1.
Mount Fuji
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Mount Fuji, located on Honshu Island, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m. An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometres south-west of Tokyo, Mount Fuji is one of Japans Three Holy Mountains along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku. It is also a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and one of Japans Historic Sites and it was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site on June 22,2013. Per UNESCO, Mount Fuji has inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries, UNESCO recognizes 25 sites of cultural interest within the Mt. Fuji locality. These 25 locations include the mountain itself, Fujisan, in Shinto mythology, Kuninotokotachi is one of the two gods born from something like a reed that arose from the soil when the earth was chaotic. He is known by mythology to reside on top of Mount Fuji, Kuninotokotachi is described as a hitorigami and genderless in Kojiki, while as a male god in Nihon Shoki. Yoshida Kanetomo, the founder of the Yoshida Shintō sect, identified Kuninotokotachi with Amenominakanushi, the current kanji for Mount Fuji, 富 and 士, mean wealth or abundant and a man with a certain status respectively. The origin of the name Fuji is unclear, having no recording of it being first called by this name. A text of the 10th century, Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, says that the name came from immortal, an early folk etymology claims that Fuji came from 不二, meaning without equal or nonpareil. Another claims that it came from 不尽, meaning neverending, a Japanese classical scholar in the Edo era, Hirata Atsutane, speculated that the name is from a word meaning, a mountain standing up shapely as an ear of a rice plant. It is also pointed that huchi means an old woman and ape is the word for fire, research on the distribution of place names that include fuji as a part also suggest the origin of the word fuji is in the Yamato language rather than Ainu. A Japanese toponymist Kanji Kagami argued that the name has the root as wisteria and rainbow. In English, the mountain is known as Mount Fuji, some sources refer to it as Fuji-san, Fujiyama or, redundantly, Mt. Fujiyama. Japanese speakers refer to the mountain as Fuji-san and this san is not the honorific suffix used with peoples names, such as Watanabe-san, but the Sino-Japanese reading of the character yama used in Sino-Japanese compounds. In Nihon-shiki and Kunrei-shiki romanization, the name is transliterated as Huzi, among the most renowned works are Hokusais 36 Views of Mount Fuji and his One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, as well as Utagawa Hiroshiges similarly-titled 36 Views of Mount Fuji. The mountain is mentioned in Japanese literature throughout the ages and is the subject of many poems and it is thought that the first recorded ascent was in 663 by an anonymous monk. The summit has been thought of as sacred since ancient times and was forbidden to women until the Meiji Era, ancient samurai used the base of the mountain as a remote training area, near the present-day town of Gotemba. The shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo held yabusame in the area in the early Kamakura period, the first ascent by a foreigner was by Sir Rutherford Alcock in September 1868, from the foot of the mountain to the top in eight hours and three hours for the descent
2.
Taipei 101
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Taipei 101 – stylized as TAIPEI101 and formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center – is a landmark supertall skyscraper in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building was classified as the worlds tallest in 2004. It used to have the fastest elevator in the world, traveling at 60.6 km/h, in 2016, the title for the fastest elevator was given to one in Shanghai Tower. Construction on the 101-story tower started in 1999 and finished in 2004, the tower has served as an icon of modern Taiwan ever since its opening. The building was created as a symbol of the evolution of technology. Its postmodernist approach to style incorporates traditional design elements and gives them modern treatments, the tower is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of stores, restaurants, fireworks launched from Taipei 101 feature prominently in international New Years Eve broadcasts and the structure appears frequently in travel literature and international media. Taipei 101 is primarily owned by pan-government shareholders, the name that was originally planned for the building, Taipei World Financial Center, until 2003, was derived from the name of the owner. The original name in Chinese was Taipei International Financial Center, Taipei 101 comprises 101 floors above ground, as well as 5 basement levels. It was not only the first building in the world to break the mark in height. As of 28 July 2011, it is still the worlds largest and highest-use green building. It also surpassed the 85-story,347.5 m Tuntex Sky Tower in Kaohsiung as the tallest building in Taiwan, Taipei 101 claimed the official records for the worlds tallest sundial and the worlds largest New Years Eve countdown clock. Various sources, including the owners, give the height of Taipei 101 as 508 m, roof height. This lower figure is derived by measuring from the top of a 1.2 m platform at the base. CTBUH standards, though, include the height of the platform in calculating the overall height, Taipei 101 displaced the Petronas Towers as the tallest building in the world by 57.3 m. The record it claimed for greatest height from ground to pinnacle was surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is 829.8 m in height. Taipei 101s records for roof height and highest occupied floor briefly passed to the Shanghai World Financial Center in 2008, Taipei 101 is designed to withstand the typhoon winds and earthquake tremors that are common in the area east of Taiwan. Evergreen Consulting Engineering, the engineer, designed Taipei 101 to withstand gale winds of 60 metres per second, as well as the strongest earthquakes in a 2
3.
