| Historical Narrative of Shofuso Chapter 3 SHOFUSO MOVES TO PHILADELPHIA 3.1 Search for a Permanent Location As the exhibit closed at the end of summer, 1955, there were still no plans made for the future location of the House. There were, however, stipulations made by The America-Japan Society that the House be taken over by another similar institution, such as a museum or university, and that it remain on the east coast. By remaining near the Atlantic Ocean, where there were less Asian influences, it was hoped the House would better serve to educate the public on Japanese art and culture. A variety of institutions and individuals expressed an interest in obtaining the House. At least two requests came from California. One was from Construction Industries Exposition and Home Show of Southern California in Los Angeles, who wanted it for their next Show in 1956, and the other from the Pasadena Art Museum. A man from Boston actually wanted to take the House to the Virgin Islands via his schooner. There were, however, other candidates seriously under considerations. Even before the Japanese Exhibition House was constructed, the idea of having the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit the House was considered. However, the costs of moving the House intact to the Museum was considered to be cost-prohibitive at $50,000. A later favorite was land adjacent to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D. C. It was hoped that the Embassy would be able to take on the House because, "Washington is always thronged with visitors (particularly school children) from all over the United States, and a beautiful Japanese house on Massachusetts Avenue would constitute a major attraction to thousands of Americans who otherwise might never see anything Japanese." In addition, the Embassy’s mission of dealing with Japan-America relations seemed appropriately matched with the purpose of the House. Unfortunately, they were financially unable to take on the House. When negotiations with the Japanese Embassy fell through, Philadelphia was strongly considered. The Museum had been in touch with Philadelphia through the City’s Commercial Museum Board of Trade and Conventions. David Marder, Director of the Commercial Museum, acted as a liaison between the Museum and the Fairmount Park Commission until the offer of the House to Philadelphia was confirmed. A letter from René d’Harnoncourt, the Director of MoMA, dated January 25, 1956, addressed to Marder, made an official offer of Shofuso to Philadelphia. Although the Fairmount Park Commission was interested in the House, William H. Noble, Jr., the Commission’s Acting Director, expressed concerns about both the financial feasibility of such an undertaking and the necessity to protect the House from vandalism. To help ease the burden, the Commission hoped that the Philadelphia Museum of Art could take on the responsibility of furnishing and operating the Japanese House. The site chosen had a Japanese temple gate called Ni_mon until it burned in 1955 (see Figure 4-4). It was felt that putting the Japanese Exhibition House here would be an appropriate continuation of a Japanese tradition on the site. An existing stream and lake from the temple garden could be incorporated into the plan of the new structure. In addition, this new site was 1 ¸ acres, which was significantly larger than the tight space at MoMA, thus providing a more aesthetically accurate setting for the House (see Figures 1-1 and 2-1). MoMA would pay for the dismantling and shipping costs of the House, while transportation and housing costs for the Japanese workers would be put up by the City of Philadelphia and the Fairmount Park Art Association. The latter appropriated $5,000, which paid the cost of bringing the Japanese to the United States. As for the objects, apparently many of these donated to the House were simply given away to donors, museum curators and others when the exhibition ended. For example, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York received a donation of a lacquer writing box and a kimono stand for their collection. Some did travel with the house, and these objects are listed in Appendix C. They included three scrolls with calligraphic design, a hibachi and two earthenware vases. 3.2 Construction in Philadelphia Some of the same Japanese people who were involved with the House at MoMA also came to work in Philadelphia. The arrangements to once again bring skilled people from Japan were made by Junzo Yoshimura through MoMA. However, this time the architectural firm of Steinhardt and Thompson of New York City supervised the move and reconstruction at the site. They also designed the setting for the House and created a ticket office with storage space that still stands today. The chief carpenter was Isao Okumura, who had been one of two carpenters at the New York installation. Drexler had specifically requested his services for the rebuilding of the House in Philadelphia. Tansai Sano was again involved with designing the landscape. The roofer was a man named Kichinosuke Morikawa of T_ky_. Arrangements were made for the craftsmen to apparently be housed in Memorial Hall located nearby on the Fairmount Park grounds. Shofuso was dismantled some time during the fall months of 1956 by Okumura. The components of the house, including the woodwork and the stones in the garden, were then brought to Philadelphia soon thereafter and stored in nearby Memorial Hall throughout the winter season until the following spring when construction would begin. Of the stones for the MoMA garden, it is not clear whether any were brought to Philadelphia. It is know, however, that Fairmount Park did supply at least some stones to the project. Also, 40 pieces from New York City did go to a Princeton, New Jersey, garden for a private home. This garden was designed by David Engel of New Jersey, who was involved with implementing the garden design in Philadelphia. Okumura briefly inspected the site for the House in fall of 1956, when its components were brought to Philadelphia. He was the first to arrive by plane from Japan in early May, 1957 (see Figure 3-1). In June of the same year, the roofer Morikawa arrived, and in August the garden designer Sano arrived. Both flew to the United States via Japan Airlines. Sano returned to Japan on November 22, leaving the implementation of his designs for most of the landscape work to his one time student, David Engel. The Japanese trained the American Fairmount Park workers to build the Japanese House. Among them, eleven men worked on the roof, and there were six men helping Sano and Engel with the garden; four carpenters were helping Okumura. An American masonry contractor was hired to build the plaster covered masonry wall surrounding the House. The wood pieces that had been damaged were refashioned using sitka spruce, which was available from a Brooklyn lumber yard. As the roofer, Morikawa taught the Fairmount Park workers how to drive nails to attach the hinoki bark onto the roof. Nails, however, were eventually replaced, or at least used simultaneously, with staples in a staple gun which did the work much faster. Even at a time when the roof was three quarters complete, a quarter million staples had been used. One stapler was borrowed from the Philadelphia Art Museum. Another was purchased, along with staples from James C. Clark Co. of Philadelphia using funds from the Fairmount Park Art Association. Purchasing the material through the city of Philadelphia would have taken too long. The work was only briefly disrupted by union picketers. On May 15, AFL-CIO Building Trades Council members protested the use of city maintenance workers for the project instead of union laborers. 3.3 The House is Completed and Opened to the Public The official dedication ceremony took place on October 18, 1958. The Mayor of Philadelphia Richardson Dilworth, Japanese Ambassador Koichiso Asakai, Arthur Drexler, John D. Rockefeller, III, and representatives from the Fairmount Park Commission, Fairmount Park Art Association, MoMA and Japan Society of New York, were among those in attendance (see Figure 3-2). A luncheon was given afterwards by the Mayor of Philadelphia in honor of the Ambassador, which was attended by about 30 people. Shofuso was opened to the public the following day on October 19. Open seven days a week at its new location, Shofuso continued to be a popular attraction, as it was in New York. According to The Evening Bulletin, The Fairmount Park Commission announced that as of April 30, 1962, 49,754 people had visited the house since its opening, and that it had surpassed the Ni_mon in popularity. Click here to go to Chapter 4 |
||
|
||