Yoshikazu Uchida
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and structural engineer
Structural engineer
Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants...
. He designed many buildings on the campus of the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
, and served as the 14th president of the university.
Career
Uchida was one of five 1907 graduates from the Department of Architecture of Tokyo Imperial University. For the next four years he worked as an architect in the real estate division of the MitsubishiMitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
group. In 1910, he returned to Tokyo Imperial University for graduate studies under Toshikata Sano, the country's leading structural engineer and a pioneer in the study of earthquake resistant architecture.
From 1911, Uchida lectured at the university on structural engineering. As Sano's successor, he did pioneering work in the study of steel frame and reinforced concrete construction. He also made important contributions in the fields of fire prevention, urban planning, and the restoration of cultural monuments. His interests were wide-ranging, and he influenced nearly every aspect of architectural engineering in Japan.
Uchida also had a lasting influence on the University of Tokyo. In 1923,
after much of the campus was destroyed in the great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kanto earthquake
The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...
, Uchida oversaw the reconstruction effort and devised the master plan that shaped the campus as it exists today. In 1943, he was appointed president of the university. As president he successfully resisted demands from both the Japanese military and the American occupation forces that he allow the university to be used as a military headquarters.
Architecture
Uchida is best remembered for the buildings he designed on the campus of the University of Tokyo.With the assistance of younger colleagues and students in the Department of Architecture, he designed some 30 buildings in a distinctive style known as "Uchida Gothic". The massing, towers, and pointed arches of this style recall the Gothic revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
architecture of universities in the United States and Europe. But its overall abstract quality also suggests an Expressionist
Expressionist architecture
Expressionist architecture was an architectural movement that developed in Europe during the first decades of the 20th century in parallel with the expressionist visual and performing arts....
influence, especially in works in which Uchida collaborated with his colleague Hideto Kishida.
A well-known example is Yasuda Auditorium. Completed in 1925, it is a symbol of higher education and one of the most famous buildings in Japan.
Chronology
- 1885: Born in Fukagawa (currently Kōtō wardKoto, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 442,271 and a population density of 11,070 persons per km². The total area is 39.48 km². The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English....
), TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. His father died 4 years later. - 1901: Enters the First Higher School, a preparatory high school.
- 1904: Enters the Department of Architecture, School of Engineering, at Tokyo Imperial UniversityUniversity of Tokyo, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
. - 1907: Graduates from Department of Architecture and enters the real estate division of the MitsubishiMitsubishiThe Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
group, (currently Mitsubishi Estate Co.Mitsubishi Estate Co.is a Japanese corporation. It is one of the core Mitsubishi companies. Mitsubishi Estate has its headquarters in the Otemachi Building in Ōtemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo.-Business:...
). Works on the design of office buildings. - 1910: Enters graduate school at Tokyo Imperial University, studies structural engineering under Toshikata Sano.
- 1911: Lecturer at Tokyo Imperial University and Japanese army school of accounting.
- 1916: Assistant professor at Tokyo Imperial University.
- 1918: Awarded doctorate in engineering for thesis on structural engineering in architecture.
- 1921: Professor at Tokyo Imperial University.
- 1923: Director of buildings department of Tokyo Imperial University.
- 1924: Director of Dōjunkai Foundation (designs Nakanogō Apartments, the first modern apartment buildings in Japan).
- 1935: President of Architectural Institute of JapanArchitectural Institute of JapanThe Architectural Institute of Japan, or AIJ, is a Japanese professional body for architects, building engineers, and researchers in architecture....
. - 1943: Appointed 14th president of Tokyo Imperial University (until December, 1945).
- 1972: Order of CultureOrder of CultureThe is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature or culture; recipients of the order also receive an annuity for life...
award.
University of Tokyo
- Hongō Campus:
- Yasuda Auditorium
- General LibraryThe University of Tokyo LibraryThe University of Tokyo Library in Tokyo, Japan, consists of the General Library, which provides services for all students and researchers affiliated with the university, Komaba Library, which supports the studies of the first two years of undergraduate education, Kashiwa Library, which functions...
- University Hospital: East Clinical Research Building, First Research Building, Internal Medicine Building, Administration and Research Building
- Faculty of Arts and Letters Building Nos. 1, 2
- Faculty of Law Building No. 3
- Faculty of Medicine Building Nos. 1, 2
- Faculty of Engineering Building Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6
- Faculty of Science Building No. 2
- Faculty of Agriculture Building Nos. 1, 2, 3
- Tatsuoka Gate
- Shichitoku Hall (marital arts, designated historical building)
- Other
- Komaba I Campus: College of Arts and Sciences Building No. 1, Komaba Museum, other
- Komaba II Campus: Institute of Industrial Science Building Nos. 1, 13, 22, other
- Shirokanedai Campus: Institute of Medical Science, First Building
- Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science
Other
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and TechnologyTokyo University of Agriculture and TechnologyEstablished in 1949 as a national university, , nicknamed "Nōkōdai" or "TUAT", is a research-oriented national university with two campuses, one each located in the cities of Fuchū and Koganei, Tokyo....
, Faculty of Agriculture - Takushoku UniversityTakushoku UniversityTakushoku University is a private university in Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Prince Taro Katsura . The university is located in Tokyo and has two campuses: the main campus in the Bunkyō district, and a satellite campus in the Hachiōji district...
International Education Hall (Bunkyō, TokyoBunkyo, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived there...
) - Tenri High School (Tenri, NaraTenri, Narais a city located in Nara, Japan. Tenri is the only city in Japan to be named after a religious group, the new religious movement Tenrikyo which has its headquarters in the city and believes it to be one among other energy centers of the world. Tenrikyo had recommended the name Yamabe, which is the...
) - Yokufūkai Main Building (Suginami, TokyoSuginami, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Suginami City.As of April 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 538,703, with 301,277 households, and a density of 15,834.39 persons per km². The total area is 34.02 km².-Geography:Suginami occupies the...
, designated historic building) - Own house (Minato, TokyoMinato, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...
, since demolished) - Institute of Public Health
- Shanghai Institute of Science (currently Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Main Building)