Kenzo Tange designed the cathedral, with Yoshikatsu Tsuboi as structural engineer, after a competition held by the Archdiocese of Tokyo in 1960 with support from the Archdiocese of Cologne. Construction ran from April 1963 to December 1964. It replaced a wooden Gothic cathedral of 1899 that was destroyed in air raids in the Second World War.
The sanctuary is reinforced concrete with a steel shell, formed by eight shells that make a cross. Eight hyperbolic parabolas open upward to form a cross of light. The cathedral is 129 feet (39.4 m) tall, and the detached bell tower is 202 feet (61.6 m). The article gives no style label.
The floor area is 39,300 square feet (3,650 m²). The entrance sequence is said to echo a temple approach, and a Lourdes grotto at the entrance survived the air raids. The stained glass and steel shell were renewed in 2007. Some critics rate it among Tange's lesser works.
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