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| Historical Narrative of Shofuso Chapter 2 THE JAPANESE EXHIBITION HOUSE AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 2.1 "The House in the Museum Garden" Series The Japanese Exhibition House was part of a series "The House in the Museum Garden" exhibited at the southeast end of the Museum’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden (see Figure 2-1). The Garden itself was designed by noted architect Philip C. Johnson and Landscape Consultant James Fanning, and completed in April, 1953, only a year before the Japanese Exhibition House was constructed. The Vermont marble paved garden served as a setting for the Museum’s sculpture collection. Trees and two pools were also part of the design. There were three houses in this series. The first was a modern single family residence designed by Marcel Breuer (see Figure 2-2). Breuer was born in 1902 in Hungary, and later taught at the Bauhaus in Germany. He left Germany in the early 1930s, first arriving in England, then moving on to the United States. There, he initially worked with Walter Gropius before establishing his own practice in New York, mainly designing private residences and public buildings. His Museum house opened to the public on April 14, 1949, and remained exhibited until October 30 of that same year. It was meant to be a moderately priced model house for a one acre site, perfectly suited for a suburban nuclear American family. The house starts as a one story structure, then is easily expanded into a second story home as the family grows and its needs change. The Breuer house in the garden was built in this second expanded stage. Second in the series was another modern home, this one designed by Gregory Ain who primarily designed residences and office buildings in Los Angeles (see Figure 2-3). Early on in his career, Ain worked with noted architects R. M. Schindler and Richard J. Neutra, before establishing his own practice in 1935. The house was opened in 1950 at MoMA in collaboration with the magazine Woman’s Home Companion. Although meant to be a model home for a suburban subdivision on a small lot of 60 by 120 feet, it was designed to be different from the cookie cutter norm of such housing, and to appear spacious. 2.2 Planning the House The Japanese Exhibition House was the third and last in this series of houses in the Museum garden (see Figure 2-4). The idea of a Japanese house for MoMA was first presented to Chikao Honda, President of the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun, during the latter’s visit to New York in either 1949 or 1950. Philip Johnson, who had designed the sculpture garden, and John D. Rockefeller, III, were both involved during the initial stages of planning a Japanese house to be presented to the United States as a gift from Japan. Rockefeller’s involvement is meaningful because he and his wife Blanchette had strong interests in Japanese art and culture. John Rockefeller was an influential advocate for good relations between the United States and Japan, and was the President of the Japan Society in New York. Actual steps towards making the idea of a Japanese house real began in 1953 when Arthur Drexler, Curator and Director of the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA, made a trip to Japan with John and Blanchette Rockefeller. A committee, which included Drexler, three Japanese architects Junzo Yoshimura, Junzo Sakakura and Kunio Maekawa, and art critic Chisabur_ Yamada, investigated various structures in Japan in order to help determine the style of the Japanese Exhibition House. The sites included Nagoya Castle and the room of the Emperor at Hash_kan in Nagoya. The party also visited Ky_to, taking in such buildings as the palaces Katsurariky_ and Sh_gakuinriky_, and the temples Gi_kakuji and Ry_anji. While there, Drexler and the committee also selected the team that would work on the Japanese House. Junzo Yoshimura, who was part of the committee, was hired as the architect to design the House (see Figure 2-5). He was also responsible for supervising the project, both during the prefabrication stage in Nagoya, Japan, and later during construction in New York. Born in T_ky_, Yoshimura graduated in 1931 from the Architecture Department of T_ky_ National University of Fine Art and Music, which at the time was known as T_ky_ Art College. In that same year, he joined the design firm of architect Antonin Raymond, first in Japan and later in the United States. Ten years later, Yoshimura established his own architectural practice. By the time the Japanese Exhibition House was planned, Yoshimura was Assistant Professor