Episode 131: Masako Hayashi, Nobuko Nakahara, and Hatsue Yamada Part 1
Masako Hayashi, born on July 11, 1928, in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan, was a pioneering architect whose early career began shortly after graduating from Japan Women’s University in 1951. Though her childhood remains undocumented, she quickly entered the architectural world with her first project, the Mr. O Residence in Tokyo. In 1955, she designed her own home with her husband and fellow architect, Shoji Hayashi. She furthered her studies under Kiyoshi Seike at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. In 1958,
Nobuko Nakahara was born on January 5, 1929, in Urawa, Saitama, Japan. Raised by a politically active mother and a teacher father, During WWII her family could only use light in one room at night, an experience that later shaped her sensitivity to light and shadow in architecture. Initially studying domestic skills at Kasei Gakuin Special School, she soon realized her true passion was architecture and enrolled at the Musashi Institute of Technology in 1951. She later became the third licensed woman architect in Japan.
In 1953, she co-founded PODOKO, a collective of women architects focused on thought, discussion, and creation. Through this group, she met Masako Hayashi and Hatsue Yamada. Their successful collaboration led to the formation of Hayashi, Yamada & Nakahara in 1958, which produced notable projects including various residences and the Seashell Gallery.
Caryatid: Satoko Shinohara
Satoko Shinohara is a Japanese architect, educator, and researcher celebrated for her socially driven approach to housing design. A graduate of Japan Women’s University, she earned her master’s in 1983 and later founded Spatial Design Studio (SDS). Since 1996, she has also served as a professor, becoming president of her alma mater in 2020, where she advanced inclusive policies and renamed the Faculty of Home Economics to the Faculty of Human Sciences and Design. Her architectural work, including SHAREyaraicho and SHAREtenjincho, pioneers “share house” models that foster community through shared living spaces and public engagement.
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This transcript was prepared during the development of the episode.
Final recorded episode may deviate slightly from the content presented below as changes, edits, or improvements may be made during the recording and editing process.
Norgerie: Hi! Welcome to season 13 of She Builds Podcast, where we share stories about women in the design and construction field, one lady at a time.
Jessica: This season's theme is: “All Things Residential” . We are talking about ladies who were involved in residential projects.
Lizi: As always, we are not experts, we are just sharing stories about the information that we find, as friends having a fun conversation. If you find an error, send us an email and we will all continue learning.
Norgerie: Today we have a three for one special. We're learning about Masako Hayashi, Nobuko Nakahara, and Hatsue Yamada, who were among the first female architects in Japan, and they owned a firm together which did many housing projects.
Jessica: Wow, three!
I’m Norgerie Rivas, remembering I was on a turbulent plane ride when I started my research for this episode, in Houston, Texas.
Jessica: Hi, I’m Jessica Rogers not remembering a turbulent plane ride in Miami, FL
Lizi: Hi, I’m Lizi Raar, while you were on the plane I was at work, maybe finishing lunch, in San Francisco.
Jessica: Yeah I would have been at work too.
Norgerie: Well enough about that, let’s celebrate that we’re at the start of a new season. This is a great opportunity to say thank you to all the listeners for being here listening and learning along with us.
Lizi: Yes! Thank you so much listeners for sticking with us or joining us fresh!
Jessica: Yes Thank you! It’s great to be back with another season and some more ladies
Norgerie: Ok let's begin. The time was July 11, 1928, The place Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. Masako Hayashi was born.
Lizi: Welcome Masako!
Norgerie: Unfortunately I could not find any backstory at all from this lady, who are her parents? What did she enjoy doing as a child? What interested her in architecture? I have no idea.
Lizi: Sad day. But sometimes that happens. Maybe Jessica can make something up for us.
Jessica: Masako had a beautiful life filled with supportive parents that allowed her to do whatever she wanted within reason. She traveled and explored and lived an educational and idyllic life filled with art and wonder.
Norgerie: Thank you Jessica! Now lets fast forward to 1951, she would have been around 23 years old and she would have been celebrating her graduation from Japan Women’s University.
