When Japan’s modernization started in the second half of the 19th century, the long lasted prohibition order of Christianity was abolished and the churches for Japanese believers were built one after another in Tokyo. Together with the Catholic Tsukiji Church which was built mainly for Westerners, this church is one of the oldest churches in Tokyo and has originated from a seminary in Yokohama. The seminary was built in 1872 by the seminarians who returned to Japan from the seminary in Penang, Malaysia. They had fled Japan under the prohibition order of Christianity to study theology in Penang. After several relocations, thereafter, present time building was erected in 1928. The building survived the fierce air-raids during the Second World War, and once was the Tokyo Cathedral from 1953 to 1964.
As the building was designed right after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, a reinforced concrete structure was employed for its superior earthquake resistance. Later, the second floor was extended to house a big pipe organ.
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