About Nippon Sei Ko Kai Tokyo Diocese Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary
Nippon Sei Ko Kai Tokyo Diocese Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary (日本聖公会東京教区東京聖十字教会聖堂, Tokyo Seijūji Kyōkai Seidō) is the wooden church of an Anglican parish in Wakabayashi, Setagaya City, Tokyo, built in 1961 to a design by the office of Antonin Raymond and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2025. It sits on a quiet residential street close to Shoin-jinja-mae Station on the Tokyu Setagaya Line.
The parish calls itself Holy Cross Church, Tokyo, and belongs to the Tokyo Diocese of Nippon Sei Ko Kai, the Anglican Church in Japan. Its roots lie in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923: a few Christians who helped people in Setagaya through the disaster formed the nucleus of a congregation, and the church was established on its present site in 1924. The sanctuary that stands there now replaced the earlier buildings in 1961.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the building as timber, single storey, with a steel sheet roof and a building area of 104 square meters. A renovation followed in 2002. The registered lot is 220-5 Wakabayashi 4-chome; the church's postal address is 4-18-8 Wakabayashi.
A Timber Vault Without Columns
Nippon Sei Ko Kai Tokyo Diocese Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary was registered on March 13, 2025, as number 13-0518, under the criterion of buildings that have become a model of design. Setagaya City reported that the Council for Cultural Affairs had recommended the registration on November 22, 2024, and counted it as the 27th registered building in the ward.
The reason is the structure, which is also the whole of the interior. Square-section glued laminated timber members are bent inward toward the ridge to form a vault, the half-cylinder that Setagaya City compares to the shape of a kamaboko fish cake. Because the curved members carry the roof all the way to the floor, the hall needs no columns at all.
Light is the second element. Windows in the front wall and in a raised strip of roof along the top, the koshi-yane, are fitted with colored film, and the Agency describes soft light falling through them into the hall. Its summary ends by calling the result a serene space suited to prayer.
Antonin Raymond (1888 to 1976) was born in what is now the Czech Republic and became an American citizen. He first came to Japan in 1919 with Frank Lloyd Wright to build the Imperial Hotel, later opened his own practice in Tokyo, and returned after the war. The parish describes its sanctuary as the first building in Japan to take this hangar-like, steep-gabled form in columnar laminated timber; that is the church's own account, and the Agency's record does not make the comparison.
What to Look For at Tokyo Holy Cross Church
From the street, Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary looks like one curved shell laid on the ground. The green steel sheet roof sweeps down almost to the pavement and serves as the side wall, so there is no eave line and no conventional facade along the long sides. Next to the two-storey houses around it, the church sits low.
The front wall is where the color is. It is clad in reddish-brown boards and set with a tall panel of small square panes in blue, yellow and other colors, above a canopy over the entrance; narrower strips of the same panes flank the door. Along the top of the vault runs the raised roof strip, the koshi-yane, with its own row of small colored windows, and a cross stands at its front end.
Inside, the Agency's photograph of the chancel shows what the shell is made of. Laminated ribs spring from the floor at close intervals and curve up to the raised strip, where daylight enters along the full length of the hall. Thin steel rods cross the space from rib to rib and carry the lamps. The end wall behind the altar is lined with plain boards and bears a large wooden cross. In a hall of about 104 square meters, each rib can be followed by eye from the floor up to the ridge.
Visiting Nippon Sei Ko Kai Tokyo Diocese Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary
Nippon Sei Ko Kai Tokyo Diocese Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary is a parish church in regular use, with no sightseeing hours and no admission fee. The exterior can be seen from the street at any time.
The Sunday Eucharist begins at 10:30 a.m., and a memorial service is held at 10:30 a.m. on the Wednesday of the week of the 2nd Sunday. For a visit outside services, the church asks people to get in touch a few days in advance, and says it will arrange one; its phone number is published on the Tokyo Diocese website.
The church does not publish a photography policy. Photograph the exterior from the street, and ask when you arrange a visit before taking pictures of the interior.
Shoin-jinja-mae Station on the Tokyu Setagaya Line is about 3 minutes away on foot, which matches the Agency's note that the church stands close to the station.
Q&A
- Who designed Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary in Setagaya?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits the office of Antonin Raymond. The building was completed in 1961.
- What is special about the structure of Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary?
- Square-section laminated timber members are bent inward to form a vault, so the hall has no columns. Light enters through colored film in the front windows and in the raised roof strip.
- When did Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on March 13, 2025, as a model of design, after a recommendation in November 2024.
- Can visitors see inside Nippon Sei Ko Kai Tokyo Holy Cross Church?
- Yes, by arrangement. The church asks visitors to contact it a few days ahead. The Sunday Eucharist at 10:30 a.m. is also open to all.
- What is the nearest station to Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary?
- Shoin-jinja-mae Station on the Tokyu Setagaya Line, about 3 minutes away on foot.
Basic Information
| Name | Nippon Sei Ko Kai Tokyo Diocese Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary |
|---|---|
| Location | 220-5 Wakabayashi 4-chome, Setagaya City, Tokyo |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered March 13, 2025 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 104 m² (timber, single storey, steel sheet roof) |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (the parish belongs to the Tokyo Diocese of Nippon Sei Ko Kai) |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the street; interior at the Sunday Eucharist (10:30 a.m.) or by arrangement a few days ahead |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Nippon Sei Ko Kai Tokyo Diocese Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00015297
- Cultural Heritage Online: Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/568701
- Setagaya City, Lifelong Learning Division: registration of Tokyo Holy Cross Church Sanctuary as a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property (December 18, 2024)
- https://www.city.setagaya.lg.jp/documents/22139/3.pdf
- Holy Cross Church, Tokyo (Nippon Sei Ko Kai Diocese of Tokyo)
- https://www.nskk.org/tokyo/churchs/seijuji
Last verified: 2026.10.04