Lizi: Woo! And I’m assuming we don’t know what she studied there? Or do we at least know she studied architecture?
Norgerie: No; I could not find her major. But I assume it was architecture because she wasted no time getting her own projects under her belt. That same year, she finished her first project. It was a house called The Mr. O Residence and it was in Tokyo.
Lizi: Very nice. I like the offset gable roof.
Jessica: agreed it’s very nice - a nice mid century modern abode
Norgerie: Yeah, I would put an offer down. Well, in 1955, she started working on a very special project. Her own home in Koishikawa. And what made it even more special is she was designing it with another very special architect, Shoji Hayashi who she had just married.
Lizi: Oh heyyy. Wedding bells. That's kind of fun to design your house with your spouse.
Jessica: hahaha it’s funny because I think most residential architects will say that working with couples on their homes it almost becomes a therapy session. And in general people might say to not work with your spouse and here they are doing both. But they could be different. And also who wouldn’t want to design their own house.
Lizi: Yes! Well who was this guy? Was he worthy of our girl Masako?
Norgerie: Oh yeah, Shoji Hayashi was the real deal just like Masako. He was born September 23 1928, so he was actually a few months younger than her. He studied architecture at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He graduated in 1953 and he joined Nikken Sekkei, which, to this day, is one of Japan's largest architectural firms. And throughout his career he was Chief Architect, Vice President, and Vice Chairman of that Firm.
Jessica: oh wow impressive
Norgerie: Yeah he was also an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects. And he was chairman of the Japan Institute of Architects.
Jessica: okay boss - just as accomplished
Norgerie: Let's discuss the home Masako and Shoji designed together. It feels appropriate for the season.
Lizi: Agreed.
Jessica: yes, let’s!
Norgerie: The site was a private alley and you couldn't see the house from the street which I thought was interesting. The form of the house began as a rectangular pavilion and later as it was renovated and expanded they always made sure to keep a view to the garden from the living room.
Lizi: I like the focus on the garden and trying to keep that view no matter what they changed to the house later on. The not visible from the street reminds me of the house in Costa Rica we saw. It's kind of nice to create some privacy.
Jessica: agreed! i can imagine this play between what is shown and not shown. The tightness of an alley way but then a breath of relief of a garden. And you know that garden had to be bangin if they made it a priority to always have a view of the garden
Norgerie: So while the thought process behind the home was rooted in Japanese design tradition, Masako and her husband deviated from traditional Japanese construction. They tested out modern materials such as concrete blocks and a concrete slab roof.
Jessica: well you know how we love ourselves some concrete.
Lizi: concrete roof is really interesting. Were they trying to use it for passive heating? Or just trying something fun and new?
Jessica: ooh good question
Norgerie: I did not find information about that, but I'd like to think it was for passive heating, they were exploring the use of the material.
Lizi: Got ya
Norgerie: I'm not sure when but Masako went back to school. Until 1956 you could find her at the Tokyo Institute of Technology learning from Kiyoshi Seike, who was also her husband’s professor a few years earlier.
Jessica: oh okay. So, Kiyosi Seike, is an Author and Professor of Architecture at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He did mostly residential projects. But I can see why Masako would be interested in learning from him- some of the books that he authored were “A Japanese touch on your garden”, “Contemporary Japanese homes”, and “The Art of Japanese joinery”
Norgerie: After that in 1958, she started her own architecture firm with Nobuko Nakahara and Hatsue Yamada.
Jessica: ooh cool … two new architecture bombshells enter the villa
Lizi: very cool. Tell us more about these ladies.
Norgerie: Let's go almost 30 years back in time. The time was January 5, 1929. The place Urawa, Saitama, Japan. Nobuko Nakahara was born.
Lizi: Not gonna lie. I forgot this was a multi lady episode haha. I'm excited all over again.
Jessica: I am excited too! I was wondering how/ when they were going to make their appearance
Norgerie: I believe her mom was involved in politics, the research said she was a city counselor and her dad was a teacher.
Lizi: cool. Both Involved in the community.
