"Danchi" (public-housing complexes) in Osaka

These concrete housings are so-called "Danchi" (public-housing complexes) in the center of Osaka city, where my family once lived in the early '60s. 

 From the mid-50s, the "Danchi" began appearing throughout Japan. At the time, they represented dream-like progress for young families in post-war Japan with their 2DK (two rooms plus a dining/kitchen) style. Now they are considered way too old in style & equipment, and many cities are about to rebuild them into high-rise buildings. 

In March 2011, I visited the "Danchi" first time since our family left. That was a little haunted experience. Luckily the complex where our family lived was still there. However, the front yards, once filled with children's lively voices, seemed silent like an abandoned place. Once beautifully painted concrete walls were covered with spotted dirt and rust. Window frames were rusty, and gardens were rank with weeds.

By 5 PM, I didn't see any live human but one lady. The little white-haired lady was quietly sitting on the stairs beside the entrance of her complex, smiling warmly like a spirit of a dead person or something. She told me that she moved here in the early '70s with her family. Now she, a widow, became one of the last tenants since all others already moved into the replaced high-rise housing (which is about to complete the construction)adjacent to "Danchi." She was not happy to move there since the new place would cost more in monthly maintenance for their high-tech security & elevator equipment.

The Osaka city already planned to demolish this "Danchi" all together this fall, and I was lucky to catch the last glimpse of them.