Minami Osaka Church

Minami Osaka Church of the United Church of Christ in Japan became independent and began its ministry on 7 February, Taisho 15 (1926), as one of the projects marking the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Osaka Church. The design was supervised by the young architect Murano Togo, and the old chapel and the church tower were finished in Showa 3 (1928), his first work. Both came through the war, but the old hall deteriorated badly over the years and was pulled down. A new hall was built in Showa 56 (1981), also by Murano, and it was his last work of religious architecture. The church is therefore a rare building where Murano Togo's first work, the tower, stands together with a work of his final years, the new hall. To the south east is a poem monument to Sakata Hiroo's “Sacchan”. Sakata Hiroo (1925 to 2005) was a poet, novelist and writer of children's literature, born in Tennoji-cho, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, now Matsuzaki-cho in Abeno-ku, and he was in the second intake of the Minami Osaka Kindergarten attached to the church. “Sacchan” is a children's song written in Showa 34 (1959): when Sakata was at the kindergarten there was a child called Sachiko in the class a year above him, and his fondness for her took shape later as a poem for children.

Translated from the Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City tourist listings (観光施設一覧, CC BY 4.0).