Godzilla and the Temple of Atomic Catastrophes

The Temple of Atomic Catastrophes was designed in 1955 by Japanese architect Seiichi Shirai (1905–83). Although never built, the memorial has become a touchstone in debates about Japanese monuments, tradition, and culture. Shirai’s temple design is one of the few architectural works to explicitly address the topic of nuclear power, while Japanese fiction, manga, visual arts, and photography typically either allegorize it, or avoid it entirely. Shirai and his temple design are little known in the West, yet they represent an important and influential chapter in Japan’s architectural history. The 2011 Fukushima disaster once again made Shirai, and the questions his design raised, a central aspect of Japanese architectural discourse.

Godzilla and the Temple of Atomic Catastrophes examines events and developments in Japan spanning more than a century, from World War I to the triple disaster of 2011—earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. Architectural historian and critic Thomas Daniell explores Japanese tradition and the relationships between Japanese architecture, art, and aethetic theory within a broader historical context. Written in the style of a “roman noir,” this book offers an unconventional and entertaining search for the answer to this architectural mystery.