Within a mere quarter century, Tokyo emerged from the ruins of the second world war to become a metropolis of 10 million people. During this period, the once-capital of a military empire experienced U.S. occupation, hosted the Olympic Games, and transformed into a hub of economic wealth. Professor Yoshimi will share a selection of archived films and photos to illustrate what happened in postwar Tokyo as its people experienced a tremendous confluence of cultures, economic expansion, upheaval of classes, and changes in the physicality of the city. Looking at the city with its many layers, topographies, and military occupations over time, Yoshimi shows us how these temporalities may shape what Tokyo is to become in the era of globalization.

Shunya YOSHIMI is Professor of Sociology, Cultural Studies, and Media Studies at the University of Tokyo. He is the author of many books on cultural theory, urban culture, international expositions, media culture, information technology, the emperor system, and Americanization in modern Japan and East Asia. He has been a leading scholar in the field of Media and Cultural Studies in contemporary Japan. He was the 2018 Edwin O. Reischauer Visiting Professor at Harvard University and has been a visiting fellow of El Colegio de Mexico (1993), Ecole des Hautes Etudes Sciences Sociales (1998), University of Western Sydney (1999), and Queensland University (2000). He is a member of the executive committee of Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (Routledge), editorial board of Cultural Studies (Routledge), associate editors of Theory, Culture & Society (Sage), and the editorial advisory board of Japanese Studies (Carfax Publishing).