Jessica: love it!
Norgerie: At 12 she was at a girls’ high school. Some of you may know I went to an all girl school and loved it so whenever I meet a fellow all girl schooler I ask about their experience. If I meet Nobuko in heaven I'll ask her.
Lizi: and compare notes.
Jessica: or maybe we invest and get the seance situation going and try that
Norgerie: You know what I just realized didn't come up in Masako’s story?
Jessica: What?
Norgerie: World War Two
Lizi: Oh yeah we made it to 1958 with her and didn't talk about it at all but since we jumped to like 1950 right out the gate I assumed we didn't know much about how it affected her.
Jessica: yeah from what you found, she was born and then went to university right after the war. So maybe it wasn’t so significant.
Norgerie: Yeah, well I’m sure it was significant, but unfortunately it’s not information that was readily available. But I found a little bit of info on Nobuko’s experience during war time.
Lizi: got it. Curious to hear.
Norgerie: Unfortunately, we could say Nobuko grew up in darkness. Because of raid regulations houses had to keep the lights off at night. They were allowed to have light only in one room.
Lizi: wow. That must have been really hard.
Jessica: Only one room?!? But like what about like candles? That just seems so extreme
Norgerie: Yeah, well they were hiding you know, and I’m guessing it was also to avoid getting bombed or soldiers coming? I’m not sure. Yet, this made me wonder how a house design and use could be affected by this. Which room would people choose to keep the light on? What would they do there? For Nobuku, at night, she and her family would use the room with the light to get together and read. Cause I imagine they had to keep quiet too.
Lizi: Yeah that makes sense but it's also a good point about which room you'd choose. I assume a main public room so it could be shared. That's kind of nice that they all would read together though.
Jessica: it sounds like an interesting design problem to have but due to unfortunate circumstances right? Because not only would you most likely need to be quiet but you probably want something that feels safe during a raid- maybe not close to a window, but maybe yes so that you could use moonlight? So many questions.
Norgerie: Oh good point about safety, but also being able to see outside. There’s a lot to unpack here, but not enough time, so back to Nobuko. This entire experience of course impacted Nobuko’s approach to design. She said that after the war, she felt free and felt how bright the world was. She paid special attention to “light and shadow.”
Lizi: no kidding! That would totally change your opinion on light.
Jessica: ooh yeah
Norgerie: But before the war was over, in 1945 her school was closed down as an institution of learning and became a uniform factory for aviators.
Lizi: Not totally surprising since those times meant using all the resources you can.
Jessica: But what an extreme change! A school turned factory
Norgerie: Fortunately, she was accepted that same year at another school. The Kasei Gakuin Special School. Apparently this place was known to teach women to be good housewives and mothers. I wonder what the curriculum was.
Lizi: hmmm.
Jessica: hmmmm - I got so excited to hear that she got back into school, but really?? You would think it would have been more helpful for her to learn a trade.
Norgerie: Here's a quote from her about that experience: “I joined the health education department. I studied Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine, and confectionery. After graduating, I realized this wasn’t what I truly wanted. So, I decided to study architecture.”
Lizi: That's a big pivot but glad she realized what she really wanted to do.
Jessica: it’s interesting to think that she was remotely interested into it to begin with. But glad she pivoted when she realized it wasn’t for her.
Norgerie: I fully support Nobuko’s decision. And with my stamp of approval, she went to the Musashi Institute of Technology in 1951 and worked with Kiyoshi Ikebe. I looked him up and did not find a lot of information about him. There seems to be books published about his work which seems to be residential architecture as well. If you want your Japanese son to grow up to be a residential architect, name him Kioshi.
Lizi: Hahaha apparently that's the requirement.
Jessica: hahaha
Norgerie: Eventually she became the third woman architect in Japan.
Lizi: woo! Good for her.
Jessica: oh heyyyyyy
Norgerie: Let’s pause her for a word from our sponsors. When we come back we’ll discuss how Masako, Nobuko and Hatsue met and the work they did together.
