Japan Pavilion
From the Official Guidebook (p. 88-90):
According to the designers of the Japanese pavilion and gardens, “Environment should mean a love of nature, and all Japanese have that.”
As a highly civilized country, Japan has felt keenly the problems that progress has brought into its wake, from over-urbanization to the pollution of natural resources. That’s why you’ll find the Japan at Expo 74, as in its own international exposition in 1970, has placed special emphasis on Harmony, upon the spirit of understanding and tolerance.
The Japanese Pavilion is located on the south channel of the Spokane river, between Howard and Wall streets. Here you’ll find exhibits which highlight various environmental problems faced by Japan over the years and some of the counter-measures taken to combat them
The islands of Japan encompass 142,811 square miles, and support a population of more than 100 million persons. The Japanese pavilion has been designed to convey the Japanese sense of nature and society as it has been shaped over the centuries. Superb exhibits illustrate how these circumstances have affected Japanese life and recreation.
A serene and beautiful Japanese garden has been constructed on the site using traditional methods and designs. The side of the garden facing the public is surrounded by a low fence and behind the fence flows a small, clear brook. Adding to the natural contemplative setting is a diminutive Azumaya or Japanese inn.
Inside the pavilion, you’ll see a film projected on a threefold multiscreen hall. As the film unfolds, you’ll see Japanese people in the environment in which they live.
The main exhibit area in the center of the pavilion has been divided into four sections, used to show a range of filmed and static displays which focus on the main environmental themes of the exhibit.
The first section features “Japan In Panorama,” the land and topography, the dense population and various local communities.
The second section illustrates the “lifestyle of the Japanese people, “the closeness between home and nature; the special features of homes that have been influenced by the environment; and the cultivation and utilization of rice.
“Environment” is a third section which features nature confronted by urbanization and industrialization; water and air anti-pollution measures, and the environmental problems in the cities of Japan.
Finally the fourth section portrays “Recreation” in urban areas and how the Japanese people “get away from it all.” You’ll find in the Japanese pavilion an admixture of artistry and nature; and from prologue to epilogue, a beautiful and refreshing picture of the Japanese concept of nature and how the concept is being reassessed for the future.
A Japanese tea ceremony, as depicted in a ViewMaster reel.
Interior Japan Pavilion (from Commemorative Photo Book)
After Expo ‘74, the next exposition was the 1975 Ocean Expo in Okinawa. The ‘75 Expo itself and various Japanese businesses took advantage of the Expo ‘74 audience to advertise the fair and services that would facilitate visiting it.
Advertisement in the Official Souvenir Program for the following year’s Expo to be held in Okinawa.
Advertisement for Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. in the Official Guidebook.
Advertisement for The New Otani hotel in the Official Guidebook.
From Bowers, “Expo ‘74 World’s Fair Spokane”:
Through dripping branches, the woods
and I are one in the eyes of the rain.
- Japanese Haiku
“Japan is a proud participant in Expo ‘74 because we believe most strongly in the theme of this world’s fair, ‘Progress Without Pollution‘.
“In Japan we have seen much progress in recent years. But unhappily we have also experienced many environmental problems as a part of this progress. Because Japan is the country that perhaps has been suffering most from pollution, we have become the country which is trying hardest to overcome it.
…Our country is small and crowded… the interior of our country has many mountains and the people are crowded along the seacoasts.
…The pollution problem has recently become very serious… Those visiting the Japan Pavilion have seen evidence of our concern about the environment and the things we are doing to improve it.
…Japan intends to continue the good work of focusing international attention on the preservation of our natural environment. Next year Expo ‘75 will be held in Japan, on the Mobotu Peninsula of Okinawa. Its theme will be ‘The Sea We Would Like to See,’ an appeal for preservation, enhancement, and intelligent utilization of the world’s ocean environment and resources for the benefit of all mankind. We believe that this next world’s fair will provide a valuable extension of the theme which was so successfully exemplified by Expo ‘74 in Spokane.”
- Sono Uchida, Commissioner General of JapanThe Japanese love and respect for nature have been recognized by peoples everywhere for generations. Their arts, in every medium, have long been a glorification of that admiration.
They have treasured the flower petal, the raindrop, the errant white cloud and immortalized them all in painting and in verse. The Japanese penchant for nature is intense and necessary. Every inch of land is utilized by the densely crowded eight small islands which comprise the archipelago called Japan. The country’s very existence was once dependent upon the sparing use made of land, sea, and sky.
Living with nature was the basis of Japanese culture and heritage. Yet, as in many industrialized nations, the balance of nature and progress went awry and was circumvented by heavy industrialization. After two decades public awareness and concern about the risks of environmental abuse were unified into a dramatic rise in public concern about pollution. Spurred on by this concern the government passed legislation to offset the rising trend with a wide variety of pollution control measures. In spite of the improvements made in some areas environmental pollution advanced at an alarming rate.
What this Asian nation accomplished and what it is doing to rectify the seemingly irreversible trend was the focus of the harsh, graphic picture Japan presented of its environmental problems at Expo ‘74.
Nine Ministries (International Trade and Industry, Foreign Affairs, Education, Transportation, Construction, Welfare, Agriculture and Forestry, Environmental Protection, and Economic Planning and Development) were instrumental in organizing the exhibit titled “How man can live, work, and play in harmony with his environment.”
A large, three dimensional map of Japan showing its contours, population distributions, transportation networks and statistical comparisons with the United States aided visitors in visualizing the realities of the concern. Lifestyles of these communities - rural, medium-sized, and fast growing metropolitan areas - added to the recognition. In that life style was the customary Japanese room (tatami) which illustrated various Japanese home activities such as flower arrangement, the tea ceremony, calligraphy, hand crafts, Go (Japanese checkers), and chess.
A special tribute to rice was shown to highlight its importance and significance to the people of Japan. Full utilization of the grain and its by-products and the daily relationship of rice and people and how it affects their lifestyle was the homage paid to “the grain that created a culture.”
What that culture has done to its environment was the stark picture presented in the environmental section. Urbanization and industrialization of recent years threatens modern day Japan with perhaps one of the worst pollution problems in the world. In the 1974 budget for environmental control 50 per cent was allocated for improving water pollution through the Water Pollution Control Act of 1970, the chief instrument in curbing the misuse.
Large scale pictures of the debris cluttered beaches, a massive model of the Seto Inland Sea and the tests conducted on it were evidence of the people and government’s concern. Collectively Japan combats the problem with an unceasing search for new methods, development of environmental science and controls by government as well as public awareness education.
Rounding out the exhibit was a portrayal of how the Japanese spend their increasing leisure hours. Recreation and typical pastimes in the city included outdoors activity much like those Americans indulge in: swimming, golf, badminton, horse racing and window shopping.
A multi-screen movie recapitulated the paneled exhibits and showed the less serious complexities of modern society and the challenges it must solve.
Completing the nation’s pavilion was a Japanese garden especially designed for Expo ‘74 and built with all native materials of Spokane. The landscape artist, Ken Nakajima of Tokyo, expressed his concept of design for Japanese gardens as “a symbol of man’s love of nature and its beauty. It is a constant reminder of man’s responsibility to preserve and protect this wonderful gift.”
