Azabudai: 1954–74
Azabudai: 1954–74
The idea of a move to Azabudai, however, was controversial. Members complained that the Club would be “too far out of town.”
After the motion to move passed by a single vote, some Members resigned in protest. But most quickly embraced the spacious new premises, complete with the Club’s first swimming pool.
While away from modern Tokyo’s bustle (the idyllic surroundings were known as Mamianacho, or badgers' den, because so many of these nocturnal creatures lived there), the Azabudai site was entwined with Japanese history.
The Akita daimyo lords from Miharu in Fukushima Prefecture had an informal residence there when Tokyo was still the city of Edo. That might explain the Edo-era pottery fragments found during a 2007 site survey.
During the Meiji period (1868–1912), Sumiyoshi Kawamura, known as the father of the Japanese navy, lived there in a house designed by British architect Josiah Conder, himself known as the pioneer of Japanese modern architecture. The house existed until the Club took over the land. During excavation work before the Club moved in, workers found and filled in a bomb shelter.
By the 1960s, the Club had become overcrowded. Efforts to cope brought such improvements as the addition of a teenage recreation building and golf driving range. But extensive use and sold-out events like a performance by the New Kingston Trio were straining the facility.
The Club was also changing in other ways. One induction of new Members in 1972 was notable because the 10 new Japanese Members nearly equaled in number the 12 new Americans.
After the motion to move passed by a single vote, some Members resigned in protest. But most quickly embraced the spacious new premises, complete with the Club’s first swimming pool.
While away from modern Tokyo’s bustle (the idyllic surroundings were known as Mamianacho, or badgers' den, because so many of these nocturnal creatures lived there), the Azabudai site was entwined with Japanese history.
The Akita daimyo lords from Miharu in Fukushima Prefecture had an informal residence there when Tokyo was still the city of Edo. That might explain the Edo-era pottery fragments found during a 2007 site survey.
During the Meiji period (1868–1912), Sumiyoshi Kawamura, known as the father of the Japanese navy, lived there in a house designed by British architect Josiah Conder, himself known as the pioneer of Japanese modern architecture. The house existed until the Club took over the land. During excavation work before the Club moved in, workers found and filled in a bomb shelter.
By the 1960s, the Club had become overcrowded. Efforts to cope brought such improvements as the addition of a teenage recreation building and golf driving range. But extensive use and sold-out events like a performance by the New Kingston Trio were straining the facility.
The Club was also changing in other ways. One induction of new Members in 1972 was notable because the 10 new Japanese Members nearly equaled in number the 12 new Americans.
