -; "Sftivil engineer. ' On a visit to Japan" some twenty years ago, he called attention to the utter lack of proper roads. "What do we want good roads for?" he was asked. "We can't afford them." Mr. Stevens pointed out the psychological effect of good roads, their indirect, and direct results on the people's health, the saving of time, and so forth. All this had no offeet.-; He then drew attention to the military value of good roads. That brought results, and the good roads movement here germinated from this hint. The earthquake also showed that if there had been better roads tho fire fighters, would havo been able to save many ..blocks and sections, while several human lives would also' have >.b'eon saved. The public apathy soon, wore off to., a creditable extent, and .when largo motor firms established up-to-date ' plants, tho one in Yokohama and the other in Osaka, and provided Japan with cheap automobiles the good roads movement received a tremendous impetus. Looking back to twenty years ago it 5s evident that people here are now desirous of living.in better bouses. The Government, which has taken in the load in steadily infusing into tho minds of the people the advantages of what the stay-at-homo would reject, as newfangled notions, when building new offices, school buildings, hospitals, ■ and the like, went in for the modern style of architecture, solid and roomy. If ,a disinterested persor were asked what hurts Tokio most hp would be obliged to say that it is this slavish imitation, this desire to "keep up with the 1 J6ne»o" (in this ' caso the United States), regardless of the ill effects of politics ot the Tammany typo on .American cities.