Dōjunkai
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Dōjunkai (''
shinjitai are the simplified forms of kanji used in Japan since the promulgation of the Tōyō Kanji List in 1946. Some of the new forms found in ''shinjitai'' are also found in simplified Chinese characters, but ''shinjitai'' is generally not as exten ...
'': , ''
kyūjitai ''Kyūjitai'' () are the traditional forms of kanji (Chinese written characters used in Japanese writing). Their simplified counterparts are '' shinjitai'' (). Some of the simplified characters arose centuries ago and were in everyday use in bot ...
'': ) was a corporation set up a year after the 1923 Kantō earthquake to provide
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
(and thus earthquake- and fire-resistant) collective housing in the
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
area. Its formal name was ''Zaidan-hōjin Dōjunkai'' (), i.e. the Dōjunkai corporation. The suffix ''kai'' means organization, and ''dōjun'' was a term coined to suggest the spread of the nutritious benefit of the water of river and sea.For a full explanation of the term ''dōjun,'' see Seizō Uchida, "Apātomento hausu o wagakuni ni mochikonda Dōjunkai", p. 17, within Hashimoto et al., ''Kieyuku Dōjunkai Apātomento.'' It was overseen by the
Home Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...
. The corporation was in existence from 1924 through 1941; it was involved in construction between 1926 and 1934, primarily 1926–30, building 16 complexes. The last complex, Uenoshita apartment, was finally demolished in 2013.


History

From 1926 to 1930, Dōjunkai created fifteen apartment complexes (''apāto'' or ''apātomento''), two in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
and the rest in Tokyo. Among the latter, the best known is Dōjunkai Aoyama Apartments (built 1926–27), which stood on the avenue of
Omotesandō is a Zelkova serrata, zelkova tree-lined avenue located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Shibuya and Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo, stretching from the Meiji Shrine entrance to Aoyama-dōri (Aoyama Street), where Omotesandō Station can be found. History Omot ...
toward its
Harajuku Station is a railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station takes its name from the area on its eastern side, Harajuku. This station is served by the circular Yamanote Line. It is also adjacent to ...
end. Toward the end of what was by Tokyo standards a long life, the
ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...
-covered building was increasingly used for ateliers and small independent shops. It was demolished for the 2005 construction by
Mori Building is a Japanese family-owned property management firm. As of 2015, its president and CEO is Shingo Tsuji. Its headquarters are in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo. Mori Building has been managing office bui ...
of
Omotesando Hills file:Omotesando hills logo.svg, logo is a Shopping mall, shopping complex in central Tokyo built in 2005 in a series of urban developments by Minoru Mori, Mori Building. It occupies a 250-meter stretch of Omotesandō, a shopping and (previously ...
, a conventional
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
. Dōjunkai built one last complex in Tokyo, Dōjunkai Edogawa apāto, between 1932 and 1934. Dōjunkai was wound up in 1941. Remarkably, all the apartment complexes survived wartime bombing. After the war, the government sold the land of most of the complexes to real estate companies, notably Mori Building. Thereafter, the combination of desire for greater profits, lack of advance publicity, and lack of government interest in this genre of architecture, in addition to inadequate maintenance and the lack of amenities (notably individual bathing facilities) now taken for granted, have led to the destruction of most of the complexes in the name of "site development". Currently the only original building can be seen at a conversion project at Dojunkan building, Omotesando Hills. Some shops and galleries are in the building with its facade of a genuine three-stories apartment.


List of Dōjunkai Apartments


Further reading

*''Design of Doujunkai.'' (Japanese title ). Tokyo: Kenchiku Shiryō Kenkyūsha, 2000. A book of new photographs of the buildings, with (minimal) text in both Japanese and English. * " Dōjunkai apāto" in Japanese-language Wikipedia * Hashimoto Fumitaka, et al. ''Kieyuku Dōjunkai apātomento'' (, The disappearing Dōjunkai apartments). Tokyo: Kawade Shobō Shinsha, 2003. . Informative book about all the buildings but concentrating on Edogawa Apartments (where Hashimoto lived), with plenty of plans, historic photographs, and new photographs taken by Youki Kanehira. *Kanehira Youki
Photographs of Dōjunkai Aoyama apāto
*Pompili, M. ''Dojunkai Apartments: Tokyo 1924-1934.'' Rome: Editrice Librerie Dedalo, 2001. . The Dōjunkai Apartments in the context of the development of housing in Japan during the early 20th century.



* Ueda Makoto. ''Shūgō jūtaku monogatari'' (, The story of collective housing). Tokyo: Misuzu, 2004. . This historical survey of collective housing in Japan (whose content was previously published within '' Tokyojin'') has sections devoted to the Aoyama, Kiyosumidōri, Uguisudani and Ōtsuka Joshi Apartments, with new photographs by
Hiroh Kikai was a Japanese photographer best known within Japan for four series of monochrome photographs: scenes of buildings in and close to Tokyo, portraits of people in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, and rural and town life in India and Turkey. He pursu ...
and some archival photographs. *Wijers-Hasegawa, Yumi.
Dwellers bought off; ball to fall on Aoyama flats
. ''Japan Times,'' 19 April 2002. *


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dojunkai Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1924 Companies disestablished in 1941 Defunct organizations based in Japan Former buildings and structures in Tokyo Construction and civil engineering companies of Japan Public housing 1941 disestablishments in Japan Japanese companies established in 1924