Imai Kenji

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Imai Kenji ( Japanese 今井 兼 次 ; born January 11, 1895 in the Akasaka district , Tokyo , Tokyo Prefecture ; † May 20, 1987 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese architect and university professor.

Life

Kenji Imai completed his architecture studies at Waseda University in Tokyo in 1919 , where he began his university career. From 1926 to 1927 he toured Europe and studied the newer architectural currents in the Soviet Union , Scandinavia , Italy and Spain . He met Le Corbusier , Walter Gropius and Ernst May , among others , and in 1926 visited the Goetheanum, which was still under construction . Imai was particularly fond of the work of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí and played a leading role in introducing this style to Japan . The style increasingly influenced him, especially when he converted to Catholicism after the death of his wife in 1948. This can be seen especially in the Memorial and Museum of the 26 Martyrs, which it designed in Nagasaki in 1962 for the 100th anniversary of the canonization of the Nagasaki martyrs . His work can most likely be classified into Expressionism .

Imai's importance lies less in the buildings he created than in his work as a university lecturer, which he exercised since 1937. In addition to Gaudí's style, he also made Rudolf Steiner's architectural style known in Japan and created an understanding and awareness of modern architecture in Europe in his country . Imai taught until 1965 as a professor of architecture at Waseda University.

Imai Kenji has received a number of awards including one from the Architectural Institute of Japan (Nihon Kenchiku Gakkai) and the Japanese Academy of Arts Award .

Works

Memorial and Museum of the 26 Martyrs
  • Waseda University Library (1925)
  • Nezu Museum ( The Nezu Institute of Fine Arts ), Tokyo (1954)
  • 26 Martyrs Memorial and Museum, Nagasaki (1962)
  • Tōkagakudō (English Tokado Imperial Palace , a concert pavilion on the grounds of the Imperial Palace), Tokyo (1966)
  • Tōyama Art Museum, Kawajima , Saitama Prefecture (1970)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hagen Biesantz , Arne Klingborg : Das Goetheanum-Der Bauimpuls Rudolf Steiner . Dornach, 1978, ISBN 3-7235-0211-3 , p. 116
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Imai is the family name, Kenji the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Imai, Kenji
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 今井 兼 次 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese architect and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH January 11, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Tokyo
DATE OF DEATH May 20, 1987
Place of death Tokyo