of Architecture at his alma mater T_ky_ National University, and in 1962 he became Professor of Architecture. In addition to this Japanese house, Yoshimura’s other American designs included the Japan Airlines office in Rockefeller Center of New York City and a motel at the top of a cliff in Suffern, New York (see Figure 2-6), both from the 1950s. Masaru Sekino, who was the Director of the Commission for the Preservation of National Treasures in Japan, was selected to consult on the design of the house. However, because of his busy schedule, he assigned some of his tasks to one of his former students, Yotaro Ito. Yotaro’s father Heizaemon Ito was also involved with the construction of the House, as the lead carpenter in Nagoya. The Ito family was involved in this trade for thirteen generations. According to Drexler, Heizaemon Ito was said to be the best living carpenter in Japan at the time. Tansai Sano of Japan was hired to design the garden surrounding the Japanese Exhibition House in collaboration with Yoshimura. Sano was a seventh generation gardener in his family working for the temple Ryoanji near Kyoto. As part of his preparation for designing the Japanese Exhibition House garden, Sano visited old gardens in Nara and Kyoto. A plasterer named Yoshimura from Shizuoka prefecture was also selected. While Drexler was in Japan he, the architect Yoshimura and Sekino worked together to create the basic design of the Japanese Exhibition House. They also consulted with the carpenter It_. Sekino later stated that, "the [Kojoin] reception rooms of the Onj_ji Temple in Otsu City seemed to make the deepest impression upon Mr. Drexler as the most representative of the traditional Japanese architecture." Most likely based on the advice of Sekino and Yoshimura, Drexler decided upon Kojoin as the model for this Japanese house (see Figures 2-7, 2-8). Kojoin is very similar to Shofuso in plan, and displays many parallel architectural features. The sukiya (teahouse) of the Japanese Exhibition House was based on a tea room in the temple Daitokuji in Ky_to. This house and its garden were official gifts from the Japanese people to the United States. This was part of an effort to strengthen relations between the United States and Japan, weakened by the recent world war. The America-Japan Society, headed by its President Takashi Komatsu, organized the fund-raising effort, which was a success with contributions received from 239 Japanese banks, corporations and individuals. In addition, the Japan Society contributed $10,000. These funds paid for the cost of purchasing the materials needed for the house and garden (excluding the plants), prefabricating the components in Japan, and packing and shipping the material to the pier in Yokohama. Their responsibilities also included covering the architect Yoshimura’s fees. MoMA in turn took on the responsibilities of paying for the expense of transporting the components of the house and garden from Japan to the United States, and reconstructing it in New York. They also paid for the plant material, and for the travel and other expenses of the architect, landscape designer, plasterer and two carpenters. Later, they would take responsibility for the cost of maintaining, operating and dismantling the House. 2.3 Work Begins for the House Most of the significant work of preparation and construction was done in Japan. Perhaps the most important task involved the gathering of hinoki, a Japanese cypress. Most of the Japanese Exhibition House is made with this wood, everything from the flooring to the framing system to the roofing structure. In addition, the roofing material is made with the hinoki bark. An expensive and elegant wood, it was obtained for a good price through arrangements with the Japanese Government Forestry Agency and was then processed by the Zaiso Company of Nagoya. The stones for the garden as well as the foundation were selected by Sano and Yoshimura from the Taka Mountain near Nagoya, and were then arranged in a stone workshop in Nagoya. When collecting the stones for the garden, they were carefully wrapped so as to preserve the natural moss growing on them; this organic growth is an important contributor to the aesthetics of the Japanese garden. White sand for the sekitei (sand garden) also came from Japan. All of the plant material was selected and purchased in the United States. Ethelbert Furlong of New Jersey, a landscape consultant, worked with Sano to provide plants for the entrance, main, inner and teahouse gardens (see Appendix A). Austrian pine, azalea and cherry laurel were some of the varieties selected. The main pine tree, however, was apparently found