Talk:Imperial Crown Style

Title

The title of the article should be Imperial Crown Style with capital S for style. Dr.khatmando (talk) 02:04, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

I have moved it across to a new page, with a capital S. merlinVtwelve (talk) 22:30, 9 July 2017 (UTC)

Introducing new transalated content

I have began introducing new content translated from the coresponding Japanese Wikipedia article. Please be patient while this work is done. Please help by tidying up the markup I have introduced, as it is difficult to work in two languages and WP mark up at the same time. That would be helpful. Please feel free to ask about anything I'm doing. Dr.khatmando (talk) 12:09, 9 July 2017 (UTC)

Translator's notes (ongoing)

1.0 I have finished the translation for the "Backround" section. Some of the Japanese writing style is not as fit for purpose in an encyclopaedic article as in other portions of the article, so I have had to compensate by clarifying some of the nuances. In particular terms such as 日本趣味 and 「内容」in the context of 「内容と調和させた」This is not a criticism of the Japanese article, but is good form to mention these nuances here. The allows bilingual readers with lessor J-E or E-J proficiency an insight into the translator' reasoning and an opportunity to ask me questions. Dr.khatmando (talk) 10:22, 11 July 2017 (UTC)

2.0 There is a term used in the Japanese article 「日本趣味建築」which has been difficult to translate as it is a word contemporary to the 1800s ~ early 1900s, and has come to English via French. After consulting an scholarly article written in Japanese about an architectural photographer of the period, I was able to confirm that the English translation for this word is Japonesque which has come via the French language ( this was due to the exotic impact that Japan had on French popular culture at the time. I will reference this information to clarify the English article. Dr.khatmando (talk) 11:11, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

3.0 I have competed another paragraph in the history section to describe the competition between modernism and ICS architecture. Dr.khatmando (talk) 07:22, 13 July 2017 (UTC)

4.0 Temporarily halting translation as lost a chunk of text edited out... Dr.khatmando (talk) 08:00, 14 July 2017 (UTC)

4.1 A very swift intervention from @Simplexity22: has corrected the problem. All good to continue. Dr.khatmando (talk) 08:12, 14 July 2017 (UTC)

4.2 Completed translation of new paragraph in the History section on the 1930s percieved revival of Emperor's Crown Amalgamate Style. I note that according to Satō's PhD thesis Imperial Crown Style is a post war reference to this style of architecture. Dr.khatmando (talk) 12:45, 14 July 2017 (UTC)

4.3 Translated content in the article version before I began expanding it had factual errors consistent with WP:TRANS hidden translation, but no tag was every applied to the page.. This has been rectified by reviewing the existing references, reviewing the English and Japanese literature, and including new citations to improve the articles accuracy.

Manchukou, Taiwan, Korea

I am excited to see some interesting new content included in the English article. MerlinVtwelve and Gryffindor have added some images for Taiwan and Manchukou. MelvinVtwelve also mentioned Korea as another place with ICS architecture. This does make sense and hopefully something will come up along the way.

I think by the end of this work, the English article could surpass the scope and quality of the Japanese article. We can see what might come of that too further down the track Dr.khatmando (talk) 11:31, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

It's definitely coming along ... Good to see some interesting new pictures. Will keep looking around for more content. merlinVtwelve (talk) 20:54, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

@Gryffindor: and @MerlinVtwelve:, I've translated 2/3 of the content from ja Wikipedia, but I've also expanded some of the content, and added supporting references after some strategic literature review. This was mainly because the Japanese article relied too much on the Inoue source. Even though the Inoue source seems scholarly rigorous, it's just not good scholarship to just ignore this and translate the article.

