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Publication: Western Modernism and Japanese Housing. The Villas Designed by Antonin Raymond in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s

Print edition

Couverture de l'édition imprimée de l'ouvrage "Modernisme occidental et habitat japonais"

Yola Gloaguen

Western Modernism and Japanese Housing: The Villas Designed by Antonin Raymond in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s

This book examines the life and work of the Czech-born American architect Antonin Raymond (1888–1976) in interwar Japan. Initially invited in late1919,along with his wife and collaborator, the artist and designer Noémi Pernessin-Raymond (1889–1980), to join Franck Lloyd Wright’s (1867–1959) Tokyo team working on the new Imperial Hotel, Raymond founded his own firm in 1921 and embarked on a prolific career in the Japanese capital. During the interwar period, he developed an architectural design process drawing both on the theoretical and technical innovations of Western modernism and on local spatial culture and construction techniques. Like many of his European and American peers who were pioneers of the modern movement, Raymond used the medium of the architect-designed single-family home to experiment with and give form to this approach, with the support of his team.

Organized into three parts, this book explores the various stages in the development of this architectural design process. It opens with a biography tracing Raymond’s journey from his native Bohemia to Japan, via the United States, during the turbulent yet fruitful period of the late 19 XIX^th s and early 19 XX^th s. It continues with an examination of the circumstances under which Raymond established himself as an independent architect inTokyo, assembled a team, and acquired a number of theoretical and technical tools necessary for modern architectural practice within the Japanese context of the 1920s and 1930s. Finally, a selection of villas built in the capital and surrounding resort destinations between 1921 and 1938 is presented. The detailed architectural analysis of these residences, built for an elite Japanese and Western clientele, allows us to observe the various stages in the development of the architectural design process that enabled Antonin Raymond, with the help of his team—initially international and later predominantly Japanese—to propose an architecture that was both universal and rooted in a local context. Through the lens of architecture, this work explores the issues and challenges raised by the modernization process that characterized Japan’s history in the first half of the 20 XX^th th century.

This book examines the life and work of Czech-born American architect Antonin Raymond (1888–1976) in interwar Japan. Initially invited in late 1919, along with his wife and collaborator, artist and designer Noémi Pernessin-Raymond (1889–1980), to join Frank Lloyd Wright’s Tokyo team working on the new Imperial Hotel, Raymond established his own practice in 1921 and embarked on a prolific career in the Japanese capital. During the interwar period, he developed an architectural design process that drew both on the theoretical and technical innovations of Western modernism and on local spatial culture and construction techniques. Like many of his European and American peers at the forefront of the modern movement, Raymond used the medium of the architect’s private house to experiment and give form to this approach, supported by his team.

Organized in three parts, this book explores the various stages in the development of Raymond’s architectural design process. It begins with a biography tracing his journey from his native Bohemia to Japan, via the United States, during the tumultuous yet fertile period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It then examines the circumstances under which Raymond established himself as an independent architect in Tokyo, assembled a team, and acquired the theoretical and technical tools necessary for modern architectural practice in the Japanese context of the 1920s and 1930s. Finally, a selection of villas built in the capital and nearby resort destinations between 1921 and 1938 is presented. The detailed architectural analysis of these residences, designed for a Japanese and Western elite clientele, reveals the successive stages in the development of the design process that enabled Antonin Raymond, with the help of his initially international and later predominantly Japanese team, to propose an architecture that was both universal and deeply rooted in a local context. Through architecture, this work explores the issues and challenges raised by the process of modernization that characterized Japan’s history in the first half of the 20th century.

Gloaguen, Y., Western Modernism and Japanese Housing: The Villas Designed by Antonin Raymond in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s, Collège de France/Institute of Civilizations, “Bibliothèque de l’Institut des Hautes Études Japonaises” series, 2026, 608 pp.

ISBN: 978-2-913217-39-3
Price: €30
Publication date:April 29, 2026