About the Author

Roman Adrian Cybriwski is a professor of geography and urban studies and director of Asian studies at Temple University. He is the author of several books, including Tokyo: The Shogun’s City at the Twenty-first Century.

Reviews

A fascinating and very personal tour through Tokyo's notorious neighborhood of Roppongi. It graphs the gritty history and geography of the district's social life as it transforms from sin city to high end heaven courtesy of Japan's construction state. Roppongi Crossing is a readable, unusually gripping and sensitive ethnographic saunter through urban change.--Neil Smith "author Uneven Development"

Cybriwsky offers important insights into the transition of a zone of liminality in the midst of a mega urban society.--Anni Greve "Journal of Historical Geography"

Drawing upon his years of experience living in and studying Tokyo, Cybriwsky's ethnography of its Roppongi District offers the kind of keen insight into the area that most foreign observers are unable to provide. In the process, he vividly details the morality play that is in Roppongi and Tokyo, a daily balancing act pitting individualism versus groupism, defiance versus conformity, and internationalization versus Japaneseness.--A. J. Jacobs "Journal of Urban Affairs"

Entirely original. Cybriwsky provides a very personal take on the changes now occurring in Tokyo's fascinating Roppongi district; the result is a wonderful book that should find a wide audience in urban studies.--David W. Edgington "author of Japan at the Millennium: Joining Past and Future"

Roman Cybriwsky is well known for his pioneering geographic research on Tokyo. In his new book, he describes Roppongi, a famous cultural district that has undergone a substantial transformation over the last half century. Roppongi Crossing is a major contribution to the literature on Japan and on cities in general. It is also highly enjoyable reading.--P. P. Karan "author of Japan in the Twenty-First Century: Environment, Economy, and Society"