Norgerie: And we’re back. Let's talk about how Masako, Nobuko and Hatsue met because they didn't meet in architecture school like us.
Jessica: yeah because they didn’t even go to the same schools
Norgerie: Right! But they must have met somewhere before deciding to open up a firm together. LinkedIn didn't exist back then so it's not like one of them got a subscription to Premium and cold messaged the others and said Hi I've been following your impressive work and believe we would be the right fit to start a firm together.
Lizi: hahahaha. That's right. Probably not how it happened.
Jessica: so how would they have made those connections and maintained them? Letters?
Lizi: Probably. Ok but wait, do we get to hear about Hatsue’s life? Or just Masako and Nobuko?
Norgerie: Good question, I'll tell you about Hatsue's life in a little bit. Right now I want to touch on their work. I feel like this episode has been a really long intro so far.
Jessica: Well that’s what happens when you go all overachiever and decide you want to talk about three ladies at once! Why not give each of them their own episode?
Norgerie: Because a lot of the work they did was together so there would be a lot of overlap between episodes, it was more fun to tell their stories together in one go.
Jessica: Ok, if you say so.
Norgerie: Know that at this point of the story Hatsue would be about to meet Masako and Nobuko.
Lizi: ok
Jessica: hmmm okay
Norgerie: So it's the 1950s there's literally not a lot of women studying or graduating from architecture school. So whenever they met in school, at work, at a plaza, the beauty salon, a birthday party… you name it, they kept in touch and introduced each other to one another. So 29 of these ladies between 18-26 years old decided to start an association together. On September 14, 1953, this women architects’ association was born; it was called PODOKO.
Lizi: PODOKO? What does that mean? But I'm loving this banding together of ladies.
Norgerie: It stands for “thought, discussion, and creation,” which the ladies wanted to be the main driver of the association. One of the group’s organizers was studying Esperanto, and supposedly they came up with the name based on those keywords in the Esperanto language. Have you heard of the Esperanto do you know what it is?
Lizi: nope.
Jessica: ugggh, before we get into that, can we just talk for a sec on how I love this gathering of the minds - sisterhood thing going on?!? I think we saw this a little bit with episode 19, where we saw Nobuko and her photography ladies. There's also episode 22, with Dorothy Mae Richardson, 'The Power of Community that she created- I love it!
Norgerie: Yeah! I agree community is so so important and I love to learn about how these ladies throughout our seasons made it happen in various ways. I hope they are inspiring listeners to find their tribe. Hope the men listening are inspired too, to find their community, men need brotherhood too. Y’all go find your bros, start good things together, create meaningful impact somewhere, somehow. To the very least, tell your friends to listen to our show, that’s a start.
Jessica: But anyway, please tell us about Esperanto- because I’ve never heard of it
Norgerie: I've heard of it before but for some reason I thought it was a religion like Santeria. I'll tell you right now, I was very wrong. It turns out it's something even more fascinating. The technical answer is that it's a constructed international auxiliary language. An artificial language. What that means is that it’s not from a specific culture, group of people… it was designed to be a common language for people from all over the world to be able to communicate with each other. The goal was for this to become a universal language. It’s been around since the 1800s so it's not new, and it has quite a following but it has not reached its goal yet.
Lizi: Fascinating. I should ask my cousin about it. She is about to graduate high school and study linguistics in college and she knows about tons of languages.
Norgerie: Oh yes! Let us know what she says.
Lizi: I will!
Jessica: ummmm, that is so poetic and beautiful. I wish I had known about this! Why isn’t this common knowledge?!?! omg could we have listeners that know this language?!?
Norgerie: Oh that would be so cool! I have a dream of becoming conversational in the common Romance languages. I'm 2 for 5 right now.
Jessica: What are those languages?
Norgerie: Well I'm fluent in Spanish, conversational in Italian, I know a few words in French. Next I want to tackle Portuguese and then last but not least Romanian.
Jessica: Are you considering adding Esperanto to that mix?
Norgerie: You know it
Lizi: That would be cool. Keep us posted maybe every wrap-up we'll ask you for an update on this mission to give you accountability.
