The aim of the enunciation of "The theory of architectural evolution" by Chuta Ito in 1907 was to propose the "Evolutionalism" in architecture. It is a design method for the creation of architectural style of Japan on the basis of Japanese architecture in the past. It was criticized by architects who stood for rationalism or modernism. But, they also had high regards for the traditional architecture of Japan, and made efforts toward expression of Japanese characteristic in the modern building. Japanese pavilion at the Paris Expo of 1937 designed by Junzo Sakakura and a series of works by Kenzo Tange in the 1950's were highly evaluated on the international stage. Their design method was also similar to Ito's method of "Evolutionalism", even though there were some differences between their manners of application of the traditional ones.
