Reimagining Vacancy: Fire as a System for Urban Renewal in Tokyo

Overview

TOKYO EMBERS is a speculative studio project that re-envisions Japan’s future through the lens of a “shrinking city.” The work draws on research into the cultural and material history of fire in Japan—from the Pacific Ring of Fire and cremation rituals to the incendiary bombings of the Tokyo Air Raids and the architectural technique of yakisugi (charred cedar siding).

The project reframes the growing akiya (abandoned home) crisis as an opportunity, proposing “prepared fires” as a ritualized system for recycling vacant cedar homes across the Tokyo metropolitan region. The proposal is grounded in Japan’s longstanding cultural relationship with fire—where it is understood not only as a destructive force, but also as a material and ritual tool—making this approach specific to its social and historical context.