Tsukiji Catholic Church | Tokyo’s oldest Catholic Church

Tsukiji Catholic Church (聖ヨゼフ聖堂) is lοcated in Akashi-cho (Chuo-ku, Tokyo). The patron Saint of the church is St Joseph. It was established in November 1874 by the Paris Foreign Missions Society, a Roman Catholic missionary organization. In 1874, the bishop of Tokyo gave the church the status of cathedral and seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Japan. After the establishment of the Archdiocese of Tokyo in 1891, Tsukiji Church became the Cathedral until 1920, when it was moved to Sekiguchi Church (St. Mary’s Cathedral).

In the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) the church was burned to the ground and rebuilt in its current form in 1927. It was designed by reference to St. Madeline Cathedral of Paris and in the form of an ancient Greek temple. Six Dorian style columns are lining up at the front and the gable is decorated with lily and rose carvings.

On the 1st of June, 1999, it was designated as one of the historical buildings of Tokyo.

photos: Junko Nagata ©Japanbyweb.com


This statue of St. Peter, along with the statues of St. John, St. Joseph and St. Paul, was placed in the sanctuary of the original Tsukiji Church in August 1878. Only this statue survived the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 (some damage is visible) and it is preserved here as a remembrance of this catastrophe.

The copper bell was made in Rennes, France in 1876

Tsukiji Catholic Church is an 8-minute walk from Tsukiji Station on Hibiya Subway Line (Hachobori side exit) or a 7-minute walk from Shintomicho Station on Yurakucho Subway Line (exit No.6).

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