Nippon Club (New York)

For other uses, see Nippon Club (disambiguation).

The Nippon Club of New York City is a private social club in New York City founded in 1905 by Jokichi Takamine for Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals.^[1]

The only Japanese traditional gentlemen's club in the United States, the Nippon Club's dual purpose is to help enhance the unity of the Japanese community in New York and to help develop evolving relationships with the American people. Over the course of its first century, the Nippon Club has fostered ongoing business and cultural relationships through various events, workshops, cultural classes and athletic events.^[2]

By holding various athletic events and cultural activities, as well as by providing the facilities where these events can occur, The Nippon Club has cemented itself as one of New York ’s oldest cultural institutions and it will continue to serve the community from the center of the world’s most international metropolitan area. When Emperor Showa visited New York in 1975, the Nippon Club joined with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of New York and the Japanese American Association of New York in hosting a reception for the Imperial visitors at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.^[3]

Membership has grown to about 3,000 members, including 800 women who are members of the allied Fujin-Bu Club. Several hundred members are Americans.^[4]

History of the Nippon Club buildings

The Nippon Club initially occupied a townhouse at 334 Riverside Drive, located between 105th and 106th Streets on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In 1912, the club relocated to a new building which had been designed for the organization by architect John Vredenburgh Van Pelt. The Nippon Club remained at 161 West 93rd Street until December 1941. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the building was seized by the U.S. federal government.^[5] In 1944, the Federal Office of the Alien Property Custodian sold the building to another; the Manhattan chapter of the Elks for $75,000.^[6]

In 1956, the Nippon Club relocated to One Riverside Drive at 72nd Street near Riverside Park.^[7]

The organization moved into its current home in 1991. The 21-story Nippon Club Tower, which was erected by the club at 145 West 57th Street, between Seventh Avenue and the Avenue of the Americas in mid-town Manhattan. The club facilities encompasses a restaurant and tea room, banquet facilities, a ballroom, classrooms, and an exhibition gallery; however, unlike many similar clubs in Manhattan, overnight hotel accommodations were not included. The modern structure, designed by Norboru Uenishi, is faced with glass and granite.^[4] The facade is meant to be an abstract rendering of the Manhattan street grid, complete with the diagonal interruption of Broadway.^[8]

See also

• List of American gentlemen's clubs

Notes

1. ^ Gray, Christopher and Suzanne Braley. (2003). New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan's Significant Buildings and Landmarks, pp. 364-365.
2. ^ Nippon Club: "About us," 2009.
3. ^ Buckley, Tom. "Pride and Pleasure Evident Beneath Usual Restraint; Japanese Here Prepare for Imperial Visit," New York Times. September 23, 1975.
4. ^ ^{a b} Lyons, Richard. (1989). "Growing Space: Tower for Nippon Club," New York Times. August 27, 1989.
5. ^ Gray, Christopher. "161 West 93rd Street; A Building That Recalls the Days," New York Times. September 30, 2001.
6. ^ "Elks in New Home; Lodge 1 Takes Over Former Nippon Club in 93d Street," New York Times. December 17, 1944.
7. ^ "Nippon Club Buys House," New York Times. February 13, 1956.
8. ^ Dunlap, David W. "Commercial Property: 57th Street; A New Glitter Added to a Premier Retail Boulevard," New York Times. September 30, 1990.

References

• Gray, Christopher and Suzanne Braley. (2003). New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan's Significant Buildings and Landmarks. New York: Harry N. Abrams.ISBN 0810944413, 9780810944411

External links

• Nippon Club web site