in an unusual location by Yoshimura next to a lonely road in New Jersey. Additional stones that were needed were brought from Connecticut. Soil for the garden came from New Jersey. The fusuma (interior sliding doors) were painted with landscape designs by Kaii Higashiyama, a well-known Japanese artist. He painted 27 images in a period of three months. The kawara (clay tiles) of the roof and the surrounding walls were created by Kizo Kobayashi of Nara, and a bamboo fence was designed by Yagor_ Toshida of Ky_to. The interior furnishing and objects were donated by various Japanese organizations and citizens. For example, a major Japanese department store, Matsuzakaya, contributed such items as sudare (bamboo curtains), zabuton (sitting cushions), kakemono (hanging scrolls) and flower vases. Sosa Sen, grand master of the Omote Senke School of Tea Ceremony, donated various tea ceremony pieces which were made by ten skilled craftsmen. There were also eleven pieces of kobijutsu-hin (old art work), a set of hanging scrolls and other pieces by Tany_ Kano, and one complete set of bihin (accessories). Appendix B lists the objects donated to the Japanese Exhibition House. The building components of the house were created in Nagoya, Japan, by Heizaemon It_ and his assistants. It_ referred to an architectural book called Sh_mei, which had been in his family for 350 years, to properly create the curves of the eaves, roof and gables. According to Dr. Hiroyasu Fujioka of T_ky_ Institute of Technology, It_ was not able to spare too many of his assistants to go to America, so did as much of the detailed work in Japan as possible. In addition, they partially assembled the House, so that in New York it could simply be pieced together (see Figures 2-9, 2-10). Time was also a factor; most of the work had to be done in Japan, because of the year long process involved in constructing such a house. Only 3 ¸ months could be spared in New York. It_ chose from among his apprentices, Isao Okumura and Yasuo Bit_, who were both originally from Japan’s Gifu prefecture, to go to New York. There they worked with five American carpenters, two of whom were Japanese-American (see Figure 2-11). The building material for the House, and its furnishings and objects were sent in three shipments to the United States. The first was aboard the S. S. Tungus which carried 636 crates of such things as stones for the garden and the wood components for the House (see Figure 2-12). This shipment left Japan on January 29, 1954, and reached the United States on March 15. The second shipment, containing 13 cases of roofing tiles and one case of sliding screens, was expected to arrive in the United States on March 28 on the S. S. Tungus. The third and last shipment of building materials left Nagoya on the S. S. Tancred and arrive in New York on June 12. Meanwhile, the two carpenters Okumura and Bit_ left Japan on February 15 from the city of Yokohama aboard the vessel Ninon Y_sen Asomaru. They arrived in San Francisco and from there flew to New York. The architect Yoshimura left Japan later via Japan Airlines on February 23, 1954. Before construction could begin, certain issues needed to be resolved. For one, New York City building authorities were concerned about granting a permit to construct a wooden structure since they saw it as a possible fire hazard. Apparently, it took about a month to convince them otherwise. In addition, the small space where the house and garden would be installed initially concerned the Japanese workers. Work to build the Japanese Exhibition House began in early March and lasted until mid-June (see Figure 2-13). A total of twenty two people worked on constructing the house and garden. 2.4 J_t_shiki (Ridge Pole Raising Ceremony) On April 22, 1954, a ceremony took place to celebrate the j_t_shiki, also called mune age, which is the raising of the last section of the ridge pole (see Figure 2-14). The guests to the event included the Japanese Consul Naraichi Fujiyama, Permanent Ambassador of Japan to the United Nations Renz_ Sawada, and John D. Rockefeller, III. The ridge pole, covered in white cotton cloth to protect it from finger prints, was carried up by the Japanese and American workers. They wore shirushibanten (traditional Japanese coats worn by workers) with Shofuso written in Chinese characters on the lapels, a name for the House most likely given by Drexler. A Buddhist priest H_zen Seki, and his two assistants Kenyei Hatta and Egen Yoshikami from the local Buddhist temple performed a ceremony to bless the House (see Figure 2-15). Seki asked the gods for protection from fire and storms, and good luck both for the house and