Japanese modernity deviated: Its importation and legacy in the Southeast Asian architecture since the 1970s

•Derivative Japanese post-war architecture became a deviation of the Western modernism.•Southeast Asian countries were impressed by the Japanese paradigm of architectural modernity.•Kenzo Tange influenced ASEAN through political associations with the authorities of Singapore.•Through APAC, Fumihiko Maki's detached connection had limited influence on local designs.•Deviated Japanese architecture let local architects re-think Asianistic modernity.

This article examines architectural development in Southeast Asia since the 1970s as the legacy of a modernity imported through foreign paradigms, in which Japan played a leading role. Post-war Japanese architecture, initially characterized by derivativeness, is argued to have transformed into a discourse on deviation of modern architecture. The nature of post-war Japanese architecture's influence on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, especially Singapore, is studied here through a particular association with historical situations as developmental states.Two case studies—Kenzo Tange and Fumihiko Maki—are chosen for their different perspectives on Japanese architecture, which provide an alternative example of modern identity in Southeast Asian architecture that interacts with and contradicts local contexts. The authors reveal a forgotten story in the architectural development of Southeast Asia and Japan.

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