Japan Society

333 East 47th Street | also 327 East 47th Street | Turtle Bay | built 1971

Open on the map8 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1907

    Japan Society is founded in New York with Woodford, Schiff, Belmont and Low on its first committee

    The society was set up in May 1907 during a visit by General Baron Tamesada Kuroki, aiming at friendly relations between the two countries. Many prominent New Yorkers sat on its original executive committee, including Seth Low, Jacob H. Schiff, August Belmont and Stewart L. Woodford. Early on it held luncheons and lectures at the Hotel Astor, where a rooftop Japanese garden and teahouse were installed in 1912.

    “Japan Society was established in May 1907 during a visit by Japa nese General Baron Tamesada Kuroki…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1966

    John D. Rockefeller 3rd agrees to buy and donate a lot holding three apartment houses

    In January 1966 the society's board approved building a permanent headquarters. A site measuring 100 by 100 feet on the north side of East 47th Street, facing Dag Hammarskjold Plaza and the United Nations, won out. It held three five-story apartment buildings and a small commercial structure. Rockefeller agreed to buy and donate it in 1966, the transfer closed in 1968, and persuading all tenants to leave took over a year.

    “At the time, the site contained three five-s tory apartment buildings, as well as a small commercial structure.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1969

    Ground is broken for Japan House with Japan's foreign minister and Rockefeller in attendance

    The old buildings came down starting in July 1969, and ground was broken that September. Foreign minister Kiichi Aichi and Rockefeller attended, and Rockefeller spoke of the society as a bridge between the two nations. Turner Construction was the builder. The work took about 16 months and was largely finished by June 1971.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1971

    Junzo Yoshimura's black concrete facade sets Japan House apart from its granite neighbors

    Yoshimura gave the building a strong horizontal form, with reinforced concrete painted flat black. The report suggests the color helped it stand out among limestone and granite neighbors, in company with buildings like the CBS tower nicknamed Black Rock. At street level he used warmer materials: brass railings, an exposed concrete ceiling, and recessed lights with unstained wood baffles.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  5. 1971

    Spring

    Issey Miyake stages his first international show at Japan House before it officially opens

    Staff moved into the new building in the spring of 1971 to test its facilities ahead of the official opening that fall. Among the trial events was a private runway show by Issey Miyake, then a young designer, which the society describes as his first international show.

    Source: japansociety.org

  6. 1971

    September 13

    Japan House opens with Prince and Princess Hitachi and Rockefeller in attendance

    The official opening ceremony was held on September 13, 1971, after staff had begun occupying the building in April. Prince and Princess Hitachi, Japanese ambassador Nobuhiko Ushiba, Rockefeller and Yoshimura were among those present. Yoshimura hoped the house would play its full role in advancing understanding between the two countries. New York Times columnist Leah Gordon called it a sedate, jewel-like structure.

    “…the official opening ceremony took place on September 13, 1971.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  7. 1996

    Beyer Blinder Belle adds a fifth floor and replaces the second-story garden

    A fund drive completed in 1988 led to a 1990 master plan with two phases. The first, finished in 1992, enlarged the library and added a Japanese language center. The second, approved in July 1996, removed the second-story garden and enlarged the upper floors, adding almost 10,000 square feet. In October 1998 the society agreed to transfer 60,000 square feet of zoning rights to the Trump World Tower developer.

    “This phase called for the elimination of the second-story garden a nd the enlargement of the 2 nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th floors.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  8. 2011

    March 22

    The Landmarks Commission designates Japan Society Headquarters, Yoshimura's only New York building

    The commission designated the headquarters on March 22, 2011, after a June 2010 hearing where a society vice-president wrote in support and Docomomo US and the Historic Districts Council spoke in favor. The report calls it Yoshimura's only New York work and likely the earliest permanent building in the city by a Japanese designer.

    “Japan Society is a conspicuously serene work of late modernism.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Further reading

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All 32 buildings with stories in Turtle Bay