JAPAN & PHILADELPHIA
1876 Centennial
Photo: "Japanese Building, 1876". Photo of the entrance of the Commissioner's Building at the Centennial Exhibition. Here, you can see the intricate detailing and fine craftsmanship that astounded viewers. No. c180300 at the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy, was selected for the United States’ first ever World’s Fair, celebrating the 100th anniversary of her independence. Japan, eager to show off its new industrial might, sent seven thousand crates of fine silks, elaborate ceramics, and elegant bronze statues.
In addition, expert carpenters erected two magnificent buildings, the Commissioner’s Building and the Japanese Bazaar, designed by S. Kanazawa of Kaga. On the site, workers planted the very first Japanese garden in North America. The traditional construction process astounded visitors, attracting crowds to watch the carpenters at work.
The finished structures enchanted viewers, who were taken by the unique joinery, decorative lattice work, and masterful craftsmanship. In comparison, according to the official fair guidebook, all of the other buildings looked “commonplace and vulgar.” Though Japan sought to impress with its newfound industrialization, it was the traditional techniques that thoroughly captured the American imagination.
Centennial Fan, 1876. This rare folding fan, believed to date from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, features a delicate rendering of the event’s Main Building, once the largest structure in the world devoted to international trade. As both an object of function and art, it reflects how Japan used the folding fan to convey cultural identity while engaging with the West through trade, diplomacy, and design.
Lithograph, 1876, from Harper’s Bazaar. Before the Centennial, Americans knew very little about Japan. Only in 1858 did it open itself to the rest of the world after centuries of isolation. The crowds in Philadelphia were treated with not only expertly designed buildings, but beautiful gardens, exquisite bronze statues, fine silks, and delicate ceramics. Much of these pieces continue to live at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which launched its Japan collection with pieces obtained at the Centennial.
Stereograph, 1876, by Centennial Photographic Co. This stereograph shows the Japanese Bazaar at the Centennial Exhibition, just one of the two buildings constructed by Japan. The Centennial Exhibition Guide called the two the “finest pieces of carpenter work ever seen in the” United States.
The Japanese Bazaar at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. No. c090510 at the Free Library of Philadelphia
The Commissioner’s Building at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. No. c090230 at the Free Library of Philadelphia
"Interior of the Japanese Workmen's Temporary Quarters". From "Frank Leslie's Historical Register of the United States Centennial Exposition, 1876", page 41
"Erection of the Japanese Buildings on the Centennial Grounds in Fairmount Park". From "Frank Leslie's Historical Register of the United States Centennial Exposition, 1876", full page 42
"Reception and Examination of Japanese Goods by Custom-House Officials". From "Frank Leslie's Historical Register of the United States Centennial Exposition, 1876", page 63
"Japanese workmen laying the foundation of the Japanese building". From "Frank Leslie's Historical Register of the United States Centennial Exposition, 1876", full page 64
"The Japanese Bazaar". From "Frank Leslie's Historical Register of the United States Centennial Exposition, 1876", page 271
Nio-Mon Temple Gate
Once the 1876 Centennial concluded, the unsold wares were returned home and the buildings were deconstructed. Just a small pond survived, thought at the time to be the only lasting remnant of the Japanese exhibit. But it was about 200 yards away, located where you stand now.
Halfway across the country, in 1904, the US held another World’s Fair to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. Japan again presented their finery, but instead of creating new constructions, shipped a 14th Century temple gate from Furumachi in Hidachi Province.
Intricately decorated and guarded by two Nio god statues, two Philadelphian industrialists purchased the entire structure and donated it to Fairmount Park, to be located at the suspected Centennial site. The two enlisted Yonehachi Muto, who just finished the Japanese garden at Morris Arboretum, to create a new stroll garden around the pond. For fifty years, the “Japanese Pagoda” was one of Philadelphia’s best-known and best-loved landmarks.
Photo: "Temple of Shinto - Fair Japan - Pike." The Nio-Mon at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, MO, in 1904. Previous archivists located this photo, with no trail. Any information is welcom.
c. 1907 postcard by the Hugh C. Leighton Co. This is one of, if not the, earliest depictions of the Nio-Mon temple gate in Philadelphia.
c. 1912 postcard by the Souvenir Post Card Company.
c. 1926 postcard.
c. 1913 postcard by P.C.D. Co.
c. 1914 postcard by Post Card Distributing Co.
c. 1916 postcard
c. 1920 postcard by The Union News Co.
c. 1924 postcard by P. Sander
c. 1930 postcard by Lynn H. Boyer
c. 1936 postcard by Lynn H. Boyer
January 1904 description of the Nio-Mon. From "Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum", Vol. 4, No. 13, p. 12.
1907 photo by R.J. Haight. From "Park and Cemetery and Landscape Gardening", Vol XVII, No. 3, p. 64.
c. 1908 photo. Previous archivist dated to 1908. Any information is welcome
c. 1910 photo by the Detroit Publishing Co. No. 039130 at the Library of Congress.
c. 1910 photo by the Detroit Publishing Co. No. 071396 at the Library of Congress.
1910 photos by Frank W. Staley. From "Staley's Views of Philadelphia, 1911", full page 57
1926 photo by the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. No. P434223B at the Temple University Libraries. The Nio-Mon in a snowstorm.
1930 photo by the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. No. P434225B at the Temple University Libraries. Frozen Nio-Mon.
1947 photo by the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. No. P434233B at the Temple University Libraries. Nio-Mon under renovation.
1953 photo by Frank Montone of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. No. P434204B from the Temple University Libraries. Japanese Governor Seiichiro Yasui presents to Philadelphia Mayor Joseph S. Clark, Jr., a 120-year old stone lantern for in front of the Nio-Mon in return for a replica of the Liberty Bell sent to Tokyo.
Nio-Mon Burns Down
Though the Nio-Mon was admired, it was also vulnerable. With no budget for a gate or fence, the Nio-Mon suffered decades of neglect and vandalism. At one low point, even the Fairmount Park Commissioner thought that the beloved structure may need to be torn down. Much of the 500-year old ornament was relocated to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for safekeeping.
The Japanese Pagoda, however, would suffer a far more devastating fate. While under routine maintenance in 1955, a carelessly discarded cigarette ignited the wooden structure, enveloping it in a fiery blaze that lasted three agonizing days.
This is a rather fitting end to the glorious structure, as the Nio and the Mon symbolize the life and death of all things. Its demise was anything but untimely, as at that very moment, another Japanese structure was on display in New York, and would soon need a new home. Through its death, the Nio-Mon allowed Shofuso to live.
Photo: "Thousands See Blaze Wreck Famed Pagoda in Fairmount Park”. From the front page of the May 7, 1955 edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer, vol. 252, no. 127, p. 1