Nikolai's Cathedral (Nikorai kaido)
Artist
Hiratsuka, Un'ichi
(Japanese, 1895–1997)
DateDecember 1923
Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensionsimage: 34.5 x 26.4 cm (13 9/16 x 10 3/8 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineAlexander H. Bullock Fund
Object number1998.74
DescriptionNikolai's Cathedral of the Resurrection was named after St. Nikolai, the patron of the charismatic Russian Orthodox priest with the same name, Bishop of All Japan, who almost single-handedly carried responsibility for his sect in Meiji-period Japan. Completed in 1891 and set on a steep hillside in Surugadai, Kanda, it dominated the skyline of Tokyo with its large eight-sided dome, gold crosses, and white bell tower. Wilhelm Heise, a German engineer, designed the dome, but the British architect Josiah Conder adapted the plans sent from Russia; and the Shimizu Company constructed the building in white-stuccoed brick. Inside, the huge altar screen was covered with icons (religious paintings) sent from Russia. The 1923 earthquake and fire destroyed the icons and seriously damaged the structure; extensive reconstruction was necessary:Responding to a public hunger for information and imagery related to the Great Kanto Earthquake, Hiratsuka from 1923 to 1925 produced a series of twelve prints depicting the effects of the disaster on such famous places in Tokyo as the Azuma Bridge, the Fukagawa lumber district, the Kokugikan Sumo stadium, Tsukiji, and Asakusa. In this print, Hiratsuka, a Creative Print artist, depicts the cathedral using a restricted color scheme and rough powerful lines, created with a flat gouge that shaves away the wood surface. The broken line that defines the top of the dome implies the collapse of this structure, familiar to all Tokyoites. *** series made between 1923 and 1927 (LH)
ProvenanceHelen and Felix Juda Collection
On View
Not on view
