Shorts: Japanese Catholics and Vocation

• Been snooping around the history of Japanese Catholicism online and found this cool site about the Daughters of St. Paul religious congregation in Japan. It's nice and refreshing to read their humble and simple albeit brief vocation stories here. It made me think as well if I am rather called to a monastic contemplative way of life (in the Contemplative Disciples of the Beatitudes) in contrast with the active missionary pursuit (of the Missionaries of the Beatitudes) I've always been looking forward to. 
• I am having second thoughts whether to include Kenzo Tange's famous St. Mary's Cathedral (Tokyo) for my list of foreign case studies. It is one of those Catholic churches that exhibits a rather radical approach in form and materials used. Though modern and minimalistic at a first glance, something's telling me to have a second look. Perhaps there are elements in this development that needs to be dissected properly in order to be understood fully. 

 

Images borrowed here

• Check out this cool site: My Architectural Moleskin which is chock full of case studies on varied architectural developments :) What I love in this site is how he includes the background of the project itself and the keen commentaries and images included :)