Discussion related to Taiwan

I now have more of an understanding of what fits the description of ICS and what strays from that. I want to keep all the photos we have, but there are some we have that have Giyofu, ICS, and indigenous influences. I think I have references to make this clear later on, but I might need some peer input from you when I get to that stage. In the meantime if you find anything from Korea it would be good to have that at hand as well. Thanks for all your support. Cheers, Dr.khatmando (talk) 13:51, 14 July 2017 (UTC)

There is a Taiwanese architectural historian who might also provide some useful insights. Francis Chia-Hui Lin discusses a couple of the ICS buildings in Taiwan, and also talks about the Asian Renaissance Style. Apparently, for some years after the war, there was a process of 'de-Japanisation' in Taiwan, which led to some Japanese architecture being deliberately destroyed or modified beyond recognition. However, in recent decades, they changed their mind, and now are actively preserving some of the buildings. For example, the Kaohsiung Railway Station was moved more than 80 metres from its original position so that they could dig railway tunnels underneath. They slid it, in one piece, on huge wooden tracks. At some stage they are going to move it back again to the original location. I will dig out some references for this. I believe in Korea there was also anti-Japanese feeling which led to the demolition of some fine buildings, but it was much stronger than in Taiwan, where they changed their minds, to a degree, and became quite pro-Japanese. merlinVtwelve (talk) 21:07, 14 July 2017 (UTC)

@MerlinVtwelve:That is superb! What you have written here has the essence of what could be said in the article. I'm very encouraged. I read a little about the Kaohsiung railway station, it is a nice point to make because small scale ICS projects were undertaken. It's nice to know that the Taiwanese examples of ICU architecture have been preserved. When I think we have got to a point where I have exhausted what can be said about ICS in Japan, it would be good if you could drive the Taiwanese part of the article, and I will fall back and support you. That is if you would like to do that. As for circumstances in Korea, it make sense, and some of that sentiment is still active today. Let's leave Korea out unless we find some decent references. Thank you for all your support. I'm pretty chuffed about all this. Dr.khatmando (talk) 00:09, 15 July 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for your feedback Dr.khatmando, more than happy to take that approach. Will certainly do my best to expand the Taiwan section. And the others as well, if possible. merlinVtwelve (talk) 03:32, 15 July 2017 (UTC)

Discussion related to Korea

Not having much luck so far with Korea. The closest I can find is this reference to the former Governor General's building. It seems to describe the central dome as having 'similarities' to an Imperial Crown, but I am not sure that it is actually describing the building as being built in that style. merlinVtwelve (talk) 00:08, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

Yes I see what you mean. I've read the the reference a couple of times, but I'm not convinced scholarly rigorous enough compared to the other references in the article. I think the author is describing something that could be ICS. If we had references about who the architect was, or other details we might find something that clarifies the statement we need for the article. But if we have to infer then I think we will stray into original research. Let's leave Korea for now. I think our efforts are decent and that will hold us in good stead. I will have a look at the other new content in a couple of hours. Dr.khatmando (talk) 00:51, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

I may have spoken too soon. It seems that the Government-General HQ in that reference was demolished in 1995. But the Seoul City hall remains intact. It has the 6-pillars topped by a "dome" that is the same description as given in that reference you found. Here is the link to this site [[1]] I'm basing my explanation on. Dr.khatmando (talk) 01:55, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

I have resorted to translating the term into Korean (via Google translate). Along the way, I found a couple of interesting old photos on Commons. They are from the Japanese era, and seem to fit the broad description at [[2]] and [[3]] See what you think. merlinVtwelve (talk) 07:59, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

Good oh! I also had some success by looking to the Japanese literature. I have added one image and started a section of Korea. The reference you found earlier, together with the new sources I am reviewing, will work well together. It is a long shot, but I may have a potential example outside of Asia. Nothing to get excited about yet though. Thanks for the work so far. It's looking good. Dr.khatmando (talk) 08:13, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

Discussion related to Russia

Guess what ... we might also need to include Russia...! Check this out [[4]] Sakhalin Regional Museum is quite a nice example. This is the museum's own page, so probably OK as a reference. merlinVtwelve (talk) 08:24, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

PS Have just realised it is already in the "Japan" section as Karafuto Prefectural Museum, Toyohara. Perhaps we should move it to a new "Russia" section, as it is now called Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, with old and new pictures of the museum on that page. merlinVtwelve (talk) 09:32, 16 July 2017 (UTC)

@MerlinVtwelve: Oh wow! That's a windfall! The image is decent too. Yes let's start a Russia section.

