COLLECTIVE MODULARITY: A MODULAR DESIGN FOR DISASTERS

With factory-built, prefabricated components, modular architecture is at the forefront of modern design. Architecture is becoming more cost-effective, movable, and uniform. Modular homes have traditionally sacrificed character in order to be more cost-effective, energy-efficient, or trendy. Developers, advertisers, and engineers use budgets and market data to design them, not an architects’ dream or vision. Architects who have been schooled to design with concept, passion, and poetry choose to design conventional homes because it has proven challenging in the past to adopt a modular construction plan while keeping design authorship. Architects see modular building as a violation of this fact, as it forces residences into three or four core products with little cultural flexibility. Modular architecture, however, may now bring significantly more variations with minimal cost and production efficiency thanks to modern equipment, appropriate planning, and business model integration. This thesis shows an insight of modular home building as well as techniques for architects to take advantage of its efficiency while maintaining unique design outputs and profit. It then creates a vision and manufacturing question about whether modular building is the ideal option for a design in the Bahamas, which will be studied through site analysis and initial design concept. I want to employ a system of construction methods that is assembled to be sturdy yet expandable at the same time. I want to address a natural disaster prone location where my structures can help rebuild whats been lost or destroyed

Childbirth in aristocratic households of Heian Japan

This paper focuses on childbirth in Japan’s aristocratic households during the Heian period (794-1185). Drawing on various sources, including court diaries, visual sources, literary records, and Japan’s first medical collection, with its assortment of gynaecological and obstetric prescriptions, as well as Buddhist and other ritual texts, this short excursion into the cultural history of childbirth offers an insight into how childbirth was experienced and managed in Heian Japan. In particular, it addresses the variety of ideas, knowledge systems and professionals involved in framing and supporting the process of childbirth in elite households. In so doing, it casts light on the complex background of early Japanese medicine and healthcare for women

AMIDAJI: MORTUARY ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND RITES OF EMPEROR ANTOKU'S TEMPLE

My dissertation analyzes the art, architecture, and rites related to mortuary ceremonies for Emperor Antoku and the Taira at the Buddhist temple Amidaji in Shimonoseki City in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Amidaji served as a mortuary temple for the eight-year-old emperor Antoku and the Taira clansmen, who, defeated in the final battle of the Genpei War, jumped to their deaths in the cold seas off the coast of Akama in 1185. Because the child emperor and the Taira drowned themselves, their spirits, unable to access the next world, were believed to become malicious ghosts who threatened the living and the nation. Amidaji, constructed in front of the battle site and where Antoku's body was believed to be interred, assumed major responsibility for the rituals to appease these ghosts and to assist them in attaining rebirth in the Western Paradise of Amida Buddha. Despite its importance, Amidaji was abolished and was then replaced by a Shintô shrine during the persecution of Buddhism in the late nineteenth century. The buildings of the temple were demolished and the majority of Buddhist icons and implements were destroyed. Several key artworks, including the portraits of Antoku and the Taira as well as the sliding-door paintings depicting the life of the emperor, survived; however, the removal of artworks from the architectural settings where rituals took place stripped their primary functions. In order to recover the lost meanings of the art and architecture of Amidaji, this dissertation positions the art and architecture as integral ritual components and attempts to reconnect them with the various contexts in which they actually functioned.My study is based on a visual analysis of surviving works of art and architecture at Amidaji, a close study of textual and pictorial evidence, and a survey of the actual site. I explore the roles of the art and architecture where a variety of elements—artifacts, rites, patrons, and specific circumstances of politics, society, history, culture, economy, and religion— intersected. This study enhances our understanding of the art and architecture of Amidaji and illuminates the broader context where their specific meanings and actual functions were created

1381年の室町御所への行幸 : 『さかゆく花』の研究と英訳・注解

Sakayuku hana is the official record of Emperor Goen’yū’s 1381 visit to theMuromachi Palace, the residential headquarters of the shogun AshikagaYoshimitsu. The document, most likely authored by the elder statesmanand former imperial regent Nijō Yoshimoto, is a testament to Yoshimitsu’sattainment of sweeping influence at court and mastery of imperial protocol. Itis also a rich source of information on elite etiquette, ritual, and the materialculture of medieval Japan. This study and full translation marks the first timeSakayuku hana has been critically examined in any language

Marching Through the Floating World: Processions in Ukiyo-e Prints (2020)

