Tokyo Japan Temple Wiki

Description

The Tokyo Japan Temple (formerly the Tokyo Temple) (東京神殿, Tōkyō Shinden) is a Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

Latter-day Saints from northern Japan and Vladivostok, Russia, attend the temple to worship God and draw closer to Him.

The temple was the first in Asia — a huge blessing to the Saints there. Before its dedication, Asian Latter-day Saints had to raise money for group excursions to Hawaii or Utah to attend the temple. At most, they could attend the temple only once each year.

History

The Church was introduced in Japan on September 1, 1901, when apostle Heber J. Grant dedicated Asia for missionary work on a hill in Yokohama, Japan. The first missionaries were sent to Japan in 1901, by President Lorenzo Snow. For twenty years missionaries taught in Japan, but the work was slow, and there were still less than 200 members. With the beginning of World War I, the mission in Japan was closed and missionary work in Japan ceased all together after the Tokyo earthquake in 1923.

In the late 1930s, Church President Grant sent a Church leader to check on the Latter-day Saints there. The leader did not know anyone in Japan; he had a list of incorrect addresses that he used to search for a Church member named Nami Suzuki, who once lived in the mission home. As the leader stood on a street, wondering where to go, a young woman approached him and asked why he was in Japan. When he told her who he was looking for, she said, “That’s my mother.” The leader was able to visit the member and reassure her that the Church would again have a presence in the country.

Although missionaries were not in Japan during World War II, missionary work had technically occurred during the war. Military personnel, including future apostle Boyd K. Packer, taught and baptized a few people. Many of the Latter-day Saint military men stationed in Japan were some of the best missionaries in Japan following the war. They along with the newly returned missionaries found members who had remained strong since the 1920s and others who were ready to accept the gospel. The Church in Japan grew slowly at first, but then began to grow more rapidly

In 1947, religious freedom was included in Japan’s constitution, making official missionary work possible. As a result of the missionary efforts through the years, as of 2014 there were over 126,000 Church members in Japan.

Announcement

On 9 August 1975, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that a temple would be built in Tokyo, Japan. Spencer W. Kimball, then President of the Church, said at a conference in Tokyo:

And now we bring to you a matter of grave importance to all of the people of the Asian countries and the world. Yesterday, we held a meeting of the stake presidents and other leaders to consider this very serious matter. Brother Matthew Cowley, one of the Twelve Apostles, made a prediction that there would be temples in Asia and in Japan. And many of us have been almost holding our breath until the time could come when we could build a temple in this land. We, therefore, propose to you assembled here that we establish a temple in Tokyo, Japan, for all of Asia.^[1]Spencer W. Kimball, “We Propose That We Establish a Temple … ,” Tambuli, Oct. 1980, 2

With this announcement, the audience broke out clapping and crying.

The site for the temple originally housed mission offices for the Church. When these offices were dedicated in 1949, apostle Matthew Cowley reportedly stated, “There will someday be many church buildings — and even temples built in this land.” After the dedication, people approached Elder Cowley about the promise of a temple, and he replied that he didn’t remember saying it. “But if I said that — that’s the way it will be,” he added.^[2]Carol Moses, “To Build a House of the Lord,” Tambuli, Oct. 1980, 8.

Harrison Ted Price, a missionary present when Elder Cowley made his prophetic statement, became witness to the coming forth of a temple; he was the mission president in Tokyo when the temple was dedicated in the space where the offices used to be. Price recalled that the temple’s entrance was right where Apostle Cowley had first declared the arrival of temples in Japan.

Groundbreaking

The Tokyo Japan Temple is one of only two temples where a traditional groundbreaking ceremony was not held. (The other is the Paris France Temple.)

The temple was built on less than half an acre, on the site of the former mission home in downtown Tokyo. The mission home had to be demolished for the temple construction to proceed.

Mission President Harrison T. Price, who was present as a missionary for Elder Cowley’s dedication of the mission home and prophecy of the temple in 1949, was called to supervise demolition of mission headquarters to make way for the temple.^[3]Richard O. Cowan, Temples to Dot the Earth (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Incorporated, 1997) 183.

Demolition of the mission home started on 5 April 1978, and by 10 August the footings, pilings and basic foundations for the temple were already complete.^[4]Reynolds, Elise, Email to Brian Olson, Tokyo Temple Construction , 2018. Additional property was successfully acquired on either side, allowing for a more beautiful and functional building to be designed and adjoining annexes to be added for worker apartments and patron housing.

