ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the Westernisation of the building typology between 1870 and 1970 and considers the extent to which it followed the trajectory of Japanese architecture. Japanese architecture largely stagnated during this time, the isolation of sakoku allowed the theatrical forms of Noh and Kabuki to develop and become an integral part of Japanese life and culture. The chapter questions the Western hegemony in Modern architecture by showing three Modern performance buildings which, for all their Modernism, remain inherently Japanese, before asking whether the Japan-ness of such buildings is due to either content or context, or to cultural determinism. It traces the influence of Western architecture on the Japanese performance venue and recognises Murano's ability to walk the line between tradition and modernity. During the 1950s and 1960s, as Japan recovered from the war and entered a period of sustained economic growth, a large number of theatres, auditoria and civic halls were built to meet the demand for cultural events.
