Vanishing Japan: New Book Chronicles Demolished Modernist Architecture

Architect and author Naomi Pollock has released 'Vanishing Japan: Modern Architecture, Gone But Not Forgotten', a monograph documenting approximately 90 significant buildings in Japan that were demolished in the 21st century. Pollock, who has lived in Japan for over three decades and contributed to Wallpaper*, compiled the book to highlight the country's tendency to tear down recent architectural heritage. The featured buildings, mostly constructed in the postwar decades and some from the 1980s and 1990s, include works by renowned architects such as Arata Isozaki, Kazuyo Sejima, Riken Yamamoto, Fumihiko Maki, and Kenzo Tange. Notable examples include Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower, Arata Isozaki's Fukuoka Sogo Bank Oita Branch (1967-2007), Kiyoshi Seike's Ohara Ryu Art Museum (1970-2025), and Yoshinobu Ashihara's SONY Building (1966-2017). The book also covers lesser-known structures, including hotels, office blocks, schools, theaters, and city halls from across Japan. Pollock attributes the loss to factors such as evolving earthquake-resistant building codes, the economic bubble of the late 1980s, and a cultural preference for newness and impermanence. The book is published by Thames & Hudson and priced at £35.