Yokohama
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Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan by population and most populous municipality of Japan. It is the city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. It is a commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area. Yokohamas population of 3.7 million makes it Japans largest city after the Special Wards of Tokyo, Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal Edo period, when Japan held a policy of national seclusion, having little contact with foreigners. It was initially agreed that one of the ports to be opened to ships would be the bustling town of Kanagawa-juku on the Tōkaidō. However, the Tokugawa shogunate decided that Kanagawa-juku was too close to the Tōkaidō for comfort, the Port of Yokohama was officially opened on June 2,1859. Yokohama quickly became the base of trade in Japan. Kannai, the trade and commercial district, was surrounded by a moat. To protect British commercial and diplomatic interests in Yokohama a military garrison was established in 1862, with the growth in trade increasing numbers of Chinese also came to settle in the city. Recreational sports introduced to Japan by foreign residents in Yokohama included European style horse racing in 1862, cricket in 1863, after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the port was developed for trading silk, the main trading partner being Great Britain. In 1887, a British merchant, Samuel Cocking, built the citys first power plant, at first for his own use, this coal-burning plant became the basis for the Yokohama Cooperative Electric Light Company. The city was incorporated on April 1,1889. The early 20th century was marked by growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to the north of the city toward Kawasaki, much of Yokohama was destroyed on September 1,1923 by the Great Kantō earthquake. The Yokohama police reported casualties at 30,771 dead and 47,908 injured, fuelled by rumours of rebellion and sabotage, vigilante mobs thereupon murdered many Koreans in the Kojiki-yato slum. Many people believed that Koreans used black magic to cause the earthquake, martial law was in place until November 19. Rubble from the quake was used to land for parks
4.
Minato Mirai 21
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Minato Mirai 21, is the central business district of Yokohama, Japan. Today, Minato Mirai is a center for business, shopping. The area continues to be developed as originally envisioned in the 1980s, Minato Mirai 21 was originally proposed as one of Yokohamas six major development plans by the mayor of Yokohama, Ichio Asukata, in 1965. After several assessments and review sessions, actual construction started in 1983, conducted as an urban renewal and reclaimed land project, the port and industrial areas once divided the two city centers of Kannai and the Yokohama Station area. With the development of Minato Mirai 21, the two city centers were linked and now part of the business and central core of Yokohama. The name Minato Mirai 21, was selected by an opinion poll. Next to Landmark Tower is the Yokohama Museum of Art, the area is an important business center, with Nissan Motors, JGC Corporation, Chiyoda Corporation and other major corporations locating their headquarters and branches in the Minato Mirai area. Today, about 79,000 people are working in Minato Mirai 21, Minato Mirai 21 also attracts numerous tourists along with the nearby Yokohama Chinatown. In 2010, it received approximately 58 million visitors
5.
Kintetsu Group Holdings
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Kinki Nippon Railways Co. Ltd. a passenger rail transit company in Kinki and Tokai regions, was founded after Kansai Express Railways merged with Nankai Railways on June 1,1944. Kinki Nippon Railways changed its name in English to Kintetsu Corporation on June 28,2003. On April 1,2015, the corporation, was restructured into a company, splitting its railway, real eastate, logistics and retail. Kintetsu Corporation also changed the name to Kintetsu Group Holdings Co. Ltd. on the same day. Kintetsu Beppu Ropeway Keihanna Bus Holdings Co. Ltd
6.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
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Located in Shinjuku, the building consists of a complex of three structures, each taking up a city block. The tallest and most prominent of the three is Tokyo Metropolitan Main building No.1, a tower 48 stories tall that splits into two sections at the 33rd floor, the building also has three levels below ground. The design of the building, by architect Kenzo Tange, has many symbolic touches, the other two buildings in the complex are the eight-story Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Building and Tokyo Metropolitan Main Building No.2, which has 37 stories including three below ground. The two panoramic observation decks, one in each tower on floor 45, are free of charge to the public and contain gift shops, the building was designed by Kenzo Tange and finished in December 1990 at the expense of ¥157 billion of public money. It replaced the former Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at Yūrakuchō, which was built in 1957, the former Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is now the site of the Tokyo International Forum. It was the tallest building in Tokyo, at 242.9 meters, though it has not gained the same degree of worldwide recognition as Tokyo Tower or Tokyo Skytree, the Metropolitan Government Building has come to represent the city in its own right. It frequently appears in Japanese science fiction and anime such as Digimon Tamers as a symbol of authority or in scenes depicting a futuristic or post-apocalyptic Shinjuku
7.
