Cooking Up Dinner Speeches – Ise Gropius in Japan

When Ise Gropius (1897–1983) embarked on a three-month trip to Japan with her husband, architect Walter Gropius, in 1954, she proved to be a gifted chronicler. In detailed reports – her only known cohesive writings from the post-war period – she vividly describes the country and its people. With keen wit and understanding, she comments on everything from discussions about reconstruction, lectures, and the Bauhaus exhibition in Tokyo, to evening parties, the role of Japanese women, Zen Buddhism, and the local cuisine. Extensively annotated by art historian and editor Almut Grunewald, this volume publishes Ise’s travelogues in facsimile for the first time.