Talk:Morioh/@comment-4566447-20190125223801

Morioh is beautiful. When I read it was based on Sendai, I spent much time on Google Earth trying to find if Araki had perhaps based the landscapes on photos of Sendai, so I looked for areas.

I was unable to find anything remaining of historic Sendai with a 19th century Western style. Morioh is full of 2 story Victorian era homes encased in Japanese style walls, with huge front & back yards putting much distance between neighbors, bike rack rails on tile pattern sidewalks outlining wide roads.

Today's Sendai is all narrow two-lane or one-way streets, normal sidewalks, appartment complexes, & tiny unwalled Japanese homes with dinky yards set in close proximity to each other. Honestly, it kinda made me think of a more upscale version of the shanty towns in South America due to the tinyness & closeness.

I did have a little luck coming across a few photos from a book called Classical Sendai. No recognisable spots, but the sidewalk & buildings looked right. I learned that in the Taisho period of the 1910s & 1920s, Victorian hybrid architecture & urban layouts were the fashion. Being that old, I can't be too surprised little to none if Old Sendai is left to compare Morioh to. So it's nice that Araki managed to capture the detail of old Sendai before it was completely torn down & rebuilt.

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