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Tokyo’s Downsized Dwelling

Tokyo’s Downsized Dwelling
Alternative: 东京八平米 / Tokyo 8 Square Meters / Back to Eight Square Meters
Author(s): [Japan] Shinobu Yoshii
Genre(s): Book
Type: Book
Years:  January 1, 2023
ISBN: 9787542678652
Pages: 328

Brief Introduction: 

Living in eight square meters, you can see the whole world

“Eight Square Meters in Tokyo” is a new collection of essays by Japanese-Chinese writer Shinobu Yoshii. Eight square meters is called “four and a half tatami” in Japan, which is a room with only four and a half tatami mats, and the rent is cheap.

Because the eight-square-meter room did not have a kitchen, a refrigerator, a bathroom, or a washing machine, she enthusiastically wrote about how to eat and live, as well as the daily life of Japanese common people she had personally experienced. Living in a cramped living space, she extended her life to the streets and public spaces of the city, writing about laundries, sento, cafes, 24-hour comic shops, independent cinemas, small restaurants, etc. in Tokyo, while also writing about the common people she met in Tokyo. These characters are “invisible, real Tokyoites”. Their stories tell us about Japan’s world conditions and reflect ourselves.

In a lonely city, how do people find their own place and meaning of existence? Shinobu Yoshii’s “eight square meters” economics allows people to see the possibility of a life full of freshness and vitality: save expensive rent, have simple material demands, and enjoy a rich spiritual and cultural life in the city. The city can also be a mobile home, and a person can be happy and self-sufficient.