On related issue, I had a problem with the rights of one of the images I wanted to use. I contacted the author who released the rights of the image. The image offers a view of the side-elevation of the old Keijō (Seoul) City hall. The author has a dedicated website to ICS and related architecture that links to the photographs he taken. He was very kind to assist with photographs on a case by case basis. When you have time please visit his site. It's in Japanese but easy to navigate [[5]] Dr.khatmando (talk) 01:32, 17 July 2017 (UTC)

References

日本生命館 Nihon seimei kan

I'm adding a note for future reference. The above mentioned building is now Nihon bashi Takashimaya department store and there is a short historical account here [[6]] I'm not certain that we need a photograph for this as the photographs of the building suggest that the winning entry was not a Imperial Crown style design Dr.khatmando (talk) 01:26, 13 July 2017 (UTC)

Section Imperial Crown Style and Statism in Showa Japan

I am part way through translating the above mentioned section. I am concerned that some of the content is poor. In particular the ja article applies Freudian and neo-Freudian ideas to Japanese architect's social attitudes towards the other axis powers. I am going to leave out this stuff because it is conjecture, comes from a trend in 1950s~1990s Japanese sociological literature to apply Freudian concepts to history and national psyche, and comes from the Inoue reference which is overused in the article. I also think this approach to the subject of Statism in Showa Japan and architecture is too off topic.

However I do think something should be said about this Statism in Shōwa Japan and ICS but better sources and better writing will give better results Dr.khatmando (talk) 04:14, 17 July 2017 (UTC)

Images

Does the image in the "Background" section, and the images in the "History" section have to be centered? This is evidently rather trivial, but in the interest of clearing up excessive whitespace shouldn't these be positioned towards the right or left of the page? I think it looks better that way having previewed it, but I'm not sure if there is a specific reason against it since the "center" property was deliberately specified. Thanks —72 _talk 10:01, 17 July 2017 (UTC)

Deleted material Russia & Frank Lloyd Wright.

@Gryffindor: Can you please revert the section on Russia or give me warning before you make changes? Or perhaps look to the talk section to see where where the process is at. I am currently reviewing literature on that section and now am confused because the material has gone.

Also the ja wiki has references to FLW's Teikoku hotel design where the pitched roof for ICS was most likely adopted from. In the talk pages I mention improving the article while translation is underway (now 90%) finished.

It is discouraging and makes for more work in the end. If that isn't going to work, you can take over from here. Dr.khatmando (talk) 12:13, 17 July 2017 (UTC)

Hallo Dr., my changes were largely cosmetic such as eliminating images that were there twice. I am not sure why it would need the Frank Lloyd image if it does not completely support the article, it seems to be more of a mention. If you want to talk about the roof, I think a close-up of it would be better to illustrate the point. You can re-place the "Background" section if you think it's necessary, I think it can be a part of "History" to keep it simpler since the article does not have so much content yet to warrant a separate part. As far as I can tell, there is only building on Sakhalin in that style. Since the style ended with World War II and was built within the context of Imperial Japan, it would make more sense to keep the geographical distribution that existed back then. But please go ahead and add information, I think it's good that we have contributions. Gryffindor (talk) 14:05, 17 July 2017 (UTC)

I think we should definitely be using present day geographic locations, otherwise Taiwan would also need to be under Japan. It wasn't a military occupation, Taiwan was 'part of' Japan for 50 years or so. I believe Frank Lloyd Wright is relevant, he became embroiled in a dispute with Shimoda Kikutaro and research may call for further expansion of FLW's role. merlinVtwelve (talk) 20:50, 17 July 2017 (UTC)

Hi @Gryffindor: and @MerlinVtwelve:, thank you so much for the discussion. I hope I didn't come across too brash. I think I'm at the end of my day when you become active.

Yes I also saw that FLW wright reference seemed like a mention. So to get things up to standard, I have included a new paragraph with reference and citation discussing the professional rivalry (I don't know if there was any person animosity) surrounding the Imperial Hotel design. Both Shimoda (who submitted before Wright was involved) and Wright submitted proposals, with Shimoda protesting that his designs had been appropriated when Wright when won. They had a,so both been active in Chicago and were part of the "Yokohama" internationalism scene (which is why Itō Chūta called Shimoda's work a "National Disgrace").

The reference suggests that Wright appropriated Shimoda's design and replaced the roof to a prairie-styled roof. But I have another reference that in subsequent designs Wright's "recessed roof" was imcorpated into future ICS designs to emphasise the Japanese aesthetic of horizontality in buildings. I've not discussed that yet and I would need to find the reference again in my notes.

So given the new paragraph and Gryffindor's suggestion to do a closeup of the roof, how do you want to proceed? I personally like the idea of Gryffindor's close-ups. I can see your point about the "Background" heading now. I was most likely using this as a marker to navigate around the article, but for readers, that's probably not useful.

As for the Historical and Geographical layout, perhaps we can come up with a compromise? I can see that someone who might come to the article with History in mind you would want the historical names to be prominent, but to a general or casual reader the contemporary context might serve them best. Also I did not know what MelvinVtwelve said about Taiwan's relationship with Japan. Perhaps that's why there are more building preserved there.

As for Sakhalin/Russia, if we can't come up with some decent text then it might look unfinished especially if we have a heading with one photo and a coupe of sentences. Let's find a place for photo and the reference because we have identified the architect. If we end up exhausting all the resources and it doesn't fit then it can go. Thank you both for taking the time with this. Dr.khatmando (talk) 00:32, 18 July 2017 (UTC)

MerlinVtwelve, I am referring to naichi (内地) vs. gaichi (外地). You only have one building on Sakhalin and without any descriptive text, it all can be included in one image. I am under the impression this article is becoming way too cluttered with images and you just don't have enough text yet. Get the content done first, and then later focus on pictures. It's never good if images take up more space than the article itself, the place for that is an entry on Wikimedia Commons. I have started an article there, you can take a look at it and contribute there [7]. Gryffindor (talk) 09:40, 18 July 2017 (UTC)

@Gryffindor: I will take this on board. I think perhaps the overall layout of the page can still be fine-tuned further. For example, in the Taiwan section, I am wondering whether the picture of each example should be tucked into the text that relates to it, instead of being in a separate gallery? I will do some experiments in my sandbox before making any changes. Regarding photos vs. text content, this page is very much about a visual style, so illustrations are perhaps more important than a typical WP page. It is also rather frustrating that it is hard to find sources online for Manchuria/Korea/Russia. merlinVtwelve (talk) 20:45, 18 July 2017 (UTC)

A truly good article should be written in such a way that it won't need any images. Take also into account that visually impaired users will read/listen to Wikipedia. Other users have slow internet connections and can only read text. It will not be helpful if a descriptive text is missing instead of just putting a picture and assuming everyone can see it. If a gallery of a wide variety of images is needed, that is what the Wikimedia article is for. I am certainly not against the use of images, but just have to caution against relying on them instead of actually writing proper information. Gryffindor (talk) 08:48, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

I agree that the images should not replace scholarly rigorous writing, and for accessibility we need to keep to the standard that works across WP. I do think images can play an important roll in some articles, and arguably an essential role when it comes to a particular architectural style, or a genre of fine art. But let's keep to what works to a particle standard. I suggest that when the scope of the article is covered, we apply one of the assessment rubrics such as here [[8]] and/or from WP:Architecture. Rubrics are qualitative so can use them as a guide as well. That way we can use our motivation to stay on track and finish with something satisfying. Dr.khatmando (talk) 09:25, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Koa-style architecture

I note that Imperial Crown Style is sometimes referred to as "Koa-style" architecture. According to one source, this means "Pan-Asian", or "Rising Asia". In Taiwan they sometimes seem to use this term when referring to ICS. [[9]] [[10]]

Yes this is interesting. I made mention of Koa-style in the other thread. The "tower" sections of these building seem to be common in some typical ICS, but the sweeping roofs are different. So I think they are subsets of ICS whereas for example Japonesque architecture is an earlier style leading to ICS.

References

Terminology and related styles

@Gryffindor: and @MerlinVtwelve: Can you please help by giving me some feedback about the clarity of the main concepts in the article? It has to do with the main architectural styles, and those closely related. The Japanese Wiki article, and the Japanese literature is clear about these concepts, but I may not have made them clear in the translation.

Shimoda called his original design (帝冠併合 the Imperial Crown Amalgamate Style (which also could be translated as Imperial Crown Annexation Style) and is referred to as such in the Japanese literature.

Emperor's Crown Style (帝冠式)refers to a concept implemented by architects in the 1930s after Shimoda's death, and those architects considered it to be a "revival" of the Shimoda's style from 10 or more years previously. They are referred to as distinctly different styles in the literature.

Imperial Crown Style is a post war term referred to certain styles built during the rise of military Japan (1926-1945)

Thanks for you help. Dr.khatmando (talk) 07:23, 18 July 2017 (UTC)

@Dr.khatmando: I think a little bit more explanation of the style would help in the very first few sentences of the article. Something that explains the way Japanese roof styles were used on various types of western-style buildings. However, this would need to be quite broad, as the style seems to be quite variable in the way it was implemented, depending on the architect, and whether it was in Japan or overseas. In Taiwan, architects seemed to be incorporating Chinese elements into ICS to a degree, and were also experimenting with different styles. My understanding is that they were on a 'search' for an appropriate local style for Taiwan, rather than 'imposing' a fixed style from Japan. The most prolific architect in Taiwan at that time was probably Ide Kaoru, who was a master of many styles, and went in different directions on different projects, within the space of a few years. For example his ICS Judicial Yuan Building (c.1934) is very different from the Streamlined/Art Deco Executive Yuan (c.1940) of just a few years later.[[11]]. We may be in a situation where the definition is quite broad, like Art Deco, a term which wasn't really in common usage until the 1960s, and means different things to different people. Hope this helps. merlinVtwelve (talk) 22:24, 18 July 2017 (UTC)

@MerlinVtwelve: Yes I see what you mean. The building legislation mentioned in the ICS article only regulated the steel used as building materials and the camouflage specifications, which might have allowed for the creative freedom. I think I read that the tiles used in some of the buildings in Taiwan are for camouflage. But I also see the Art Deco elements as well. I think there are three main conditions that define the style:
Tiled curved roof with or without a tower with a "crown" (but not spherical dome seen in classical architecture), atop a reinforced concrete building...still thinking about this Dr.khatmando (talk) 23:57, 18 July 2017 (UTC)

The lede is much clearer now. Along with the the pictures, it communicates what ICS is about, and I think someone coming to the page will get the general idea. I will continue to work on the Taiwan section, and the others where possible. I also feel that the main body of text could use some subheads. However, I'll experiment in my sandbox before proposing anything. merlinVtwelve (talk) 02:17, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for the feedback. I'm drafting a section called "Development" at my sandbox, using the text that was originally in the "background" section, and the content I added on the Lloyd - Shimoda "interaction", as well as a cropped photograph of a model of the Imperial Hotel. Please have a look at what I've done so far here [[12]]. Cheers, Dr.khatmando (talk) 03:52, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Should the "Development" section be also introducing some background of how Japanese architects were looking for ways to develop a new style for the Empire? From what I can tell, various architects had different ideas, and (in Taiwan at least) seemed to be going in different directions. For example, in Taipei, Uheiji Nagano designed the Presidential Office Building and Matsunosuke Moriyama designed the Control Yuan, and both these buildings draw heavily on European ideas, with no sign of ICS or Japanese idioms. Also what was Frank Lloyd Wright's role in this? Was he partly responsible for ICS, do you think? Maybe there is a reference that suggest he was. One small point about the draft – FLW is usually referred to as Wright, rather than Lloyd. Overall though, I think the section would be good to include, but I may be beyond the scope of Wikipedia to define precisely how the style developed, as it seems that it was a somewhat 'organic' process. merlinVtwelve (talk) 21:25, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

PS I've been looking at the Art Deco page for inspiration about incorporating pictures. In the process, I noticed the Imperial Diet building on that page, and indeed some sources do describe it as an Art Deco building. merlinVtwelve (talk) 22:58, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