Marching through the Floating World is a book that accompanies a student curated virtual exhibition of the same title. This exhibition is dedicated to images of processions in ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Ukiyo-e or “pictures of the floating world” was a vibrant style of urban art that flourished in Japan in the 17th- 19th century, predominantly in the form of mass-produced woodcuts. Steeped in everyday pleasurable pastimes of townspeople, ukiyo-e prints reflected contemporary culture to its fullest, whether fact or fiction, often the two amalgamated in a witty way. Processions constituted a noticeable theme in ukiyo-e prints as they were an integral part of the commoners’ visual experience. Daimyo processions were traveling from the warlords’ domains to the shogunal capital of Edo (Tokyo) and back as demanded by the sankin-kotai or alternate attendance system. Community processions with exotic floats were essential for matsuri, Shinto and Buddhist festivals. Art, however, goes beyond reality, and in ukiyo-e prints one sees daimyo processions parodied by beautiful women or mimicked by boys. Parades by foreign embassies also appear in ukiyo-e prints, primarily parades of the Korean embassies, often fantasized. Depicted were also processions of supernatural beings or imaginary nostalgic processions in prints of the Meiji era. Students’ research essays on prints like those mentioned above (and more!) were compiled into a book, which together with educational wall labels, programming brochures and souvenirs constitute an outcome of an art history course taught at RISD in the fall of 2020. This is the eighth project of the kind. ... -- Foreword, Marching Through the Floating World: Processions in Ukiyo-e Prints Contributing Authors Julie Alter, Kade Byrand, Cecilia Cao, Young Ju Choi, Nate Epstein-Toney, Emma Fujita, Catherine Hackl, Helina He Yuheng, Victoria Khrobostova, Benjamin Lamacchia, DaRong Lang, Sofie Levin, Julian Linares, Deirdre Rouse, Joshua Sun, Rauf Syunyaev, Tiffany Weng, Yue Xu, Yuanqing Echo Yao, Kaori Yasunagi, Manni Yu, Wei Zhang, Si Nong Summer Zheng, Holly Gaboriault.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/thad_studentwork_ukiyo-e_prints_exhibitioncatalogs/1007/thumbnail.jp

Spiritual Ends

What role does religion play at the end of life in Japan? Spiritual Ends draws on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews to provide an intimate portrayal of how spiritual care is provided to the dying in Japan. Timothy O. Benedict shows how hospice caregivers in Japan are appropriating and reinterpreting global ideas about spirituality and the practice of spiritual care. Benedict relates these findings to a longer story of how Japanese religious groups have pursued vocational roles in medical institutions as a means to demonstrate a so-called “healthy” role in society. Focusing on how care for the kokoro (heart or mind) is key to the practice of spiritual care, this book enriches conventional understandings of religious identity in Japan while offering a valuable East Asian perspective to global conversations on the ways religion, spirituality, and medicine intersect at death. “Timothy Benedict has produced a work brimming with wisdom drawn from his work as a chaplain as well as a broad understanding of the place of religion in the lives of contemporary Japanese people.” — HELEN HARDACRE, Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Religions and Society, Harvard University “Benedict offers a highly original perspective and new insightful material, providing a critical approach to the debate about spiritual care and spirituality.” — ERICA BAFFELLI, Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Manchester “Spiritual Ends reveals an unassuming approach to spiritual care that privileges human connections at life’s end.” — JACQUELINE STONE, author of Right Thoughts at the Last Moment: Buddhism and Deathbed Practices in Early Medieval Japan “A discerning study of pain and comfort at the end of life, and a story of the invention of spirituality in Japan, which traffics between medical, psychological, and religious thought.” — AMY B. BOROVOY, Professor of East Asian Studies, Princeton Universit

Striking Chords II: Music in Ukiyo-e Prints (2022)

