House of Prayer: An Architectural Achievement; The Community of Nazareth, Tokyo

Japan: c1994. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. 48 pages. Pictorial Work. Black and White (and a few color) photographs, and diagram. Cover crease. Captions/text in English and Japanese. Editor's Note: The publication of this photo-book has been made possible under the auspices of the "Committee for a New Convent of The Community of Nazareth". with the benevolent cooperation of the architect and the contractors. However, the Sisters of the Community themselves may not feel the actual necessity of a publication of this sort. As a matter of fact, the house of a religious community is often more significant in its existence for the church and the society than it is in being just a residence for the community members. In the same token, this publication is designed to enable those who are not inside the community to be visibly reminded of its religious spirit. Further, we believe it is worthwhile to record this architecural [sic] achievement which will certainly draw considerable public attention, particularly among those who have a genuine interest in architecture. It is the editor's modest hope that every reader of this book may be reminded of the spirit and soul of this newly completed "House of Prayer". The architect was Shozo Uchii. The contractor was Shibata Construction Company, Ltd. (Kojiro Watanabe, President). The Community of Nazareth (CN) is an Anglican religious order for women founded in 1936. It is under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Church in Japan and operates a daughter house on Okinawa. The community's chapel, residential compound and retreat center located in Mitaka, Tokyo, is a design by noted architect Sh z Uchii. Sh z Uchii was a Japanese architect and academic authority on the works of Frank Lloyd Wright. Known for the design of landmark structures such as the Setagaya Art Museum, Oita City Museum of Art, the House of Prayer, and the Fukiage Palace, the residence on the grounds of the Tokyo Imperial Palace for the Emperor of Japan. Uchii was awarded the R.S Reynolds Memorial Prize in 1980 for his design of the Treasury building of the Kuon-ji Temple in Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture.

No information about this work was located through several searches of the World Catalogue and multiple searches of on-line bibliographic databases. The limited English language text did not identify the name of the Editor, the publisher, the date of publication (surmised to be circa 1994), or the place of publication (surmised to be in Japan). This commemorative photo-book was clearly intended for a limited audience, and likely only a relatively few copies were produced. Condition: Good.

Keywords: Shozo Uchii, Nippon Sei Ko Kai, House of Prayer, Community of Nazareth, Convent, Architecture, Pictorial works

[Book #80397]

Price: $500.00