Reiyukai Shakaden
Location
Minato City, Tokyo, Japan
Architect
Kiyonori Kikutake
Completed
1975
Architectural Style
Metabolist architecture, monumental concrete modernism
Photography Notes
The building works particularly well for architectural photography due to its strong geometry and the way light interacts with its angled concrete surfaces.
Early morning or late afternoon light helps define the depth of the planes and creates more dramatic contrast. Midday light can flatten the form, but can still work well for minimalist compositions.
A longer focal length is useful for compressing the structure and isolating its sculptural qualities, while a wider lens allows you to exaggerate scale when shooting from ground level. Look for clean compositions against the sky, or include surrounding buildings to emphasise contrast.
Nestled amongst apartments, shopping districts and office towers, lies Reiyukai Shakaden.
This monolithic ‘spaceship’ temple is the headquarters of Reiyukai, an offshoot of the Nichiren strand of Buddhist reformism. Also known as Inner Trip Reiyukai, the religion has 3 million followers worldwide, and is ‘dedicated to contributing to global change through climate action, empowering young people and supporting the achievement of peaceful societies.’
The juxtaposition of location is part of what makes the building so compelling to photography and to visit. A modern religious structure that feels both out of place and completely integrated into the evolving city around it.
Built in 1975 by the Takenaka Corporation, the roof spans 50x100 metres, its main hall a seat 3,500 people and has a golden buddha altar that’s 8 meters high. The building also holds 45,000 litres of drinking water in case of a natural disaster.
The temple is open to visitors and has guided tours, if you visit outside the tour times, they may call a guide down for you. Photography isn’t permitted in the main hall.
Apparently the building was featured in a Justin Bieber music video, and they’ve had to be a little more careful about visitors ever since!