The theme of music in ukiyo-e prints has been explored by the RISD art history students for two semesters (fall 2021 and spring 2022) in a hands-on curatorial format. The resulting exhibition Striking Chords: Music in Ukiyo-e Prints, is on view at the RISD Museum from February through July 2022. The spring semester project is virtual. However, the approach is similar – to comprehensively study music-related prints in the collection of the RISD Museum and to share the findings with interested audiences, albeit in digital format. Nineteen prints have been selected. In the exhibition’s virtual space, they are displayed according to thematic areas. Those display areas include prints illustrating music played for leisure – sometimes solely for pleasure but occasionally for celebratory occurrences or for moral instruction. Another area shows prints associated with professional performers – actors of the kabuki theater, chanters of the puppet theater, or street entertainers. There are also sections dedicated to prints that depict music performed within mythical lore, or ceremonial music as well as martial music. ... By close visual exploration of this selection of prints, by investigating circumstances of the scenes represented and peculiarities of the objects depicted, by striving to uncover cultural references imbedded in these images, by listening to music played on the instruments depicted students who curated this exhibition sought to come closer to the beautiful and intriguing world of ukiyo-e prints. The sound continues for but a moment, ukiyo-e prints were designed as ephemera, but their resonance appears timeless. We hope that this exhibition’s virtual visitors will echo these sentiments. -- Foreword, Striking Chords II: Music in Ukiyo-e Prints Contributing Authors Leslie Berumen Flores, Alisa Boardman, Junyi Cao, Yuhi Chang, Connie Cheng, Meicheng Chi, Cyra Cupid, Monet Fukawa, Nina Hong, Ryan Hsiao, Rose Kim, Timothy Li, Jessica Lin, Baidurjya Madhav, Jae Nam, Maxton O\u27Connor, Jiyeon Park, Zhiying Shi, Hanna Suros, Milo Tomizawa, Kevin Wu, Jingjing Yang, Yisheng Yuan, Jiayun Carina Zhang, Zizheng Roye Zhang, Alex Jihao Zhu.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/thad_studentwork_ukiyo-e_prints_exhibitioncatalogs/1009/thumbnail.jp

Unknown suns: László Hudec, Antonín Raymond and the making of modern architecture in Eastern Asia

