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The Aesthetics of Control

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  • David Murakami Wood
  • Kiyoshi Abe

Abstract

This paper examines the changing ‘style’ of urban order in Japan through the example of mega events, drawing on the architectural critique of Taro Igarashi and the historical sociological analysis of Masachi Ohsawa. It argues that construction for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics was typical of a ‘concrete aesthetic’ that reflected a Japanese version of ‘control society’, at once modern and post-modern. Ironically, this period has since been re-imagined through ‘Showa nostalgia’ as shown in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics and the 2005 Aichi Expo. This nostalgia has been a resource for a globalising form of urban order, seen in more recent mega events like the FIFA World Cup 2002, the 2005 World Expo in Aichi and the 2007 World Athletics Championship in Osaka. This order combines a new aesthetics of visibility through technocratic surveillance with authoritarian governance that seeks to render invisible the marginal, particularly homeless people and foreign migrant workers.

Suggested Citation

  • David Murakami Wood & Kiyoshi Abe, 2011. "The Aesthetics of Control," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(15), pages 3241-3257, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:48:y:2011:i:15:p:3241-3257
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098011422394
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. André Sorensen, 2003. "Building world city Tokyo: Globalization and conflict over urban space," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 37(3), pages 519-531, August.
    2. David Murakami Wood & David Lyon & Kiyoshi Abe, 2007. "Surveillance in Urban Japan: A Critical Introduction," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(3), pages 551-568, March.
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