Foreword

The hunt for meaning amidst chaos has remained a struggle in many of history’s movements of protest. Often the amassed sentiment holding attendants together is less evident through their action during the actual demonstration and is instead clearly represented by the evidence left on the scene in the aftermath. Disorder and misconduct are often cognitively linked in many public perceptions of protest at a primordial level.  It is this exact sentiment with which modern Kasumigaseki’s unique brand of protest rise far above the heads of its contemporaries as a stark contrast to the established formulas and rituals of the political protest. Whether this anomaly is for the better or worse is perhaps less clear, but the understanding of why such a distinction occurs can be boiled down to a few key tenants that run parallel with the ideals of the organizers.

Stemming from the leverage of a historically relevant background in protest culture, Kasumigaseki’s layered form of demonstration hides away a deep, complex relationship between spatial authority and the personal struggle for self-identification in modern Tokyo. The format with which discontent is conveyed along the sidewalks of the capital city’s governmental district is unabashed in its depiction of power and obedience, while also harrowing in it’s embodiment of the personal struggle for vocalized expression on the grander stage of Tokyo.

In this website, we explore the spatial reasoning and cultural patterns that are evident within Kasumigaseki. By attending weeks upon weeks of protests during their two-hour block, our team researched and unearthed evidence which suggests implicit intentions that glue the organization together in their goals and procedures.

HT