Mitsubishi Estate
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Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd. is Japans second-largest real-estate developer and is involved in property management and architecture research and design. MEC owns Japans second tallest building, the Yokohama Landmark Tower, as well as the Sanno Park Tower, Mitsubishi Estate has its headquarters in the Otemachi Building in Ōtemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is one of the core Mitsubishi companies, the company was established in 1937 as a spin-off of the real estate holdings of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu. It was listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges in 1953, in 1990 Mitsubishi Estate fully bought out Rockefeller Group in New York City, the real estate company that then fully owned Rockefeller Center. Since then the section of the Center has been sold. Mitsubishi Estate led the redevelopment of the Osaka Station area between 2010 and 2013, including the Grand Front Osaka complex, Mitsubishi Estate stated in November 2014 that it had agreed to sell a 41-year-old office building in Tokyo back to Mizuho Financial Group for $1.35 billion. In 2015, Mitsubishi announced that it would hold a majority stake in a redevelopment project north of Tokyo Station that would include the tallest building in Japan, the targeted completion date for the project is 2027. Mitsubishi Real Estate Services Co. Ltd, Yokohama Royal Park Hotel Co. Ltd. Royal Park Hotel Co. Ltd. Rockefeller Group International, Inc
8.
KlingStubbins
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In 1982, the Franklin Institute awarded Vincent G. Kling the Frank P. Brown Medal. KlingStubbins was formed through the merger of two offices, the first, The Kling-Lindquist Partnership, Inc. was founded by Vincent Kling in 1946, and grew to become the largest firm in Philadelphia. One of the most recognizable buildings designed by Kling is the Bell Atlantic Tower, Kling also collaborated with Philadelphia city planner Edmund Bacon. The Stubbins Associates was founded by Hugh Stubbins, FAIA, in 1949 and based in Cambridge, Kling became affiliated with The Stubbins Associates in 2003, and the two officially merged on January 1,2007. The company has grown to include engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, in 2011, KlingStubbins was acquired by Jacobs Engineering Group and operates as part of their Global Buildings sector. Their first combined volume, KlingStubbins, Palimpsest, was published in 2009 by Images Publishing, with their Autodesk Headquarters in Waltham, MA, KlingStubbins became the first architectural firm in New England to employ an Integrated Project Delivery model. Autodesk AEC Headquarters, Waltham, MA, USA,2008 Kling elected into the National Academy of Design,1964 Official website DesignIntelligence article on Kling-Stubbins affiliation
9.
Yokohama Museum of Art
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Yokohama Museum of Art, founded in 1989, is located in the futuristic Minato Mirai 21 district of the Japanese city Yokohama, next to the Yokohama Landmark Tower. Dadaist and Surrealist works are well represented. The museum also features work by important Japanese artists, especially those with connections to Yokohama such as Imamura Shiko, Kanzan Shimomura, in 2005, the museum hosted Masterpieces from the Louvre Museum, 19th Century French Paintings – from Neoclassicism to Romanticism. The exhibit was arranged in cooperation with the Louvre and Tokyo National University of Fine Arts, in 2006, the museum featured a special exhibit entitled Connecting the World through Sculpture featuring the work of Isamu Noguchi, Japanese American artist and landscape architect. In 2008, the featured a exhibition of images from the goth subculture entitled Goth. The exhibit included featured works by Avant-garde artists such as Dr Lakra, the building which houses the Yokohama Museum of Art was designed by Kenzo Tange, the Japanese architect who won the 1987 Pritzker Prize for architecture. The structure is described as an attractive and spacious building that is airy, the museums main hall is 18 meters tall and is open to the second and third floors. A glass ceiling allows natural light into the space and it has superb acoustics, is often used for new art projects and cultural events, and is said to be a particularly impressive example of modern architecture. Yokohama Museum of Art Yokohama Museum of Art
