March 31, 2025/ 1:00 PM

Dodd Hall, Rm 247

Colloquium with Alice Tseng

Starting with the new Imperial Palace in Tokyo (completed in 1888), a constellation of new residences created for members of the imperial household and the aristocracy set the architectural standards for elite homes. This lecture investigates two examples of new architecture designed for Emperor Meiji’s children after they started their own households. In sharp contrast to pre-Meiji times, the personal events of imperial family members were proffered for public celebration, and their fashion and comportment broadcasted for public appreciation and emulation. Their homes similarly achieved unprecedented visibility, as urban landmarks, social event sites, and design showcases. Especially notable is the expression of the husband-wife dyad as a core identity of the elite modern house, and the establishment of their joint social role in the architectural programming.

Alice Y. Tseng is Professor of Art and Architecture at Boston University, where she also serves as the Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Humanities. A specialist of nineteenth- and twentieth-century architecture, art, and visual culture of Japan, she is the author of The Imperial Museums of Meiji Japan: Architecture and the Art of the Nation (2008) and Modern Kyoto: Building for Ceremony and Commemoration, 1868-1940 (2018). She is the editor in chief of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.

Sponsor(s): Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies