survival strategy v - orientation

above are satellite images of kyoto and edo (tokyo), respectively. both cities have, or have had, the honour of serving as japan's imperial capital, yet the organisation of both cities are vastly different from each other. kyoto's axial orientation stems from china's ancient capital, chang an (xi'an) - in fact, the original city is a scaled replica. on the other hand, tokyo's centrifugal sprawl is more similar to beijing, with the imperial palaces of both cities located at a central focal point. the four cities kyoto, tokyo, xi'an, and beijing have one important common characteristic in that they have all at some point in history been the seat of power for the emperors of their respective nations, and the orientation of their plans is derived from the orientation of the plans of their imperial palaces.

at kyoto (and at xi'an), the emperor was situated at the northernmost end of the cardinal north-south axis running the length of the city. from this position, symbolising the all-powerful north star, the emperor could safely hold court from the literal and hierarchal apex of his palace while being protected by a procession of gates along the axis and flanked by pagodas. the rest of the city is an extension of this organisation, with expansion occurring primarily along the north-south axis. furthermore, the careful positioning of the city plays testament to the chinese system of feng shui, with mountains to the north, east and west for protection. with the only possible entrance being from the south, all visitors must symbolically "face" the emperor when entering the city. additionally, the largest mountain is located to the north-east of the city to ward off demons, and the river flowing through the city was artificially altered to flow from north-east to south-west to represent the "cleansing" of evil from the city.

on the other hand, at tokyo (and at beijing), the emperor was situated in the centre of his palace, surrounded by protective moats and walls. the rest of the city grows spirally from this central point, as in a powerful explosion - the expansion is driven by a seemingly "natural" force rather than governed by a pre-determined, planned grid as in xi'an or kyoto. visitors seeking an audience with the emperor must still enter from the southernmost entrance, but instead of being at the apex of the procession, his central positioning symbolises his location at the very "centre of the universe."