Josiah Conder (architect)

Josiah Conder ( born September 28, 1852 in London, † June 21, 1920 ) was a British architect, who was followed in 1877 an invitation to Japan, Western-style architecture taught and created as an architect over fifty buildings in the western style.

Biography

Conder was born in London and received his education at the Royal College of Art and at the University of London. From 1873-1875 he worked in an architectural firm, participated in 1876 in a competition at the Royal Institute of British Architects and won the 1st prize. In the same year he received from the Japanese side a contract as o- yatoi gaikokujin and so came in 1877 to Japan, where he began teaching took up at the age of 25 years at the Kobu Daigakkō, training center, which was under the Kobu- shō (Ministry of Industry ). His students include Tatsuno Kingo (eg Tokyo Central Station), Katayama Tokuma (eg Akasaka Palace ), Sone Tatsuzo (eg Old Library of Keio University ), Satachi Shichijirō and Shimoda Kikutaro.

Conder was interested addition to his work as an architect in Japanese art and the decorative arts. He studied with Kawanabe Gyosai (1831-1889) Japanese Painting, wrote books about Ikebana and Japanese gardens. Since 1893 married to Maenami Kume, he remained in retirement in Japan. He died there in 1920, shortly after his wife had died. Conder is buried in the cemetery of Gokoku -ji.

Work in Japan

Between 1878 and 1917 Conder designed more than 50 buildings, some public, some residences for prominent Japanese. Much of it is the Kantō earthquake in 1923, the Second World War or just new buildings have fallen victim. [NB 1] His style reflected with Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque European style mixture of the time, which included Moorish elements. A well-known example was in 1883, completed Rokumeikan, it was demolished in 1940. Conder put value to an appropriate interior as seen in the main building of the Seisen University.

Particularly closely associated with Conder was the Iwasaki family, which founded the Mitsubishi Group and led. Among other things come from him the 1894-1896 built brick buildings of the Group in the Marunouchi district. They have long been replaced by new buildings, but in 2009 a replica was the house no. 1 rebuilt.

Received buildings (selection)

Comments

Publications

• Conder, J.: Flowers of Japan and the Art of Floral Arrangement. In 1891.
• Conder, J.: Landscape Gardening in Japan. In 1893. Reprint Dover Publications, 1964.

Swell

• Noma, Sawako ( Hrg ): Japan. An Illustrated encyclopedy. Kodansha, 1993. IDBN 4-06-205938- X
• Suzuki, T.: Encyclopedia Nipponica 2001 Shogakukan, 1996..

• Architect ( United Kingdom)
• Architect ( Japan)
• Briton
• Man
• Born in 1852
• Died in 1920