STAGE 2 TERM PAPER: SPACE/OBJECT FRAMING

SPACE/OBJECT FRAMING GUIDELINES

This assignment is meant to trace how your case has been represented and discussed across time and
geographies, and how it has been framed in the temporalities you have chosen to focus on – through
primary sources – and by contemporary interpreters – through secondary sources. This assignment
is meant to consolidate practices of historiographical research and argumentation. In addition, you
are asked to choose one reading from the syllabus that informs your methods of historical analysis.

This submission is made of two parts:

o Part 1: Complete the Space/Object framing for each primary and secondary source you are using
(minimum requirements: 2 primary sources and 2 secondary sources).
o Part 2: Short 150 words statement that explains how and why the reading you have chosen from
the syllabus offers a method of historical inquiry that works for your paper.

The assignment must be submitted to BruinLearn by Sunday, May 8th at 11:59 pm for grading and
feedback. In submitting your assignment, create one single PDF file with Part 1 and Part 2 of the
assignment.

Part 1: Space-Object Framing

Please complete the following for each of your sources (copy paste the template for each
source).

PRIMARY SOURCE 1
1. Title/name of the primary source and date
The title of this source is Architect Le Corbusier Inspects National Museum of Western
Art Construction Site. It is from November 3, 1955.

2. What type of primary source are you analyzing (a drawing, a text, an image, etc)?
This primary source is a photograph that was published in a major Japanese newspaper.

3. By analyzing your source (through visual analysis or close reading depending on the
source’s format), explain how the primary source represents and/or describes your case
study in a specific moment of its history.
This photograph captures the planning of the National Museum of Western Art between
the architect, Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (known as Le Corbusier) and Japanese designers
and civilians. Although the building itself is not yet present, this photograph provides the
 context in which the building was built. Le Corbusier is the only non-Japanese individual
seen in the picture, and significantly, he is at the center of the scene. Based on the
positioning of the officials in the foreground and the civilians in the background who are
all facing Le Corbusier and his plans, it is clear that Le Corbusier’s work has generated
interest in the immediate crowd. This photograph also shows evidence of collaboration
between Le Corbusier and the Japanese, which was necessary for the construction of the
project, given its conception through political mediations. Additionally, these officials are
conducting their discussion on the former Ryoun-in Temple site, and their collaborations
are reshaping this site of Japanese culture into an international exhibit for Western art.
This transformation is particularly unique in history, as the Japanese were captivated by
European design and supported, rather than discouraged, Le Corbusier’s project in their
country.

4. In what part of your paper will you be using this primary source, and for what purpose?
Because this source provides context for the construction of the National Museum of Western
Art, I will use this source near the start of the paper. Since I am writing about the relationship
between modern architecture in Japan and the world wars, this source helps to explain the
creation of the museum and the Japanese response to modern architecture. As explained above,
this source shows Japanese interest in Le Corbusier and his work, and their interest is critical to
the diffusion of modern architecture in Japan. The National Museum of Western Art was created
through political negotiations, which by itself, does not necessarily represent Japanese interest in
modern architecture. Thus, this photograph can explain that modern architecture was favored by
the Japanese as opposed to being forced upon them.

5. What conclusion can you draw from your analysis of the primary source? How does such a
conclusion help you towards making your argument about the long history of your case
study?
Analysis of this primary source reveals that World War II facilitated the style of modern
architecture in Japan. The war had a clear role in bringing the example of modern
architecture to Japan through the collaboration between the Japanese and French
governments after the war’s conclusion. Le Corbusier, who was a major proponent of
modern architecture, was involved in this project because of the French government’s
stipulation that the building must be designed by a French architect. Without the war, Le
Corbusier may not have exhibited his work in Japan, since this museum is the only
example of his work in Japan. The combination of the war imposing modern architecture
in Japan, and the Japanese interest in modern architecture, as seen in this primary source,
was critical to the diffusion of modern architecture that took place in Japan.
PRIMARY SOURCE 2
1. Title/name of the primary source and date
The Matsukata Collection, 1959

2. What type of primary source are you analyzing (a drawing, a text, an image, etc)?
This primary source is a text article published in a major Japanese newspaper.

