Spring 2023

Harvard University STU-1321 Revitalizing Onomichi: Architecture, Community, Territory

Professor: Mohsen Mostafavi

Onomichi is a port city and gateway to the Geiyo Archipelago in the Seto Inland Sea. Located in the Hiroshima Prefecture on Japan’s western coast, the city maintains a deep history of ship building, traditional carpentry, and fishing. The 1953 film Tokyo Story by Yasujiro Ozu’s poetically narrates the melancholy history of Onomichi’s aging community. In the early 20th century, a railway line was introduced from Tokyo to Onomichi, initiating the steady depopulation of the seaport. In recent years, city officials have sponsored regional bicycle and boat tourism through the Geiyo Archipelago, from Onomichi to Imabari, as part of an initiative to boost the economy, stabilize the rate of depopulation, and encourage recreational engagement with the waterfront. In the 1980s Onomichi’s ferry terminal was demolished due to seismic instability. By reintroducing the ferry terminal not only as a transit hub but also as the site of new schools in boat-building and sailing, this project is both a symbolic and critical civic addition to Onomichi’s transportation infrastructure. Complementary to the waterfront proposal, a modest hillside carpentry workshop and tool library pavilion engage with Onomichi’s vibrant oral history on construction and restoration.

Together, these proposals weave maritime history, community engagement, carpentry techniques, and seaside typologies in an urban gesture which allegorically extends across the Seto Inland Sea; a new gateway to Onomichi.