Norgerie: Duolingo, if you're listening and would like to sponsor this show and my dreams to become a polyglot holla at us. Shebuildspodcast@gmail.com
Jessica: Oh that would be really cool!
Norgerie: Well that was a nice detour, let's steer back to Podoko. I looked it up the translation to Esperanto for the words “thought, discussion, and creation,” and I saw a little bit of a connection but it’s a stretch. Thought is Pensis. Discussion translates to Diskuto. And Creation is Kreado
Lizi: got it. So they took the first letters and added o’s to each one?
Norgerie: Sounds like it. Masako, Nobuko, and Hatsue were all part of those 29 founding members. While there I'm not sure which one of them was the hook-up maybe it was all three of them, but, they received a commission from the Women’s Association of Yokohama City. They were approached to design a space for the association. So Masako, Nobuko, and Hatsue start working on the design together. Even though the project was not built, this was the catalyst for these ladies. They thought, yo’ we work pretty well together. And so, they established the firm Hayashi, Yamada & Nakahara, Architectural Design Circle, in 1958.
Lizi: So interesting. I wonder how the three of them were chosen for that first commission.
Jessica: ahhh Norgerie this reminds me of our R Quadrado days. I’m thinking that they were probably like buddy buddies and thought “hey, wanna try to work on this thing” and then it became, how Norgerie says.
Norgerie: Yeah, it's that easy. They went on to do a lot of good work together. And big chunk of that was houses. They had a project called the Angle Brace House, and during the 1960s they did the Summer House Karuizawa, Villa Inawashiro in Fukushima Prefecture, the Hexagonal Mountain Lodge and other Ski Lodges. Those last ski lodges were in collaboration with Shin Architectural Office. And a lot of this work has been published in books and magazines.
Lizi: Amazing. Does that mean we'll get to see them in the shownotes?
Jessica: YES- please do tell! With names like that - we need the ocular proof
Norgerie: I hope so! During this period they also did The Seashell Gallery in Shikoku. Which is the home of a large selection of local and foreign oyster shells. On the website Un Día Una Arquitecta they describe it as and I quote: “... a blue pavilion with skylight illumination that evokes the depths of the sea. Externally, the large eaves refer to vernacular Japanese architecture, influenced by brutalism, resulting in a unique and contemporary expression.”
Lizi: it sounds amazing. Also what an interesting gallery subject. But it sounds like they created a building that evoked what it was meant to show off.
Norgerie: Yes! The Seashell Gallery has been selected by DOCOMOMO as one of the 100 most important modern buildings in Japan.
Jessica: Well that is such an incredible honor.
Norgerie: Well ladies, I’m looking at the time, and thinking it’s a good idea to pause here and continue sharing their story on next week’s episode, cause I still owe you Hatsue’s beginnings. What do you think of the story so far?
Lizi: WHAT!? A cliffhanger? I mean I guess if we’re talking about three ladies that seems fair, but still. I will be waiting in suspense for next week’s episode. I am already super interested in their stories so far.
Norgerie: Alright, now we have reached the second part of our episode, the Caryatid. A caryatid is a stone carving of a woman, used as a column or a pillar to support the structure of a Greek or Greek-style building. In each episode we choose a “caryatid” -- a woman who is working today, furthering the profession through their work, and who ties into the historical woman of our episode.
Norgerie: Drum roll please… Satoko Shinohara
Norgerie: Satoko Shinohara is a Japanese architect, educator, and researcher known for her innovative approach to housing and community-based design. I chose her today as the caryatid because her work focuses mostly on housing. She believes that housing is inherently social—a tool to foster relationships among people, place, and the environment.
Lizi: I agree. Love that sentiment.
Jessica: here here
Norgerie: She’s a graduate from Japan Women’s University. In 1983 she earned her master’s with her thesis focusing on teahouse architecture and working under residential architect Kimiko Takahashi. She went on to work at architecture firms in Tokyo and in 1986 started the firm Spatial Design Studio, SDS, with her husband. Later her husband left that firm to start a solo practice, but Satoko runs the firm to this day.
