2018.02.14

Shibuya on that day "looking back from the photographs from now
Theme: "Shibuya station Hachiko square square in 1964"

"Shibuya of that day" is a photo gallery that looks back on the history of the town from the photos of Shibuya in "Old" and "Now". When reviewing "old photos" again, you can see that various changes such as the cityscape of Shibuya at the time, people's living, fashion, etc. are connected to Shibuya today. In this project, I will compare the photos of Shibuya of "old" and "now", looking back on the old steps in the city of Shibuya and wanting to find "new discoveries" and "awareness" from the old photos. This time, which will be the third time, I would like to pay attention to the landscape of "Shibuya station Hachiko front square" where the Olympic mood of 1964 (Showa 39) drifts.
Photo provision = Shibuya Ward local photograph preservation party
The black and white photo above is the Shibuya Station North Exit (now Hachiko Square), and the building seen in front is the Tokyu Department Store West Building. Originally designed as a three-storey “Tamaden Building”, it was designed by architect Sakakura Junzo in 1954 (Showa 29), and the 11-storey “Tokyu Hall (now, Tokyu) has been on the ground in November 1954. The station is directly connected to the station including the addition of the YAMANOTE LINE and Tamaden ticket gates on the second floor, the ticket gates of the GINZA LINE the third floor, and a 1002-seat "Toyoko Hall" on the ninth to eleventh floors. Attracted great attention as a novel commercial facility. Also, as you can see in the picture, the facade is characteristic of Itakura-san who studied with Corbusier, and it has a modernist design without a beautiful decoration.
On the walls of the building, it is probably around July on the calendar, because signs of "All shops Sunshine Sale Nakayama big sale" can be seen. To raise the mood for the opening of the Olympics, a large advertisement of "1964 Tokyo Olympic Games" known as a masterpiece of graphic designer Yusaku Kamekura in the center is posted in the center. A simple red design with a large red circle reminiscent of "sun" and "hinomaru", below which the "Olympic mark" and "TOKYO 1964" are arranged in gold. Rising sun rising from the east can not feel the messageiness that appeals to the world, "the strength of the Japanese" who achieved recovery with less than 20 years since the end of the burning field. Perhaps the naming of "Sunshine Sale", a medium sellout, may have been tailored to Mr. Kamekura's official poster design.
Looking closely at the bottom of the building, you can see that several posters of "Sunshine Sale" designed glittering and shining sun are stuck out side-by-side. I wonder who's waiting for a person to arrive at the station, and there are many cars parked in front of the station, it's a sight that time.

Let's turn our eyes to besides buildings. At that time, the street trees of Shidare Yanagi were seen at the station square, but "Izaya in Ginza" started, and once in Tokyo downtown was often planting willows. Against this backdrop, it also played a role in preventing soil from flowing into the water, because it can be easily increased with cuttings, furthermore it is strong against water and it is easy to grow even in the river and the sea, and the roots are thin and dense. Certainly Shibuya station is located at the bottom of the sliver beach topography, and it was often flooded during heavy rain, so mayow that is strong in water may be a convenient street tree.
Photographed on October 9, 2017 (Photographer: Yutaka Sato)
However, looking at the current picture of Shibuya station, all the willows are re-planted as cherry blossoms, and the trend of street trees is changing with time.

There is another point that I can not miss. It is the place of "Hades of the faithful dog". Currently, Hachiko statue is set on the far right of Tokyu Department Store West Building, SHIBUYA MARKCITY side, sitting in front of JR Shibuya station. However, once again, I want to see black and white photographs of 1964. There is no "faithful dog Hachiko statue" in that place in the photograph at that time. So where is Hachiko statue? If you can see the photos carefully, you can see what is likely to be Hachiko in the lower left corner. The photo with the zoomed up left corner is below.
There was no intention of photographer to put Hachiko statue together in the frame surely. At that time, Hachiko statue was set up in the center of the square, sitting in front of the Shibuya scrambled intersection side, as is clear from the reflection of this bee public. According to Mr. Yutaka Sato, a photographer, Vice Chairman of the Shibuya Ward Regional Photography Preservation Association who received image cooperation in the "Shibuya of that day" project, "Hachiko square square" will be held for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games It was said that maintenance was widely done. "A fountain was built in the square just before the opening, and a hoisting tower was set up to display the Olympic flag and the Hinomaru aside, Hachiko's face turned to the scrambled intersection side and moved to the back of the fountain, etc. Hachiko is over the fountain He was sitting at the intersection at the intersection, "Mr. Sato said. After that, the fountain became a symbol of Hachiko front square and was frequently used in the TV drama location. In addition, at one time, "Young people were naughty and putting detergent in the fountain, bubbles were made steadily due to the operation of the fountain, and there were times when the plaza became fussy," and looked back at the unusual case at the time.

In addition to "Hachiko" and "Funner", the location of "Konban" is quite different from the current Hachiko square. There is a staircase that descends underground in the open space, but in 1962 (Showa 37) on the other side of the staircase there is a “Konban” with a doorway towards the scramble intersection. According to Mr. Sato, many people used this police box every day during the Olympics. After that, along with the expansion of the space in front of Hachiko, the police box has moved to the current position beside the guard on the JR YAMANOTE LINE . It is "Hachiko" that the direction of the place and the face changed with the movement of "the police box". Speaking of "Hachiko Monogatari", the episode "Want to wait for the owner Professor Ueno to come out of the ticket gate" is something that anyone knows, but despite waiting for the professor to come out of the station, It is inconvenient for Hachiko to turn toward the station and turn to the scramble intersection side. Whether or not to reflect such voices, the fountain was removed at the time of the space expansion work of the open space, and the location of Hachiko and the direction of the face were also reviewed according to the present appearance. However, the present position is not the final home for Hachiko.
Image of Hachiko front square in 2027 (Image provision = Shibuya station Branch business building company)
Currently, a large scale redevelopment is proceeding around Shibuya station, but it is decided that by 2027 JR Shibuya station, Tokyu department store Western pavilion and south pavilion, and further Hachiko square open space are all renewed. Hachiko, a symbol, will never be lost, but he seems to consider where he will lay Hatiko's faithful dog.