Japan Society Headquarters

History and architecture

The headquarters of Japan Society, earlier called Japan House, is located in the Turtle Bay section of Manhattan on the north side of East 47th Street, close to First Avenue and the United Nations. Founded in 1907, Japan Society functions as a cultural and educational institution, as well as a forum for dialogue between Japanese and American business leaders. Junzo Yoshimura, a leading Japanese architect during the second half of the 20th century, was responsible for the building’s handsome horizontal design, in partnership with George G.

Shimamoto, of the firm Kelly & Gruzen. In addition to being Yoshimura’s only work in New York City, this building is likely to have been the city’s earliest permanent structure designed by a Japanese citizen. A life-long resident of Tokyo, Yoshimura was closely associated with the Rockefeller family throughout his career; he built an exhibition house in the garden of the Museum of Modern Art in 1954, as well as two structures at the Rockefeller estate in Pocantico Hills.

John D. Rockefeller 3rd was president of Japan Society from 1952 to 1978. He and his wife Blanchette Rockefeller donated the site and likely played an important role in Yoshimura’s selection as architect. Yoshimura started to prepare his design in 1967 and construction was completed in 1971. While some of Yoshimura’s earlier American projects followed Japanese tradition, for this building he pursued a more contemporary approach, re-interpreting familiar Japanese elements in such industrial materials as bronze and painted concrete. His elegant yet restrained charcoal-colored design was praised and received a “Certificate of Merit” from the New York Society of Architects in 1972.

In the 1990s, Beyer Blinder Belle supervised a sensitive renovation and expansion of the building that added a fifth story on 47th Street but left much of Yoshimura’s original plan intact. Japan Society is a conspicuously serene work of late modernism. In a city where buildings often compete for attention, Yoshimura’s muted design is remarkably timeless, reflecting Japan’s unique architectural heritage and the Society’s mission to serve as a venue for international exchange.

Japan Society

Japan Society was established in May 1907 during a visit by Japanese General Baron Tamesada Kuroki to promote “friendly relations between the United States and Japan” and to provide a “more accurate knowledge of the people of Japan, their aims, ideals, arts, sciences, industries, and economic conditions.” The Society was part of a broader trend reflecting increased American interest in, and contact with, Japan. New York City’s Japanese population increased gradually during the second half of the 19th century, reaching more than 1,000 in 1900.

To serve this community, several organizations were formed, including the Japanese Christian Institute, the Nippon Club, and the Japanese Mutual Aid Society. Initially, Japan Society’s activities were of a social nature; it published books on Japan and organized events, such as luncheons and lectures at the Hotel Astor (demolished) in Times Square, where a roof-top Japanese garden and teahouse were installed in 1912. Many notable New Yorkers served on the original executive committee, including Stewart L. Woodford, Jacob H. Schiff, August Belmont, and Seth Low.

Membership in the society reached 1,300 in the 1920s. To help support “educational work,” an endowment was created with substantial contributions from Japanese donors. Interest, however, declined during the Depression years and activities ceased in response to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. A formal peace treaty between the United States and Japan was signed in San Francisco in September 1951.

John D. Rockefeller 3rd (1906-78), eldest son of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, was in attendance and was elected president of a revived Japan Society in March 1952. Four years later, he founded Asia Society and the two organizations would occupy an elegant International Style building – known as Asia House – that Rockefeller financed at 112 East 64th Street (now the Russell Sage Foundation, part of the Upper East Side Historic District). Located between Park and Lexington Avenues, the $1.168 million building was designed by Philip Johnson. Faced with dark glass, the 1959 structure featured offices, an auditorium, and garden.