Toyonaka Catholic Church Sanctuary and Joseph Hall

A Japanese-Style Church of 1939

The Toyonaka Catholic Church Sanctuary and Joseph Hall (カトリック豊中教会聖堂及びヨゼフ館) is a timber church in Japanese style of 1939 in Honmachi, Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 7, 2014 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a timber building, mostly single-storey, roofed in tile and partly in sheet iron, with a tower and a building area of 355 square metres; registration number 27-0597.

A Church Built with Japanese Forms

The Toyonaka Catholic Church Sanctuary and Joseph Hall consists of the sanctuary and the Joseph Hall joined to it at right angles (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to Toyonaka City, it was completed in 1939 to designs by the Czech architect Jan Josef Švagr, and the Joseph Hall serves as a meeting hall.

The sanctuary has a hip-and-gable roof, and its bell tower is ringed with a Japanese-style railing (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Inside, the three-aisled nave takes up Japanese forms: log columns, a coffered ceiling, a raised coved ceiling over the altar and an altar table with bracket sets.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency describes it as a fine example of a timber church in Japanese style, and registered it as a model of design. Toyonaka City calls it an extremely rare survival of its kind.

What to Look For

Look for the hip-and-gable roof, the railed bell tower and walls with exposed timber framing (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Toyonaka City). The city notes that the church is also one of the Hundred Views of Toyonaka.

Visiting

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