3. By analyzing your source (through visual analysis or close reading depending on the
source’s format), explain how the primary source represents and/or describes your case
study in a specific moment of its history.
This source contextualizes the Matsukata Collection throughout the twentieth century,
leading up to the creation of the National Museum of Western Art. It describes Matsukata
Kojiro’s accumulation of art, beginning around World War I and continuing through
World War II. The article explains how the construction of the museum was an
international project between the French and Japanese. France had seized the Matsukata
Collection during WWII and agreed to return it to France under certain conditions, which
included the construction of a building to house the collection. Matsukata also supported
this, since he wanted to use his art collection as an opportunity for the Japanese to
experience Western culture. However, the Japanese government established a 100%
import tax during the war period, which stopped the transport of Western culture into
Japan. As a result, Japanese civilians had to travel to experience the Western world. These
conditions established the sentiment under which the Japanese received the National
Museum of Western Art as an example of Western architecture.

4. In what part of your paper will you be using this primary source, and for what purpose?
This source will be placed after the first primary source because it supports the history behind
that photograph. This article demonstrates that the Japanese were curious about Western culture,
which partly explains modern architecture was well received in Japan. Additionally, it clarifies
the role of the war in the establishment of Western architecture in Japan, and demonstrates that
since Le Corbusier was chosen as the architect for the museum, it was modern architecture, and
not a different kind of Western architecture that was featured in Japan.

5. What conclusion can you draw from your analysis of the primary source? How does such a
conclusion help you towards making your argument about the long history of your case
study?
Analysis of this source provides multiple reasons why modern architecture flourished in
Japan. The results of the war were clearly important to the formulation of modern
architecture in Japan but this source shows that it was not the only reason that it occurred.
This source is important in showing that Japanese citizens were interested in Western
culture, and substantiates the conclusions of the first primary source by proving that the
Japanese government imposed conditions that enhanced the response to Le Corbusier’s
work. It also shows that Matsukata was an important proponent of Western culture in
 Japan, and that regardless of the war, his collection of Western art contributed to the
development of the museum. Thus, this article shows that there were multiple reasons for
the acceptance of modern architecture in Japan following the world wars.

SECONDARY SOURCE 1
1. Title, author, and date of the secondary source (use Chicago style notation)?
Jasiński, Artur. "National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo–The only work by Le
Corbusier." (2017).

2. How does this secondary source relate to and/or discusses your case study (it could be
discussing a specific temporality of your object; it could be highlighting historical
contingencies within which your case study was designed; etc)?
This source covers the history of the National Museum of Western Art, and its information
about its conception is particularly relevant to my focus. Le Corbusier was the architect for this
museum, but this source describes that three Japanese experts assisted Le Corbusier throughout
the project. These individuals supervised the construction of the project so Le Corbusier could
remain in France for most of the duration of the construction. Kunio Maekawa was one of the
Japanese experts that worked alongside Le Corbusier, and was chosen because he previously
studied under Le Corbusier in France. Maekawa was a leading representative of modernism in
Japan following his studies with Le Corbusier, and before working on the museum, created
designs in Japan similar to Le Corbusier. Thus, modern architecture in Japan can possibly be
attributed to Le Corbusier more than the world wars.

3. How are you using this secondary source? (you could be using it to corroborate your
claim, as an evidence, as a source for context, etc.)
I will use this secondary source alongside my second primary source. Both sources prove
that factors other than the world wars led to modern architecture in Japan. This secondary
source goes further than the primary source to show that modern architecture is not solely
tied to the world wars, and importantly, that it may be related more closely to the work of
Le Corbusier than the world wars. This supports the evidence that the Japanese were
interested in Western culture and design, and that it was this interest that led to modern
architecture’s dissemination, which occurred after the world wars.