La arquitectura es un reflejo directo de la cultura, siempre cambiando, con el fin de adaptarse a las necesidades de la época. La sociedad china sufrió cambios inesperados, a lo largo de los fines del siglo XIX y principios del XX, marcada por las invasiones de los poderes occidentales, La Primera y La Segunda Guerras Mundiales, rebeliones, derrumbes de viejos regímenes y de la fundación de la Nueva China en 1949. En comparación con China, Japón se enfrenta a constantes problemas de terremotos, además de los ya mencionados. La mezcla constante entre "nuevo y viejo", fue la principal característica de la Asia oriental contemporánea, la Arquitectura china y la japonesa. Al referirse a lo "nuevo", nuevos tipologías arquitectónicas sin precedentes aparecieron: consulados, iglesias, escuelas para niñas, bancos, hospitales, nuevos tipos de residencias, complejos industriales y edificios de entretenimiento. Para todos estos tipos de edificios, "nuevos" materiales, técnicas de construcción, métodos y equipos tuvieron que ser utilizados e inventados (estructuras de hormigón o de acero reforzado), un cambio sustancial de las estructuras tradicionales típicas chinas y japoneses de madera y del trabajo manual. El objetivo fundamental de esta Tesis será poner de relieve la extraordinaria contribución de Hudec y Raymond a la Arquitectura Moderna de Asia Oriental, y la razón de que esta influencia perdure hoy en día. Para ello, los fundamentos de la investigación a desarrollar, parten de la gran ocasión de conocer las raíces de la Arquitectura Moderna en Shanghái y en Japón, en general, y sobre todo, tratar la biografía de grandes arquitectos, poco conocidos, que fueron los más importantes durante décadas para los centros económicos de Asia Oriental. Este tema abre diferentes caminos entre los cuales se divide la tesis – historia, composición y urbanismo. Su creatividad y la apertura hacia lo nuevo, hacia la modernidad, que ofrecieron, tanto a László Hudec como Antonín Raymond, un lugar de honor bien merecido entre los arquitectos que dejaron su huella en las ciudades de Asia. El título "Unknown Suns / Bajo un sol desconocido" se refiere al hecho de que tanto Hudec como Raymond nunca tuvieron la ocasión de trabajar bajo un sol conocido, pues por diversas vicisitudes bélicas, se vieron forzados a instalarse en Asia Oriental, y pronto, comprendieron que su momento estribaba en adaptar las innovaciones de la Arquitectura Moderna que habían conocido en Europa a la incipiente pero firme actividad arquitectónica de los grandes puertos chinos y japoneses. 3 El primer capítulo, la "Introducción General y Esquema de la Tesis", describe la idea principal, la motivación, los objetivos y la metodología utilizada para lograr el propósito de la tesis. El segundo capítulo, "Investigación e Historia", es teórico, centrado principalmente en el estudio y el análisis de la historia y el urbanismo de las grandes ciudades de Asia oriental. El proceso de modernización de Shanghái y Tokio estaba directamente relacionado con la aparición de la Arquitectura Moderna. El tercer capítulo "Trayectoria de la vida, desde Europa a Asia" es como una introducción al objetivo principal de la tesis, describiendo a ambos arquitectos, László Hudec y Antonín Raymond, sus experiencias en sus países de origen, los años de guerra y sus trayectorias de Europa a Asia Oriental. En este capítulo, un breve análisis del movimiento arquitectónico y arquitectos extranjeros en Shanghái y Tokio era indispensable para el siguiente estudio. Aunque los dos arquitectos tenían un origen y una formación similar, sus trayectorias en la vida los llevó a los dos muy lejos, al Lejano Oriente. China y Japón, aparentemente iguales, acabaron por tener bastante diferente influencia sobre los dos. El entorno local mezclado con su personalidad, forma de pensar y preferencias estilísticas dejaron una marca definitiva en su Arquitectura. Similitudes entre los dos se encontraron cuando Hudec se acercó a la Arquitectura Moderna en su último período. En los primeros años pasados en Asia Oriental, ambos arquitectos habían trabajado por y bajo orientación diferente: Raymond por Frank Lloyd Wright y Hudec en la oficina de Rowland Curry. Estas primeras colaboraciones se describen en el cuarto capítulo de la tesis. A partir de este período, la independencia, el reconocimiento internacional y local pronto siguió (capítulo quinto). Sus encargos provenían de una gran diversidad de clientes. En el sexto y séptimo capítulo se describe la modernidad encontrada en los diseños, tanto de Raymond como de Hudec, logrando el objetivo final de la tesis. Las preferencias estilísticas de Hudec y cada etapa en su carrera de diseño, se corresponden con los que Shanghái estaba atravesando, siempre siguiendo las tendencias locales. Se destacó y se ganó el reconocimiento local e internacional, principalmente en su último período, cuando la Arquitectura Moderna se convirtió en su última elección estilística. El enfoque de Hudec de una paleta tan diversa de estilos arquitectónicos era un reflejo del carácter internacional de Shanghái, debido al entorno multinacional de la ciudad. El modernismo de László Hudec está en su capacidad y complejidad arquitectónica, como un hombre siempre dispuesto a cambiar su vida drásticamente cuando se enfrenta a acontecimientos graves o frente a la necesidad. Adquirió experiencia arquitectónica en Shanghái, no como el líder del movimiento arquitectónico pero siempre dispuesto a seguir y adherirse a las nuevas tendencias y estilos si sus clientes así lo querían, constantemente adaptado a la moda y a la introducción de nuevas tecnologías occidentales en el Lejano 4 Oriente. Ganó experiencia diplomática durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial (prestó ayuda humanitaria, ayudando a sus compatriotas y judíos de los terrores de los nazis) y tuvo experiencia docente en América (dando conferencias sobre temas arqueológicos). Por otro lado, Raymond estaba actuando totalmente diferente. Utilizó el estilo moderno desde el comienzo de su oficina privada. Su objetivo era encontrar el equilibrio perfecto entre el modernismo y las tradiciones locales. Antonín Raymond, se encontró en una relación con Japón, que le ofreció las mejores condiciones para el desarrollo de sus principios: "la honestidad", "simplicidad", "economía", "carácter directo", "funcionalidad" y "naturalidad". La naturaleza va de la mano de la belleza, y la belleza, en las casas japonesas tradicionales, se encontraba en la simplicidad pura. Una parte bastante importante de la tesis trata de la manera en la que sus obras y su fuerte personalidad consiguieron influir en otros arquitectos de gran prestigio. Hudec y Raymond están considerados pioneros de la Arquitectura Moderna porque estuvieron entre los primeros