United Church of Christ in Japan Nezu Church Gate and Wall

About United Church of Christ in Japan Nezu Church Gate and Wall

United Church of Christ in Japan Nezu Church Gate and Wall (日本基督教団根津教会門及び塀) is the brick gate and boundary wall on the north side of Nezu Church in Nezu, Bunkyo City, Tokyo, built in the Taishō era with the chapel and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2001. It is registered separately from the chapel and counted as a single structure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as brick, with a frontage of 3.6 meters and a wall 7.8 meters long, dating from the middle of the Taishō era. The church dates its chapel to 1919.

A Low Wall and 3 Gateposts

United Church of Christ in Japan Nezu Church Gate and Wall was registered on August 28, 2001, as number 13-0105.

The Agency highlights 2 features. First, the stretch of wall in front of the chapel is built low, so the chapel gable can be seen from the road. A boundary wall normally encloses; this one is held down to a height that presents the chapel to the street instead.

Second, the gate on the entrance side uses 3 gateposts to form 2 gates, one for the chapel entrance and one for the entrance to the meeting room, with the middle post shared.

The Agency also notes that the white of the chapel against the red of the brick has become a symbol of the neighborhood. The gate and wall were registered less for their own sake than for the streetscape they make together with the chapel.

What to Look For

Standing in the lane, check the height of the wall first. It is roughly waist high, and the white gable and pointed-arch windows rise above it unobstructed. Build it a little taller and the view would be gone.

Then count the gateposts. Of the 3 on the entrance side, the middle one serves both gates: one leading into the chapel, the other into the meeting room. Two entrances with different uses share a single brick frame.

Look closely at the brickwork too. Close to a century of weather has rounded the edges and mottled the color, and the contrast with the white clapboard behind it is sharpest when the sun is low.

Visiting the Gate and Wall

Because the gate and wall face the public road, they can be seen from outside at any time. Entry to the grounds is at the church's discretion, and the church asks architecture visitors to view the site from outside.

Take photographs from the street without blocking the lane. Directions and notes on the area are on the group page for Nezu Church.