Construction

Emil B. Fetzer, the Tokyo Japan Temple architect, stated, “The Spirit of the Lord was with us all through the construction and design of the building.”^[5]Carol Moses, “To Build a House of the Lord,” Tambuli, Oct. 1980, 8.The designs indeed had to be considered very carefully to prevent major damage from Japan’s earthquakes and typhoons.

After two years of construction, the Tokyo Japan Temple was one of the strongest buildings in Tokyo. Under the light gray stone of the outer walls are concrete and steel. The foundation is constructed of steel pilings strengthened with concrete.

One of the contractors was suprised to learn the building project was a temple. He recognized that the Buddhist and Shinto religions built shrines and temples and that Christian churches built meetinghouses and cathedrals, but he had never heard of a Christian church building a temple. He was told the temple would be “a sacred building, a holy house, where the glorious work of salvation for the living and the dead would be carried out, where baptisms for the dead and other ordinances would be performed to bring about the joining of wife to husband, children to parents, for the living as well as the dead, and where families would be sealed together for time and for all eternity.”^[6]Adney Y. Komatsu, “The House of the Lord,” Ensign, Nov. 1983: 27.

Open House

An open house was held 15 September through 18 October 1980, to allow the public to see the interior of the new Mormon temple. Visitors to the public open house of the Tokyo Japan Temple numbered about 48,000, an average of 1,600 per day for each of the 30 days of the open house. Some visitors attended in the robes of their religion out of respect for the temple.

Dedication

The Tokyo Japan Temple was dedicated October 27–29, 1980, by Church President Spencer W. Kimball in seven sessions. In the dedicatory prayer, he acknowledged God’s hand in the process: “We are jubilant this day, our Holy Father, and have hearts filled with praise to Thee that Thou hast permitted us to see the completion of this temple and to see this day for which we have so long hoped and toiled and prayed.”^[7] Tokyo Japan Dedicatory Prayer, in Church News, Nov. 8, 1980.

Angel Moroni Raising

On December 10, 2004, an angel Moroni statue was added to the spire of the temple, as witnessed by hundreds of applauding onlookers. Although rain was forecasted for the 10th, the day was beautiful and clear. The scaffolding was taken down the following week, revealing a more beautiful and magnificent temple than before.^[8]David van der Leek, “Tokyo Temple – Angel Moroni,” Online posting, 18 Dec. 2004, 19 Dec. 2004 .

Renovation

On 10 April 2017 The First Presidency announced the closure of the Tokyo Japan Temple for extensive renovations. The temple closed 29 September 2017. The renovations will help maintain functionality, efficiency, and beauty. The temple will receive mechanical upgrades along with updates in finishes and furnishings. The Renovations are expected to be completed in 2020. Once the renovations are complete, a public open house and rededication services will be announced. While the temple is closed, Latter-day Saints will be able to attend neighboring temples.^[9]“Four Mormon Temples Will Close for Renovation”, Newsroom, LDS Church, April 10, 2017

Details

Location

In a quiet area of Tokyo known as Minato-Ku, the Tokyo Japan Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sits across the street from Arisugaway Memorial Park. The location is only a five-minute walk from the subway station, making it easily accessible to travelers. he temple site is .46 acres. Directly behind the temple is the embassy for China to Japan, and a cross the street from that, farther west of the temple is the Swiss Embassy to Japan. Across the street on the block north of the temple is the Embassy for Bosnia Herzegovina.

Exterior

The temple has characteristics of Asian architecture, such as the curved lines in the spire and the graceful proportions. The spire is made of satin-finished stainless steel, a material unaffected by pollution. Japanese gardens surround the temple. The exterior of the temple is reinforced concrete covered with 289 pre-made panels of stone, which looks like light gray granite.

On the property next to the temple are living quarters for temple attendants.

Interior

Rooms inside the temple are a baptistry; instruction rooms; a celestial room, which represents heaven on earth or eternal life with God; and sealing rooms, where marriages are performed. The celestial room is ornamented with white woodwork similar to the oriental style of the spire.

As originally constructed, the two ordinance rooms and celestial room were located on the 4th floor; the chapel, five sealing rooms, and ordinance worker space on the 3rd floor; the dressing rooms, bride’s room, and residence for the temple president and matron on the 2nd floor; the lobby, temple offices, youth center, clothing rental, cafeteria, laundry room, and distribution center on the 1st floor; and the baptistry and mechanical area in the basement. The temple has a total floor area of 52,590 square.