What is it about?
This review essay introduces and comments on 3 books (Tokyo as a Global City. New Geographical Perspective; Tokyo Roji. The Diversity and Versatility of Alleys in a City in Transition; and, Street Performers and Society in Urban Japan, 1600-1900: The Beggar’s Gift) in a synoptical fashion highlighting several aspects of the urban life and changeable city form of Tokyo through several centuries of development, with an emphasis on the role of streets and the diverse levels of complexities inherent the life in this megacity.
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Why is it important?
Provide critical comments on three books which give refreshing insights and are valuable source which describe and interpret several aspects of the Japanese cities looking at the example and distinctive characteristics of Tokyo metropolis looking to its origins and evolution from ancient Edo.
Perspectives
The paper intends to highlight the resilience, timeless value and historical continuity of the unique traditions of Tokyo, commenting on three books which offer in their own way a distinctive contribution to the strong albeit often ethereal hidden bonds linking the past of the city to its present challenges and future ambitions.
Dr. Raffaele Pernice
University of New South Wales
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Streets, People, and Urban Scenes through Time: The Perpetual Allure of Tokyo, Journal of Urban History, February 2024, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/00961442241227578.
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