Church of the Light, Osaka

Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

“Church of the Light” is a church in Ibaraki City, northern Osaka Prefecture. It is known for working by world famous Tadao Ando.
“Tadao Ando” was born in Osaka in 1941 and is a world famous and popular architect. He studied architecture on his own, and started Tadao Ando Architectural Institute in 1969, after which he won various awards around the world. He has been a visiting professor at Yale University, Columbia University and Harvard University in the United States, and since 1997 has also been a professor at the University of Tokyo. Currently he is an emeritus professor at the University of Tokyo.
Ibaraki City, where the Church of the Light is located, recorded a seismic intensity of 6 or less, the largest of the northern Osaka earthquake that occurred on June 18, 2018. The Church of the Light was also damaged, and the window glass was broken and the sound of the pipe organ stopped. However, after two weeks of successful repairs, it has now been restored.
Here is how to access the church. If you are using Japan Railway, from Japan Railway Osaka Station, take the Japan Railway Kyoto Line and go to Japan Railway Ibaraki Station. If you use Hankyu Electric Railway, head from Hankyu Umeda Station to Ibarakishi Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Main Line.
From Japan Railway Ibaraki Station and Hankyu Ibarakishi Station, board the Kintetsu Bus. If you get on Kasugaoka Park (circulation), you will get to Kasugaoka Park station in about 10 minutes. Walk in the opposite direction of the bus and turn left at the first corner and you will immediately see the Church of the Light on the right.
“Light” is one of the important elements of Tadao Ando’s architectural style. “Church of the Light” captures light by installing a cross-shaped window behind the chapel altar. This cross window is called the “light cross”, and you can feel the greatness of it though it is simple.
Be sure to visit “Church of the Light” by Tadao Ando, a world-renowned architect in a suburb with a different atmosphere from the center of Osaka.

“Church of the Light” designed by Tadao Ando

Outside of Japan, there are people going to see the church for sightseeing, in Japan it is not much to go to see the church for sightseeing. It is about Christians or people who use church at wedding ceremonies in Japan. But even in Japan, there is a church worth going to see if there is no plan to raise a wedding or you are not Christians. That’s “Church of the Light” designed by Tadao Ando.
It is a small church completed in 1989, the official name is Ibaraki Kasugaoka Church. It was created in a limited budget and it is a simple space. It takes skillfully the slit in the form of a cross and directs the space that the mysterious lights lead. It is a space of width 5.9 meters, depth 17.7 meters, ceiling height 5.9 to 7.0 meters. It is a church facility of Christian Protestant system consisting of three buildings, a chapel, a Sunday school hall, and a pastor’s house.

Together with the wind church (Hyogo prefecture) and the water church (Hokkaido), this church is positioned as “The Three Church” by Tadao Ando. “Church of the Light” is a pure religious facility that takes care of worshipers and funerals of believers, while the other two facilities are chapels mainly used for weddings and the like. This is the most famous masterpiece among works by world architect Tadao Ando, ​​and many visitors come from overseas as well as from domestic.
A simple and refreshing space is completed by “light” impressed by shadows rather than mere “brightness”. Ando himself said that it was greatly influenced by the shock of a light that was inserted into a dark building when the roof had been removed at the time of renovation of a house that he spent in childhood.

The Cross of the Light

The Optical slits are vertically and horizontally arranged in the hall of fair-face concrete. The light comming through the slit is shining in all its splendid beauty when you enter the church, and beautiful cross appears in “The Church of the Light”.

Designed by Tadao Ando

It is a building designed by world-famous Tadao Ando. If you are a fan of the Ando’s architecture, it is the place that you want to visit once.

The official name of “The Church of the Light” is Kasugaoka Church. In a quiet residential area of Osaka, It exist as a church of the towns. Because it is not at all a building for the sightseeing, and is really used as a place for prayer, so you should be careful if you visit here.

A reservation is Required

The church accept tour of a facility, but a reservation from formal HP is required. Because procedures are different by the number of people to come, and the date and time when you can observe it are limited, so please confirm HP by all means. It is a slightly complexed procedure, but it is the worth doing it.

Information(Access, Price/Charge, Tel, Address, Official site, etc.)

Name:	Church of the Light (Kasugaoka Church)
Adresse:	Kitakasugaoka 4-3-50 Ibaraki-city, Osaka 567-0048 Japan
Access:	Osaka Monorail line "Handai Byoin Mae-eki Station” (12 minutes walk)
Tel:	(+81) 72-627-0071 (Can not call by phone)
Price/Charge:	Free (Reservation required) Please refer the official web page.
Official site:	http://www.ibaraki-kasugaoka-church.jp/