The polishing of the Taiwan section looks good. Thank you. I note the mistake over Wright's name and will fix that. I think the "Development" section could describe how the style developed during the military expansion of the EoJ as this is considered a distinct style or a in the least a revival of Shimoda's original Imperial Crown Amalgamate Style. I've not got that far yet though, but let's keep that in mind. In regards to FLW's connection, the ja wiki article for Shimoda has content that clarifies this. To summarise: 1. Shimoda was engaged in the project some years before FLW 2: After FLW signed onto the project and the design became evident, Shimoda protested. 3. An 7~8 year battle over copyright ensued with the Imperial Hotel conceding and settling the mater with Shimoda. I will translate this with a note for translatatiin attribution to that article. I have a couple of other chores to do today but hopefully I will add this to the draft on my sandbox soon. I will leave you and Gryffindor a message on my talk page when I'm ready for you to have a look. Cheers, Dr.khatmando (talk) 00:00, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

(Subordinate and related styles)

Although not in the article the following are considered either related styles, subordinate, or both. I want to at least mention this so we don't end up debating over theoretical stuff, which is not going to work for WP, but also that we're clear when choosing what material goes where.

ライト式 (Wright-Style used by Shimoda after he protested that Wright had appropriated his main concepts during the Imperial Hotel conflict)

日本趣味 Japonesque (related and subordinate)

進化主義建築Evolutionism in architecture) I.e. early 1900s application of biological and social Darwinism to architecture

アジア主義 & 興亜様式 Pan-Asian architecture that MerlinVtwelve mentioned in another thread

近代和風建築 Near-future Japanese Architecture

I'm hesitant about going into these too much, as we might end up with a "how long is a piece of string" situation. But in the least could we keep these things in mind.Dr.khatmando (talk) 07:23, 18 July 2017 (UTC)

Feel free to mention in the article the differences in naming the style based on the research you have. The English versions I have encountered the most however refer to it as "Imperial Crown Style", so we should go with WP:EN. But good point there. Gryffindor (talk) 08:37, 18 July 2017 (UTC)

@Gryffindor: and @MerlinVtwelve: Good oh! I can see a concensus here. Considering the common usage in English, and to use a term that is suitable broad (like "Art deco"), I think we arrive back at "Imperial Crown Style". Where I have sources for an alternate term or related style, I will clarify that in-text. Also I will rework the article lead so we can be "clear about the "grey-areas". Thanks to you both! Dr.khatmando (talk) 23:39, 18 July 2017 (UTC)

References

Fine tuning the layout

@Dr.khatmando:@Gryffindor: Based on earlier comments, I have been trying to resolve the layout, to prioritise the text content (which still needs expanding for regional variations), while still retaining visual references. It's in my Sandbox at [[13]] Feel free to have a look and make any comments/adjustments, etc. merlinVtwelve (talk) 08:51, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

I have added some inline comments, I hope that's alright. Basically I can only appeal to look at an article like Ancient Greek architecture, that is a good example of what kind of information should be added and the appearance of the layout. There is still a long way to go, I'm sorry. Gryffindor (talk) 09:34, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

That's cool, I agree the Ancient Greek page is excellent. Inline comments are fine... will do some further experimenting. merlinVtwelve (talk) 10:03, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

@MerlinVtwelve: I like the work you did on the image captions. If you have a look at the ICS distinguishing features of, for example, the Kanagawa pref office in the Development section, you could pick one interesting feature and include it in that caption. Others will become more evident for the other buildings when I finish the last paragraph in the Development section. Also I still have some remaining translation to do which will make your job easier. Sorry I'm a bit slow but I would rather be accurate with good sources than just have volume. Cheers Dr.khatmando (talk) 07:34, 24 July 2017 (UTC)

@Dr.khatmando: I'll take that on board. I am still learning some of the fine points of how to work with image positioning etc., as I haven't done this kind of thing before. It might take a while. Overall, the page is coming along well and you are doing a great job of the history and background, etc. If I can think of anything, I may add a little bit to the Taiwan section. merlinVtwelve (talk) 20:46, 25 July 2017 (UTC)

@MerlinVtwelve: Good stuff. No worries about how quickly we progress. I think moving forward at the right pace is more efficient and accurate. I appreciate what you're doing. Dr.khatmando (talk) 04:17, 26 July 2017 (UTC)

Draft section of Development of ICS

Hi @Gryffindor: and @MerlinVtwelve:, my apologies for my tardiness in following up with you. I ended up having to review a couple of key references before I drew your attention to the draft sub-section at my sandbox (linked below).