arquitectos occidentales que llegaron a Asia oriental (en un contexto cultural totalmente diferente que su nativo), desarrollándose como arquitectos modernos y logrando orientar, transformar y poner en práctica una nueva forma de pensar y diseñar. Tuvieron la suerte de estar en el lugar correcto en el momento adecuado.Architecture is a direct reflection of culture, always changing in order to fit the necessities of the period. Chinese society underwent unexpected changes, along the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, marked by the invasions of the Western powers, First and Second World Wars, rebellions, old regimes’ collapses and the founding of New China in 1949. As compared to China, Japan was facing constant earthquake issues, in addition to the ones already mentioned. The constant mixture between “new and old” was the main feature of contemporary Eastern Asia, Chinese and Japanese architecture. Referring to the “new”, unprecedented types of architecture appeared: consulates, churches, schools for girls, banks, hospitals, new type of residences, industrial complexes and entertainment functions. For all these building types, “new” materials, construction techniques, methods and equipment had to be used and invented (reinforced concrete or steel structures), a substantial shift from the typical Chinese and Japanese traditional wooden structures and manual labour. The fundamental objective of this thesis is to highlight the extraordinary contribution of both Hudec and Raymond to Modern Architecture in Eastern Asia, and the reason why this influence remains today. The investigation developed, started from the desire to learn about the roots of modern architecture in Shanghai, China and Tokyo, Japan, in general, and is mainly dedicated to the biography of two great architects, little-known, that were the most important for decades, for the economic centres of Eastern Asia. This topic opens up different ways among which we can divide the thesis - history, composition and urbanism. Their creativity and openness to the new, towards modernity, offered both László Hudec and Antonín Raymond a place of honour, well deserved, among the architects who left their mark on the development of the cities of Asia. The title ‘UNKNOWN SUNS” refers to the fact that neither Hudec nor Raymond had the chance to work under a known sun, as for various military vicissitudes, they were forced to settle in Eastern Asia and soon realized that it was their task and place to adapt innovations of modern architecture they had known in Europe to the incipient but firm architectural activity of the great Chinese and Japanese ports. The first chapter, the “General Introduction and Outline of the Thesis”, describes the main idea, the motivation, objectives and methodology used to achieve the aim of the thesis. 6 The second chapter, “Research and History”, is a theoretical one, mainly focused on studying and analysing the history and urbanism of Eastern Asia large cities. The modernization process Shanghai and Tokyo were going through was directly linked to the appearance of modern architecture. The third chapter “Path of life, From Europe to Asia” is like an introduction to the main objective of the thesis, describing both architects, László Hudec and Antonín Raymond’s early experience in their native countries, the years of war and their trajectories from Europe to Eastern Asia. In this chapter, a short analysis of the architectural movement and foreign architects in Shanghai and Tokyo was indispensable for the following study. Although the two architects were having similar origin and formation, their path of life drove them both far away, in the Far East. China and Japan, apparently alike, ended having quite different influence on the two. The local environment mixed with their personalities, way of thinking and stylistic preferences left a definite mark on their architecture. Close similitudes were found between the two when Hudec approached Modern Architecture in his late period. In the first years spent in Eastern Asia, both architects worked for and under different guidance: Raymond for Frank Lloyd Wright and Hudec in the office of Rowland Curry. These first collaborations are described in the fourth chapter from the thesis. From this period, independence, local and international recognition soon followed (fifth chapter). Their commissions came from a high diversity of clients. The sixth and seventh chapter are describing the modernity found in both Raymond and Hudec’s designs, achieving the aim of the thesis. Hudec ‘went with the flow’, his stylistic preferences and each phase in his design career, correspond with the ones Shanghai was going through. He followed the local trend. He stood out and earned local and international recognition mainly in his last period, when Modern Architecture became his last stylistic choice. Hudec’s approach of such a diverse palette of architectural styles was a reflection of Shanghai’s International character, due to the city’s multinational environment. László Hudec’s modernism lies in his architectural ability and complexity, as a man always ready to change his life drastically when confronted by dire events or facing necessity. He gained architectural experience in Shanghai (not as the leader of the architectural movements but always prepared to follow and to adhere to new trends and styles if his clients were wishing for, constantly adapting to the fashion and introducing latest western technologies in the Far East), diplomatic experience during the Second World War (providing humanitarian aid, helping his compatriots and Jews from the Nazis’ terrors) and teaching experience in America (giving lectures on archaeological themes). On the other side, Raymond was acting totally different. He used modern style since the very beginning of his private office. His aim was to find the perfect balance between modern and local traditions. Antonin Raymond, found himself in a relationship with Japan 7 that offered him the best conditions for developing his principles: “honesty”, “simplicity”, “economy”, “directness”, “functionality” and “naturalness”. Nature goes hand in hand with beauty, and beauty, in the traditional Japanese houses, was to be found in pure simplicity. A significant part of the thesis is focused on the way their projects and strong personalities managed to influence other prestigious architects. Hudec and Raymond are called pioneers of modern architecture because they were among the first western architects who came in eastern Asia (in a completely different cultural context as their native one), developed as modern architects and managed to guide, transform and implement a new way of thinking and designing. They had the luck of being in the right place at the right time