Toyonaka Catholic Church

Toyonaka Catholic Church

Toyonaka Catholic Church (カトリック豊中教会) in Honmachi, Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture, keeps two timber buildings of 1939, the sanctuary with the Joseph Hall and the presbytery, both registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 7, 2014 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Both are owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Osaka.

According to Toyonaka City, the church was designed by the Czech architect Jan Josef Švagr; the city calls it an extremely rare timber church in Japanese style, and it is one of the Hundred Views of Toyonaka.

The Two Buildings

The sanctuary has a hip-and-gable roof and a bell tower ringed with a Japanese-style railing, with the Joseph Hall, a meeting hall, joined at right angles; inside, the three-aisled nave uses log columns and coffered ceilings (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Toyonaka City).

The presbytery, a two-storey timber house west of the sanctuary, shares its log-built projecting eaves and with it forms a quiet precinct (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each building is described on its own page.

Visiting

Toyonaka City's townscape walking guide lists the church as a stop on a walk between Ishibashi-handaimae and Toyonaka stations. No official information on interior access was found.