This book is a genealogy of Japanese architecture, crystalising in the work of Toyo Ito as a pivotal point between the past, the present, and the future. Iwan Baan's photographic essay, which covers forty-five projects by thirteen Japanese architects since the 1950s, shows impressively how often the historical heritage can suffer through ignorance and the expansive urban development. The historic section shows the foundation on which Toyo Ito built his distinct architectonic oeuvre, which became exemplary for younger generations, namely SANAA, Kazuyo Sejima, and Ryue Nishizawa, and later Junya Ishigami and Sou Fujimoto. This publication provides an important example of how architects are tied together over generations and gives a clear impression both of the strong movement in Japanese architecture after the 1950s and also of its contribution to Modernism since then.
