the marvel of st mary's cathedral : January 19 2025

sunday! i went to church. there was no scheduled mass, that i know, but i went there anyway. after my haircut, i went back home a bit and got some equipment then went straight to the church. welcome to this catholic church in bunkyo, tokyo. this church is the seat of the archdiocese of tokyo.

st. mary's cathedral

this church is visually stunning, i'm not sure if it could be visualized but the structure is in the form of a cross when viewed from the top. i don't own any drone so it is impossible for me to take a top shot. now let me nerd out for a bit, i got some details of the structure and some history from their brochure and let me share them with you. for starters, the 8 sides of the church were patterned after 8 hyperbolic parabolas opening upwards, making a wide base and thinner top.

this church was designed by tange kenzo, a world renowned architect and winner of the 1987 pritzker prize for architecture. made from steel reinforced concrete with stainless steel and aluminum frames as exterior, the church does have a certain luster or shine to it. it was constructed from 1963 to 1964 after the original tokyo cathedral was burnt down in the 2nd world war. the original church was made of wood and initially had tatami floors until chairs were introduced in 1925.

entering the church first leads you to this baptismal area. as you may know, catholics gets baptism as children so this small rock would just be perfect. with the light from the ceiling, the area is really symbolic of how it is to be baptized. this area is off limits on normal days.

and here is the entirety of the church. even if you do not practice the religion, you just can't deny how visually enticing the church is. that at the far end behind the cross are thin marble panes which lets enough light in that creates a soft glow. just look at how majestic those lights are, and just look at the space this whole structure has. it is massive. above where i took this picture was a pipe organ, i just had to be discrete with the picture taking, i'm not sure if cameras are allowed inside.

at one side was a full-scale replica of the pieta by michaelangelo. even the side flanks of the church had a modern feel to it. the left side had a statue of Mary, the namesake of the church. i was there for quite some time and i felt at peace. this church had a very calming effect, a very soothing one. just fit for the bewildered me.

i couldn't check the acoustics of the church but i'm pretty sure that it was also checked during the construction. having the pipe organ was a tall tale sign that the acoustics were also great.

outside the church, was a very tall bell tower with four bells imported from germany. standing at 61.6 m (202 ft)
with a unique design, i really could not figure out the shape of this bell tower at first. the pamphlet said that the faces of the tower are hyperbolic in shape and will proceed as a single line when further stretched to the sky. that was mathematical!

there was also another bell on display in the church grounds, this is one of the two original bells of the church. if i remembered what i read on the site, this bell was spared from getting melted in the 2nd world war when japan needed all the metals they could get. the bell cracked in the air raids and was no longer used after that.

there was also a grotto outside, someone was praying though and i really do not want to disturb him. i want to give him all the space he needed.

so here i am ending my journey with a peaceful heart. in this fast paced world, sometimes we just need some peace and solace, this place just happened to be a marvelous one. hope you had a place like that in where ever you are in the world.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!