Lizi: ooo I see, so she took over?
Jessica: interesting
Norgerie: A decade after starting her own firm she became a professor at Japan Women’s University. She became the University’s President in 2020.
Lizi: Of course. Can’t have just one job.
Jessica: it’s all about the multiple streams of income
Norgerie: As President she’s done a lot of good things, for example she renamed the Faculty of Home Economics to the “Faculty of Human Sciences and Design.” And she revised admission policies to admit transgender women.
Lizi: Love this.
Jessica: we love a progressive person - * finger snaps
Norgerie: Through her work Satoko has been exploring “share houses” in response to Tokyo’s growing population of single-person households. Her 2012 project, SHAREyaraicho, designed with Ayano Uchimura, is considered the city’s first purpose-built share house. It features private bedrooms and shared kitchens, bathrooms, and living areas. A soft plastic membrane replaces the front door, blending private and public space and inviting local community participation. The building’s high-ceilinged entrance hall doubles as a community event space.
Lizi: That’s super interesting. I like how she’s designing for a new community demographic.
Jessica: This description is everything - “a soft plastic membrane replacing the front door”? I like where she is headed at.
Norgerie: In 2021, she partnered with her son Taichi and Uchimura on SHAREtenjincho, a 9-story mixed-use building in Tokyo. It includes a rotating chef-led restaurant, co-working offices, and shared residential spaces—all designed to enhance social connection.
Lizi: I really appreciate her focus on social connection and trying to create spaces for users to interact.
Jessica: agreed, it sounds like a cool space. And we love a son & mother duo
Norgerie: I really like how Satoko reimagines residential architecture to be more communal, inclusive, and sustainable.
Lizi: Yes! Super important.
Jessica: yeah it’s so appropriate at this time.
Norgerie: Before we say goodbye we want to say thank you to CMYK for the music, John W our technical advisor. And most of all thank you for listening!
Lizi: Remember to check out our show notes for links to all of our resources on this episode as well as pictures of projects we’ve talked about.
Norgerie: We hope you enjoyed learning about today’s lady and caryatid along with our banter, and that you are inspired to find out more about them and other amazing professional ladies. Again, thank you.
Jessica: Please let us know what you thought of our episode. If you’ve enjoyed it please help us spread the word. Tell your friends and give us 5 stars on Itunes and Spotify, and write us a review, this will all help us reach a wider audience and for more people to learn about these amazing ladies with us.
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Norgerie: We are excited to hear from you and for you to come back and keep learning about bosses with us. You can email us your thoughts at shebuildspodcast@gmail.com, leave a comment on our website shebuildspodcast.com, or follow us on instagram and facebook @shebuildspodcast, and on X @shebuildspod. See ya!
References
Dunay, Donna, et al. International Archive of Women in Architecture IAWA Center News Fall 2008 No. 20. journal-article, 2008, iawacenter.aad.vt.edu/content/dam/iawacenter_aad_vt_edu/newsletters/Vol.-20-2008.pdf.
History | National Women’s Education Center of Japan. www.nwec.go.jp/en/about/information/history.html.
“Masako Hayashi.” Wikidata, www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6782465.
Moisset, Inés. “MASAKO HAYASHI 1928-2001 | HATSUE YAMADA 1930 | NOBUKO NAKAHARA 1929-2008.” UN DIA | UNA ARQUITECTA 2, 26 Dec. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta2.wordpress.com/2016/10/30/masako-hayashi-1928-2001hatsue-yamada-1928nobuko-nakahara-1929-2008.
Images:
Moisset, Inés. “MASAKO HAYASHI 1928-2001 | HATSUE YAMADA 1930 | NOBUKO NAKAHARA 1929-2008.” UN DIA | UNA ARQUITECTA 2, 26 Dec. 2017, undiaunaarquitecta2.wordpress.com/2016/10/30/masako-hayashi-1928-2001hatsue-yamada-1928nobuko-nakahara-1929-2008
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