Oiso Church (United Church of Christ in Japan)

About Oiso Church

Oiso Church of the United Church of Christ in Japan is a church with a chapel of 1937 in the old Tokaido post town of Oiso, Oiso Town, Naka District, Kanagawa Prefecture. The chapel and its gateposts and fence of about the same date were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (structures) on February 25, 2016 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The registration numbers are 14-0221 for the chapel and 14-0222 for the gateposts and fence, both owned by the religious corporation Oiso Church of the United Church of Christ in Japan (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

A Timber Church in an Old Post Town

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the chapel stands toward the front of a long, narrow plot in the former Oiso post town on the Tokaido, facing north, a timber church that adds to the modern townscape of the old post town.

The gateposts and fence mark the edge of the church site along the Tokaido (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Two Registered Structures

Both were registered on February 25, 2016, as structures that contribute to the historic landscape of the country (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The chapel, of 1937, is a single-storey timber building with a sheet-iron roof and a building area of 61 square metres, renovated in 1950. Gabled bays project at the centre and both sides of the front, and the entrance has a pointed arch (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The gateposts and fence, of about 1937, are of concrete: a pair of gateposts 2.0 metres apart and a fence 5.0 metres long in total, finished in washed artificial stone, with arched openings in an Art Deco manner (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

Oiso Church is a working church, and no official information on visiting hours or interior access has been found. The gateposts, fence and the exterior of the chapel can be seen from the old Tokaido road. Please take care not to disturb services.

The address is 1348-1 Chayamachi, Oiso, Oiso Town (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each structure is described in its own article.