Miriam Catalina Herrera Vázquez
Guest editor
CC BY-NC-ND
Miriam Catalina Herrera Vázquez is a graduate architect of the Master of Science in Architecture and Urbanism from the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico. Research Topics: Territory, Migrations and Japanese Architecture.
Email: arq.catiherrera@hotmail.com.
The human’s spaces of habitat are material representations of a series of ideas that are collectively shared. The human being is capable of transforming the space, but is important to highlight that these spaces have an influence in the conformation of the identities and daily life of individuals.
Japan becomes a prime example against the Latin American vision, because of the contrast that exists between imaginary, traditions and rhythms of life between these two groups, and thus, of its spaces. The number of the magazine seeks to create an approach to the Japanese perspective, a country that presents a vertiginous urban development accompanied with the construction of collectivity and consumption spaces in one of the richest economies of the world.
The creation of architectonic spaces with the intention of shaping them as collective symbols is the theme developed by the author Yunuen Ysela Mandujano-Salazar, who exemplifies this through the analysis of two urban landmarks created during the modern period of Tokyo City. The author explains that such landmarks, the Tokyo Tower and the Tokyo Skytree, are taken as collective symbols of resilience during periods of crisis, despite being produced from the private initiative.
From another perspective, Alvaro David Hernandez Hernandez analyzes the Japanese culture of manga and anime of amateur nature and the way in which its members relate both among them and with the textual media. The author emphasizes the capacity of production, consumption and organization of this subculture, as well as the creation of meeting spaces for such groups. Finally, it is important to highlight that manga, anime and video games are elements of great popularity in that country and therefore, the amateur production analysis is pertinent to understand Japanese society.
For the author Tatsuma Fujioka, from consumption is possible the collective creation of spaces and appreciation within the urban tradition. The author briefly explains through its historical context, two types of consumption spaces in Japan: the shopping street and the shopping malls; spaces where the generation of the anonymity and the familiarity often contrast with each other. He then, analyzes the shopping street considered within the “traditional” model of consumption space in Japan and contrast it with the shopping mall to explain the transition between the two and finally define the “lost” element during the change process.
Finally, Fermin Ernesto Flores Quiroz carries out a review of the book called “Tokyo: City and Architecture”. The text elaborates a historical-morphological analysis of Tokyo City and then compares it to the urban western perspective.
It is expected that this collection of articles will be of great interest to the readers and embodies the desire to expand the range of themes to positively enrich the divulgation forum that is this magazine.