its residents. Tape recorded ceremonial music of a koto, Japanese flute and drum played in the background. For the ceremony, the House had a stylized bow and arrow as well as a tree made of painted wood on its gables to symbolize the destruction of evil spirits. An altar was placed where the tokonoma (alcove to display art and flower arrangements) of the main room would be located. A metallic embroidered brocade, red and white gladiolas, red and white candles, a bronze incense burner, sake (Japanese rice wine), daikon (white radishes), carrots, fruit, nori (edible sea weed), dishes of salt, kome (white uncooked rice), and red and white mochi (pound rice) were laid out on the altar. In front of the altar, there was a wooden pole with white paper attached, which symbolizes purity in the Shinto religion. 2.5 Deadline for the House Approaches As the day of the official opening neared, the construction of the house was falling behind schedule. Even Yoshimura’s wife Takiko helped out as she attached rice paper to the sh_ji (exterior sliding doors) frame (see Figure 2-16). What was especially time consuming was the creation of the garden. A small pond was being created. In addition, the laying of the 260 stones and placing of the plants, such as azalea, cryptomeria and pine, had to be exact in order for the garden to be successful. The full effectiveness of a Shoin-zukuri house such as Shofuso hinges on a successful relationship with its surrounding natural environment. 2.6 The House is Completed and Opened for Its First Season There was a special viewing for Museum members on June 16, 1954. June 17 was the date of the press preview and the official dedication ceremony for the House. Renz_ Sawada presented the mokuroku for the house and garden to MoMA on behalf of The America-Japan Society, which officially transferred the title of the House to the Museum. The objects mentioned earlier, that were donated to the House by organizations and individuals in Japan, were also officially transferred. Dr. Henry Allen Moe, First Vice-Chairman of MoMA accepted the gifts on behalf of the Museum. The House opened to the general public on June 20 (see Figure 2-17). By the time the House closed for the season on October 31, 1954, it was visited by 121,187 people, a significant number more than originally expected. In fact, this was about three times more visitors during a similar period of time for the previous two houses of this series, although many were believed to be repeats. People lined up for blocks along Fifth Avenue to see this Japanese house. One appreciative visitor, a Wall Street broker named Willard S. Simkins, donated six koi (Japanese carp) for the lake of the garden on August 13 of that year, although sadly by the exhibit’s end, the carp had all died. The number of visitors was such that although the House was only originally intended to be shown at the Museum for two summers, Drexler at least briefly contemplated the possibility of showing it for a third season. To prepare the House for closing, heavy brown paper was wrapped around the sh_ji for protection. The house was cleaned and waxed. In addition, the garden was expanded by 400 square feet for the next season. New plants of myrtle, laurels, cryptomeria and a yew were planted. In addition, arrangements were made by Junzo Yoshimura for Heizaemon It_ to provide replacements for the worn tatami (mats made of rice straw packed under woven rush) before the following season. Although the Japanese Exhibition House was now officially closed until summer, 1955, it was opened on November 7, 1954, for the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. He visited the House and The Museum of Modern Art galleries as part of a six day United States visit. He was allowed to walk through the House with his shoes on, as he was guided through it by John and Blanchette Rockefeller, Arthur Drexler and René d’Harnoncourt (see Figure 2-18). Yoshida’s visit was symbolically appropriate. He was well regarded for his successful rebuilding of United States-Japan relations after World War II. 2.7 The House is Reopened for Its Second Season When the House was reopened for its 1955 season, another ceremony took place on April 25, again attended by the Rockerfellers, but also present were Takashi Komatsu, the President of The America-Japan Society, and Philip C. Johnson, who at the time was Chairman of the Museum’s Architecture Committee. There were slightly less visitors during the 1955 season, numbering 101,937. By the end of this season, the house was visited by a total of 223,124 people. Click here to go to Chapter 3 |
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