Student: Susanna Zema

Exploring Tokyo Through Literature and Film

Professor: Linsday Nelson
Final paper, 16th July 2015

Daikanyama: the trendy globalized residential district

Nowadays, when people are asked to talk about Tky or try to imagine it, one of the first thing
that comes to mind is the scramble crossing in front of the Shibuya station Hachiko exit. People from all
directions wait for the green light to go over careful not to obstruct and not be hampered by the direction
of the other, scared to be lost like ants which get confused if an obstacle comes in front of them. Probably
this is the best image to describe the chaotic nature of a city in constant motion. But Tokyo is also the
city of contrasts and contradictions, where every little space has its uniqueness and charm.

Just 10 minutes by walk

from

the

eccentric

Shibuya,

leaving behind the Yamanote line

route, there is a town where you
can forget the city noise, letting
time flows slowly without any
regret: Daikanyama, literally the
local administrators mountain.
Figure 1 - Kyu Yamate-dri intersaction (Photo by me)

Surrounded by the stations of Shibuya, Ebisu and Nakameguro like the embrace of a strong father, as a
modern area were the word oshare (trendy in Japanese) is an imperative in term of fashion, cafes,
design and art, it is not easy to image an ancient history that goes from the Jmon era (ca 11000 BCE-ca
300 BCE). During that period, where now stands the hypermodern Tky there was a very intricate bay
and the area of Shibuya was nothing more than sea, while in Daikanyamas one there was the land where
people started to live in1.
Besides some Kofun (ancient round burial mount) gathered on western Shibuya Hill, Sarugakuch, there arent many other evidences about other eras but according to Fujimori Takashi, the
Daikanyama City Council Officer, during the Edo period Daikanyama was a rural area located in suburbs
of the old Edo2. Thanks to the samurai, who start to live there from the Meiji period, the area could grow
rapidly also in economic terms. With the construction of the station and the first apartments built with

Nakazawa Shinichi, Earth diver, Kodansha, Tokyo, 2005 (from the website Daikanyama T-Site,
https://tsite.jp/daikanyama/about/history.html, last consultation on 15th July 2015).
2
Shibuya City Tourism Association Inc. Foundation website, Daikanyama press&map vol. 3, December 2012,
http://www.shibuyakukanko.jp/mappdf/mappdf/daikanyama_english.pdf (last consultation on July 15th 2015).

concrete in Japan both occurred from 1927, it became residential center for people who co-worked in
order to let bloom the new aspect of Daikanyamas culture.

Figure 2 - Daikanyama Address residential area along Hachima-dri (Photo by me)

Walking through the main huge streets, Hachiman-dri or Kyu Yamate-dri, you can feel more and more
freedom of spaces and sounds. The atmosphere changes at each step: leaving behind the deafening noises
of the running life of millions of ants and looking at the architectures
mainly made of wood and glass, the surrounding space opens to reveal
a field full of butterflies. Quiet and elegant, different in colors and
shapes, they fly gracefully from flower to flower, unable to decide which
is better. Perhaps the Sakura (cherry blossoms) Kindergarten for the
smallest, or the Himawari (sunflower) garden along the slight
Daikanyama hill before trying the Clovers pancakes, for those full of
life. Probably the best place for a leisured break is the ivys room,
better known as Tsutaya (tsuta means ivy) bookstore.

Figure 3 - Monkey Gallery D.K.Y.,

Sarugaku-ch (Photo by me)

Figure 4 - "Tsutaya bookstore", along Kyu Yamate-dri (Photo by me)

Whether it is real or made in words, nature is essential for the life of its inhabitants, for the most part
young couples or families,
where children can grow up
in

the

tranquility

and

lushness of the forest before

climbing

skyscrapers.

Harmony and balance are

not only visible in spaces
and buildings but also in
people relationships.

Figure 5 - "Tenoha store", Daikanyama-ch (Photo by me)

In the streets close to Hillside Terrace (a complex of 14 buildings along Kyu Yamate-dri completed in
1969 after 30 years of works), it is common to encounter foreigners walking sure of their way while
chatting with friends a step
back to their children who
play happily in the wide
spaces between a shop and
another.
Kengo

As

stated

Asakura,

by
a

descendant of the warriors

Asakura

Family

that

governed the area from the

Figure 6 - Residential buildings along a street crossing Daikanyama Hill (Photo by me)

end of Edo period, since the area around Hillside Terrace has strict restrictions, there has not been any
unnecessary developments for money making purposes. Instead, it still is a very connected community
and residents and merchants have personal relationships3.
A place where the glass walls of
the buildings reflect the sunlight,
irradiating the streets as a kaleidoscope
of colors, a garden where there is space
to bloom not only for flowers but also
for ideas and moral values, where art is
a lifestyle and time is not in a hurry: all
of this is around the corner.

Figure 5 - A view of "Monkey Gallery", Sarugaku-ch (Photo by me)

Shibuya City Tourism Association Inc. Foundation website, Daikanyama press&map vol. 3, December 2012,
http://www.shibuyakukanko.jp/mappdf/mappdf/daikanyama_english.pdf (last consultation on July 15th 2015).