How to Cite: Abásolo, José. "Drawing as Description: Wajirō Kon and the Art of Observation". Dearq no. 39 (2024): 114-130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18389/dearq39.2024.09
How to Cite: Abásolo, José. "Drawing as Description: Wajirō Kon and the Art of Observation". Dearq no. 39 (2024): 114-130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18389/dearq39.2024.09
José Abásolo
Universidad de Las Américas, Chile
Why did I become interested in researching the Japanese architect Wajirō Kon? Because of the disconnect between social, neighborhood and community realities in Chile, where both students and professionals lack street smarts. The gap caused by this disconnect has worsened with the emergence of new technologies for long-distance observation, such as drones and platforms like Google Street View. In addition, artificial intelligence has brought uncertainty around the future role of architects and possible automatization in the field. In contrast, the practically mythical figure of Wajirō Kon appears in publications and presentations. At the beginning of the 20th century, Kon traveled around Japan with his notebooks and sketchbooks in hand. He aimed to understand how modernization had started to impact people's lives—his methodology, drawing as description. We must ask several questions: What did Kon hope to achieve by using graphic representation tools for his detailed descriptions, exploration, and communication of experiences related to specific spatial situations? How did he practice space through his representations? How did he integrate drawing into ethnographic architectural work?
Japanese architect Wajirō Kon was capable of moving between disciplines and areas of study, as an ethnographer does in their work of describing different groups' social practices, beliefs, values, and norms in detail, using participant observation and other techniques (Abásolo Llaría, 2021). Kon was sensitive to the changes of the day in Japan, which was going through a transition period characterized by a vigorous modernization process and significant political, economic, social, and cultural transformations. The architect used diverse representation techniques to depict the reality he observed, including not only the physical aspects of his surroundings but also the qualities of the different cultures of the Nippon territory. The world of possibilities that come from such graphic methods, moving past mere visual documentation, sparked his interest in describing through drawings. Kon used sketching and architectural drawing (planimetry, elevations, sections, and details) to capture the narratives of a space through the subjective experiences that occurred within it, in addition to the physical and material aspects of the space. His architectural drawings produce a visual register, highlighting the complexity of human interactions within constructed space. Kon used drawing to deepen his observation, recognizing that while looking can imply a certain passivity, seeing or watching entails a deeper analysis, as Andrew Causey has argued (2017).
But what did this architect-ethnographer observe and describe? When starting out, Kon submerged himself in rural Japan to connect with the deepest roots of Japanese culture. As part of the Hakubōkai group and accompanied by his mentor, folklorist Yanagita Kunio, Kon took time to contemplate the life and practices of country people and fisher folk. He paid particular attention to capturing the essence and most subtle details of their daily lives. He entered their homes and created authentic portraits of their interior universes, where materialities, textures, objects, rites, and imaginaries collide. These drawings prove that here architecture was not just a material construction. Instead, it was a container where daily practices were reproduced. In addition, Kon took note of the relationships between the locations of residential buildings, the area's geography, the organization of each site within the community, and the layout of residential complexes. He analyzed the geographical connections between the forest, countryside, gardens, water supplies, paths, and houses and how interior spaces were connected to each home's exterior. He also studied the productive territory, the rice fields, their organization, subdivisions, and shared infrastructure such as storage, water supplies, and points of contact. During this time, Kon concluded that life in these villages was perfectly in sync with their geographical features and social context. Finally, these and subsequent traveling became the foundation of his 1922 publication about Japanese country peoples' dwellings: Nihon no Minka.
Years after the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923, Kon turned his attention to Tokyo's dynamic emerging urban environment. Due to rapid reconstruction marked by Westernization, Tokyo became a modern metropolis. Affected by the Westernization phenomenon, he started studying the changes to Japanese identity and how the city's different cultural layers had changed using a new approach called Kōgengaku (modernology). Kon used surveys to analyze customs, displacements, identities, fashion, clothing, and a wide range of Western trends across several of Tokyo's neighborhoods and districts, including Ginza, Honjo, Fukagawa, and Ueno Park. He used data collection, categorization, analysis, description, and comparison, supported by the documental drawing of each situation.
While his fieldwork in the city helped trace future consumption trends and the reconstruction of the capital city, his investigation into the interiors of homes allowed Kon to understand how lifestyles had transformed through direct observation of the inhabitant's prints and impressions. This time, Kon used drawing to reflect the multiple situations he had observed, covering different domestic objects such as furniture (tables, chairs, couches, shelves, and desks), ornaments, personal items, utensils, tools, and toys. They also included a range of clothing, including traditional garments like kimonos and getas (wooden sandals) and Western clothes (suits, dresses, skirts, coats, and blouses). As part of this meticulous method, Kon opened chests and closets to observe, register, and take detailed notes of everything inside. He was, therefore, able to profile the occupiers' living space as a reflection of their lifestyles. He could then recognize how Western modernity had gradually been introduced in the homes of Nippon.
Finally, we understand that for Kon, drawing is much more complex than just what we see. Closer to a map or diagram, it becomes a tool for narrating situations while allowing for mediation with contemporary city scenes. Kon's drawing is analytic, descriptive, documental, and therefore ethnographic.
* This work is part of the doctoral research Project named "The architect as an ethnographer. Spatial practices in Japan 1917-2018", carried out as part of the advanced architectural projects doctoral program at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, UPM, Spain.