Junzō Yoshimura

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Yoshimura dated his desire to become an architect to the day he first entered Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, shortly after the Kanto earthquake of 1923. "“It was the first time that I felt emotional when faced with architecture. I said to my myself, this really shows the power of space. I felt that architecture was something extraordinary. It’s certainly the main reason I became an architect.”Gloaguen (2016) p190, note 317

In December 1928, while a student at Tokyo's Fine Arts College, Yoshimura began part-time work at the architectural office of Antonin Raymond. After his graduation in 1931 he became a full-time member of the staff.Helfrich & Whitaker (2006) p269 Among other work, he performed on-site supervision for the Akaboshi Cottage (1931) for Japanese golfer Shiro Akaboshi, a house for Kisuke Akaboshi (1932), and the Kawasaki House (1934).Stewart (2002) p134-142

In May 1940, he travelled to Antonin's home in New Hope, Pennsylvania, spending fourteen months living and working in the studio there. He oversaw the installation of a small tea house at the Japan Institute in Manhattan.Helfrich & Whitaker (2006) p272

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On his return to Tokyo in 1941, he set up his own practice.{{Cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/junzo-yoshimura-2|title = Answers - the Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions|website = Answers.com}} In 1953, because of his connections with Raymond, Yoshimura secured the project to design a traditional Japanese Tea House in the garden of the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.Helfrich & Whitaker (2006) p59 This house, named Shofuso (Pine Breeze Villa), was moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1957, where it remains as a historical site open to the public as Shofuso Japanese House and Garden.

In 1955, he collaborated with Kunio Maekawa and Junzo Sakakura to design the International House of Japan in Roppongi, Tokyo. This cultural exchange complex is located within estates owned during the Edo period by samurai lords. The building is constructed in-situ of thin-set reinforced concrete walls, pre-cast concrete columns and beams, and Oya Stone.Japan Architect p72 With his two colleagues collaborating on this design, Yoshimura won the Architectural Institute of Japan Prize for Specific Contribution.[http://www.aij.or.jp/scripts/prize/prize.htm 日本建築学会各賞受賞者・受賞業績検索] （姓：吉村；名：吉村） Retrieved April 24, 2008

Yoshimura's later works include the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art (1959) in Haifa, Tokyo Imperial Palace (1968), Japan House (with George G. Shimamoto of Kelly & Gruzen, 1969–71) in Manhattan, the East and West Wings of the Nara National Museum (1972), and the Royal Norwegian Embassy (1977) in Tokyo.Tokyo Imperial Palace, [http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/attractions/practical/archi_list_01.html Works by Major Architects: Japanese Architects] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423030159/http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/attractions/practical/archi_list_01.html |date=2008-04-23 }} (accessed April 24, 2008); Norwegian Embassy, [http://www2.norway.or.jp/culture/news/0511yoshimura_j.htm Exhibition of Junzo Yoshimura - the architect for the Norwegian Embassy, Tokyo]{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (Norway's official site in Japan, accessed April 24, 2008); Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, [http://www.tour-haifa.co.il/eng/modules/article/view.article.php/c21/113 The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art] (retrieved April 24, 2008); Japan Society, [http://www.japansociety.org/content.cfm/circle_of_friends Japan Society, New York - Circle of Friends] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503101147/http://www.japansociety.org/content.cfm/circle_of_friends |date=2008-05-03 }} (retrieved April 24, 2008); International House of Japan, [http://www.i-house.or.jp/en/ihj/garden/index.html About IHJ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502093429/http://www.i-house.or.jp/en/ihj/garden/index.html |date=2006-05-02 }} (retrieved April 24, 2008; Nara National Museum, [http://www.narahaku.go.jp/shisetu/higashi-shinkan_e.htm East Wing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228053203/http://www.narahaku.go.jp/shisetu/higashi-shinkan_e.htm |date=2005-02-28 }} and [http://www.narahaku.go.jp/shisetu/nishi-shinkan_e.htm West Wing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040810055123/http://www.narahaku.go.jp/shisetu/nishi-shinkan_e.htm |date=2004-08-10 }} (both accessed April 24, 2008).

In its March 1, 2025 edition, the Sunday Magazine of the New York Times featured an article noting that the restoration of a coastal home in Japan by him had revived interest in the designs of Yoshimura.New York Times, [https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/Newsletter], Sunday Magazine], March 1, 2025

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|title=Crafting a Modern World, The Architecture and Design of Antonin and Noemi Raymond|last=Helfrich & Whittaker|first=Kurt & William|publisher=Princeton Architectural Press|year=2006}}
• {{cite book|title=The Making of a Modern Japanese Architecture, From the Founders to Shinohara and Isozaki|last=Stewart|first=David B|publisher=Kodansha International|year=2002}}
• Spring 2005, "Do_co,mo.mo Japan: the 100 selection", The Japan Architect, No57
• {{cite thesis |last1=Gloaguen |first1=Yola |language=French |title=Les villas réalisées par Antonin Raymond dans le Japon des années 1920 et 1930 – Une synthèse entre modernisme occidental et habitat vernaculaire japonais|publisher=Bibliothèque de l’Institut des hautes études japonaises du Collège de France, Paris, France (to be published 2019)|year=2016}}

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Category:1908 births

Category:1997 deaths

Category:Artists from Tokyo

Category:20th-century Japanese architects