Triple Bolt Gazette

Shofuso is a 17th century-style Japanese house with associated residential gardens that reflects the history of Japanese culture in Philadelphia.

Shofuso was conceived as part of an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Designed by Japanese mid-century modernist architect Junzo Yoshimura in 1953, the house was built in Nagoya, Japan, using traditional materials and techniques. The house was part of “The House in the Museum Garden” series, which exhibited three different types of structures that influenced mid-century modern American architecture. In addition to Shofuso, additional full-sized single family homes by architects Marcel Breuer and Gregory Ains were exhibited from 1948 through 1954. Shofuso was the last structure in the exhibit and was moved to Philadelphia at its conclusion.

Shofuso was reassembled at the current site in 1957-58, where there has been a continuous Japanese presence since the 1876 Centennial Exposition, when the first Japanese garden in North America was installed behind a small Japanese bazaar.

From 1905 until a fire in 1955, Shofuso’s site was occupied by a nio-mon, or temple gate, from a Japanese Buddhist temple built in the early 14th century. Popularly known as the “Japanese Pagoda”, it had been brought to the United States for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, MO and acquired for Philadelphia by the Fairmount Park Art Association.  John T. Morris, John H. Converse, and Samuel Vauclain defrayed the costs of the move and installation, and the landscaping around the gate was designed by Y. Muto, who had installed Japanese garden features at Morris’ estate, now the Morris Arboretum.

After a fire destroyed the temple gate in 1955, Shofuso was brought to the site in 1957. In 1958, the garden was redesigned by Japanese landscape designer Tansai Sano to compliment the new structure in the style of a 17th century viewing garden, and Shofuso opened to the public on October 19, 1958.

The above text is from the official Shofuso website.

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