4. How do you position your analysis and claim in relation to the secondary source? Are you
contributing to the claim presented by the author/s or are you challenging the author/s
analysis through your own?
This secondary source brings me closer to creating the claim that the world wars did not
play a dominant role in modern architecture’s diffusion through Japan. The source does
not make claims about the relation between modern architecture and the world wars, but
it does provide evidence of factors other than the world wars that contributed to modern
architecture in Japan. My analysis mirrors the discussion of Le Corbusier in the source as
the major proponent of design in the National Museum of Western Art, which as an
example represented modern architecture in Japan.
SECONDARY SOURCE 2
1. Title, author, and date of the secondary source (use Chicago style notation)?
Jacquet, Benoit. "Between tradition and modernity: The two sides of Japanese pre-war
architecture." Encounters and Positions (2017): 226-237.

2. How does this secondary source relate to and/or discusses your case study (it could be
discussing a specific temporality of your object; it could be highlighting historical
contingencies within which your case study was designed; etc)?
This source compares the connections between traditional Japanese architecture and modern
architecture from the Western. It offers evidence of the exhibition of both styles in the war
period, but it lists the post war period as a time of expansion for Japanese architecture. Its
discussion of critical Japanese architectures shows that this period balanced the roles of national
and international identities in the postwar period. As Japan was rebuilding itself from the war, it
was also opening itself to the international scene, which led to the expansion of some instances
of Western culture in Japan, such as modern architecture. This article suggests that architecture
in Japan was ingrained in Western influence, even during the pre-war period.

3. How are you using this secondary source? (you could be using it to corroborate your
claim, as an evidence, as a source for context, etc.)
This source supports the importance of the world wars in bringing modern architecture
into Japan. The article describes how Western culture was already influencing Japanese
architecture during the pre-war years, indicating that the world wars did not introduce
modern architecture to Japan. However, the postwar period in Japan facilitated the
development of this style which brought Japanese architecture and Western architecture
closer together. In this way, this secondary source provides important context to the
architecture scene of Japan before the wars, which fills that gap left by other sources that
focus on the postwar period. It also reinstates the significance of the world wars, which
possibly affected the timeline of modernism in Japanese architecture.

4. How do you position your analysis and claim in relation to the secondary source? Are you
contributing to the claim presented by the author/s or are you challenging the author/s
analysis through your own?
This source supports the claim that although the world wars did not introduce modern
architecture to Japan, their roles in affecting the process of it developing in the country cannot
be discounted. The article makes several affirmations to the influence of Western culture in
Japan as a result of Japanese interest and due to the world wars. Since it joins Japanese culture
with Western culture, this article can be used to describe the effects of war as a distributor of
culture, which traces Japanese modern architecture’s connection to the world wars in a new
way.
Part 2: Historical method of inquiry

Choose a reading from our syllabus’ reading list, and explain how and why you are using the historical
method used by its author/s. In your statement (150 words max), explain how such a historical method
is useful to write the long history of your case study.

Example:
You might be opting for the Addison Godel reading “From “Terrestrial Paradise” to “Dreary Waste”.
Race and the Chinese Garden in European Eyes” as a way to describe a phenomenon – in this
reading’s case, the emergence of a racialized discourse around world societies – through the analysis
of the reception of a design endeavor across time and geographies.

Wolfgang Shivelbusch’s “Railroad Space and Railroad Time,” and “The Space of Glass Architecture,”
characterize the revolution in architecture that came with the Industrial Revolution. The adoption of
new industrialized materials, such as iron and glass, in European architecture mirrors the incorporation
of modern architecture in Japan. Shivelbusch demonstrates the role of architecture in shaping the
course of industrial development, and his method of analyzing architecture through its effects on
people’s understanding of the new age of modern design can be used to view the National Museum of
Western Art. Le Corbusier transformation of spaces through modern approaches, materials, and design
created effects in Japanese architecture that were made possible by the industrial era. Understanding
industrial developments through examples of modern architecture, such as the National Museum of
Western Art, merges the spheres of production and its social implications, highlighting the importance
of built spaces in the study of history.