With Art As My Weapon

Book excerpt: "With Art As My Weapon" explores the major principles which have guided Soichiro Fukutake's philanthropic work in revitalizing villages in Japan, with increased potential for similar developments to occur in China and in other parts of Asia and the rest of the world. The book showcases individual and collective developments which can be used elsewhere to revitalize once neglected rural areas and create a practical alternative to the urban rat-race environment, instead focusing on a renewed quality of life not often found in major metropolitan areas. Such possibilities offer a profound new way of thinking on rural renewal and planning policy.