In response to MelvinVtwelves's request to clarify the Wright-Shimoda relationship to the development of ICS, I have been able to source the following, summarised below:

1. Shimoda had in fact been employed by Wright at the Schilling Building Office practice in Chicago
2. Wright physically assaulted Shimoda on two occasions, racially vilified him, and terminated his employment.
3. Shimoda married Wright's secretary and became a naturalised US citizen
3. Shimoda was engaged by the Imperial Hotel shortly after he completed the Tor Hotel project, at least 6 years in duration, prior to being replaced by Wright 1915~16
4. Wright had access to Shimoda's preliminary studies that were his first attempt at a prototype ICS
5. When Shimoda became aware of Wright's design he raised a copyright dispute, and won 6 years later settling with the Imperial House executives for an unknown sum.

You can see the draft here User:Dr.khatmando/sandbox. It still needs a little work but the content is referenced from Japanese and English sources including Wright's autobiography which is clear about his relationship and incidents with Shimoda. Please have a look at what is there so far. I think the content can be used in the ICS article and the Kikutaro Shimoda article. All content has translation attributions under WP trans guidelines. The content had WP:Hidden translation issues which I have now rectified. The appropriate tags just need to be added after any of the content is moved to the namespace. Any feedback would be appreciated, but please be gentle as I have spent many hours sorting through a few hundred pages of Japanese and English content to condense it down to just a couple of paragraphs.

I would really like to confirm or rule out, if Wright's secretary that Shimoda married is Isabel Roberts, but I need a brain break for a couple of hours. Cheers,

Dr.khatmando (talk) 10:04, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

I have brought together the references and reworded the section for style. I have also included both drawings (only one was available on WP) of Shimoda's Diet Building which illustrates the development of ICS. Dr.khatmando (talk) 13:57, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

Common architectural features

Hi, @MerlinVtwelve: I have added a section called common Common architectural features to draw the reader's attention to the definitive features of Imperial Crown Style. This might also be useful to describe the features that differ between examples with ICS. There is an important distinguishing feature based on the architecture of 五重塔 five story pagoda. Examples such as Kanagawa Prefectural Office, Nagoya City Hall, and some of the buildings in the Taiwan section have 5 distinct levels and capped with a tented pagoda roof. Unfortunately I have no scholarly reference for this, although this is commonky mentioned on Japanese websites.

There is a very well written article on five story pagodas in Japanese but not in English which is unfortunate, as it contains useful material that influences several hundred years of Japanese architecture.

Despite this, I think the article is reaching the limit in terms of scope. Some sections can be improved, and I will come back to this in the future. Dr.khatmando (talk) 05:25, 29 July 2017 (UTC)

Accessibility

I've assessed the article against the criteria B guidelines at WP:JAPAN and only accessibility falls short. I will return to this in the near future. Dr.khatmando (talk) 11:30, 29 July 2017 (UTC)

I have checked for alt text on all images and added where they were missing. Dr.khatmando (talk) 11:26, 4 August 2017 (UTC)

Claimed term negeshi

@Dr.khatmando : a large dictionary (大辞林) contains no entry for negeshi, so can you please provide a source? Imaginatorium (talk) 13:56, 2 February 2018 (UTC)

@Imaginatorium It’s a spelling mistake which I have now corrected. Thanks for pointing this out [[14]] Dr.khatmando (talk) 02:42, 9 August 2018 (UTC)

Alternative names for subject

The lead mentions various:

• (originally?) Emperor's Crown Amalgamate Style
• (sometimes) Emperor's Crown Style (帝冠式, Teikanshiki)

The references still do not appear to mention the first of these (what does "amalgamate" mean?). And it is not clear why 帝冠式 is any more "Emperor" than "Imperial" (since both mean the same). Please do not just say "look at Google": of course that is what I did, and I found zero hits for Emperor's Crown Amalgamate Style other than copies of the WP article or irrelevant coincidences of the words. Imaginatorium (talk) 07:45, 9 August 2018 (UTC)

@Imaginatorium

It’s been quite a while since I looked at this, so i’d appreciate some patience with me. I thought some of this was mentioned in previous entries on this talk page, but I apologise if this was not the case.

