Episode 19: Nobuko Tsuchiura
Nobuko was the first female architect to practice in Japan. She was born in 1900 in the Hongo district of Tokyo. Her father was a professor at the Tokyo Imperial University, and through him she met her husband Kameki Tsuchiura, an architecture student at the university. In 1921, Kameki was asked to be a draftsman for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. When Frank returned to the US in 1922, Nobuko and Kameki followed shortly after and became apprentices to Wright. They worked in California and at Taliesin in Wisconsin. Nobuko helped on Frank’s textile block houses in Southern California such as the Millard House. In 1926, Nobuko and Kameki returned to Japan. They worked with Czechoslovak architect Bedrich Feuerstein on a few competitions for the Saito Kaikan Cultural Center in Sendai and the Chikatetsu Building in Tokyo, the latter Nobuko was the main project architect for and it was sadly never built. In 1933, the Tsuchiuras opened their own architecture firm. The firm worked primarily on private residences including their own home in Tokyo in 1935, which would become their most well known work. In 1937, Nobuko stopped working on architecture and founded the “Ladies’ Photo Club” where she focused on photography and abstract art. She and Kameki went to China during WWII and she continued to publish photographs throughout the war. After the war she resumed practice in architecture and in 1953, she hired the first woman to graduate in architecture in Japan, Nobuko Ogawa. Nobuko passed away in 1998, and her protege published a book about her titled ‘Big Little Nob’ in 2001.
Caryatid: Momoyo Kaijima
Momoyo is the co-founder of Atelier Bow-Wow in Japan. She always knew she wanted to be architect and after she graduated from the Japan Women’s University in 1991, she founded Atelier Bow-Wow with Yoshiharu Tsukamoto in 1992. They both attended the Tokyo Institute of Technology for a post-graduate degree and graduated in 1994. Their firm is known for its architectural theories like ‘Behaviorology’ and understanding how spaces are utilized in daily life.
References
Global Shakers. “Momoyo Kaijima.” Global Shakers, 29 May 2019, globalshakers.com/world-shakers/momoyo-kaijima.
Jorge Auad, Nahiara. “NOBUKO TSUCHIURA 1900-1998.” UN DIA | UNA ARQUITECTA 3, 23 Aug. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta3.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/59.
Kruger, Nicolai. “A Modern Marriage: Kameki and Nobuko Tsuchiura at Tatemono-En.” Artscape Japan, 2014, artscape.jp/artscape/eng/focus/1404_02.html.
Wikipedia contributors. “Atelier Bow-Wow.” Wikipedia, 16 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atelier_Bow-Wow.
---. “Imperial Hotel, Tokyo.” Wikipedia, 2 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Hotel,_Tokyo.
---. “Millard House.” Wikipedia, 28 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millard_House.
---. “Nobuko Tsuchiura.” Wikipedia, 20 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobuko_Tsuchiura.
Images:
Pham, Diane. “'La Miniatura' Millard House.” Inhabitat, 18 Mar. 2013, inhabitat.com/frank-lloyd-wrights-iconic-la-miniatura-millard-house-now-up-for-sale-in-pasadena-california/.
“Chikatetsu Building.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 11 Sept. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta3.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/59/.
“Saito Kaikan Cultural Center.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 11 Sept. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta3.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/59/.
“Yanai House.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 11 Sept. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta3.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/59/.
“Bent Tubular Chair.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 11 Sept. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta3.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/59/.
“Tsuchiura House.” Architecture Tokyo, 16 Aug. 2016, architecturetokyo.wordpress.com/2016/08/16/1935-tsuchiura-house-kameki-tsuchiura/.
“Tsuchiura House.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 11 Sept. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta3.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/59/.
“Self Portrait.” Un Día Una Arquitecta, 11 Sept. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta3.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/59/.