• The first term you mentioned above is a translation of 帝冠併合式. This was Shimoda’s term he used during the 1910s(?), and if I remember correctly I cited Inoue’s or Matsumoto’s work. I think one Japanese source had offered the translation “Imperial Crown Annexation Style” (If I remember correctly I think this was a term that was in vogue during the rise of State Shintoism). I’d have to go back and look at the source material (print and online sources or see if there’s still material to help with this from the Japanese WP article). I don’t think “Annexation” is the best translation given the context. Perhaps “Amalgamation” is better than what we have now. If you think you could help out with a better/more appropriate translation I’m keen to know what that might be.

• The terms Teikanshiki was used by other architects adopting Shimoda’s style some years after Shimoda’s original work in what was deemed to be a revival of Teikanyōshiki but distinctively different (that accounts for the variation you see in the archectectial style). Perhaps a timeline of how the style changed over the years might assist to clarify this. Again I’d have to go back and revisit the source material, some of which came from an Japanese architect who retrieved and scanned the material for me. I can send that to you somehow if you like. Both Teikanyōshiki and Teikanshiki are designated differently in the Japanese WP article but that’s not the reason why both “Emporer’s Crown” style and “Imperial Crown Style” are used in a variety English sources. If you think there should be more references then I can add more to the one I edited in a couple of hours ago.

Let me know what you want to do. Thanks Dr.khatmando (talk) 09:04, 9 August 2018 (UTC)

"Pyramidal dome"?

The second sentence in the lede states "The style is identified by Japanese-style roofing on top of Neoclassical styled buildings; and can have a centrally elevated structure with a pyramidal dome". (emphasis added) "Pyramidal dome" is a nonsensical phrase. The definition of a "pyramid" is a Y-axis symmetrical polygon with identical flat triangular faces. A "dome" is either a paraboloid -- most often hemispherical -- or segmented, made of identical convex 2-dimensional planes (as seen in a domical vault such as Brunelleschi's octagonal dome for Florence Cathedral or the square dome of the Great Synagogue of Rome, whose segments have curved faces). So a "pyramidal dome" is a geometric impossibility, like a "round cube". The correct term for the form of roof described in the article is a pyramidal "hip roof" or "pavilion roof". Bricology (talk) 21:11, 18 February 2023 (UTC)

Hi @Bricology, apologies for the belated reply. Let's change it to "pyramidal hip roof" for now. Perhaps @Dr.khatmando will disagree, but I'm sure he'll weigh in on this. merlinVtwelve (talk) 07:53, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Greetings @Bricologyand @MerlinVtwelve, Even though there’s an architectural term in Japanese for “Pyramidal Hip Roof”, (which I’m not recalling as it’s 3am here atm, however this term is descriptive and probably serves an English reader. So I think this is a good call, and translated nomenclature can be added later. There are certainly exceptions to the “pyramidal” part, but most of the ICS architecture from the late 30s, has a pyramidal shape, compared to earlier examples where the hip roof resembles more traditional architectural structures like the top tier of a pagoda, Shinto, or Buddhist temple main pavilion roofing etc. it does not look well blended into the the entire structure until, Shimoda’s designs which relied on reinforced concrete construction. That meant that these features could compete with the grandness of the buildings. So the base area under the pyramidal sections were larger in area, because they were supported by more efficient construction materials and methods. One of the articles I translated/expanded was on Japanese architectural features, with a series of drawings I made with the unique architectural features highlighted in blue. I’m not sure of the current state of that article, but cross-reference could be made to the original Japanese jargon with added translation.

I’ll try and think this through over the next few days hopefully….

Thanks gentlemen to you’ e ongoing support and contributions!

Dr.khatmando (talk) 18:01, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Turkey - Ottoman Empire

Reading the section on Turkey, this seems out of place, as Imperial Crown Style is largely from the 20th century, or late 19th at the very earliest.

The Ottoman empire surely pre-dates this by quite a few centuries? @Dr.khatmando is there something that needs correcting in the Turkey section or should it be deleted? merlinVtwelve (talk) 19:45, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

I deleted it, and also went through the article and discovered quite a bit of other content which had been added, without sources, and was also quite unrelated. merlinVtwelve (talk) 02:50, 24 February 2024 (UTC)