Conder, Josiah 1852 - 1920

Josiah Conder was born in Brixton, Surrey [now London], England on 28 September 1852 and was articled to Thomas Roger Smith (1830-1903), a relative, from 1869 to 1873. He also attended South Kensington Art School and University College, London. He was then employed as an assistant to William Burges (1827-1881) in 1874-75. It was while working with Burges that Conder may have developed an interest in Japanese art and craft

In 1876 he was awarded the Soane Medallion and later that year was was hired by the Japanese government as a professor of architecture for the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo. Conder proved to be an influential teacher. Notable among his students were Kingo Tatsuno (1854–1919), Tatsuzo Sone (1853–1937), Tokuna Katayama (1854–1917), Yorinaka Tsumaki, and George Shimoda (1866–1931). During his years in Japan, Conder also practised as an architect and designed numerous public buildings and houses for wealthy Japanese clients.

Conder developed a close friendship with the painter Kyosai Kawanabe (1831–1889) with whom he took lessons and travelled on painting expeditions.

For his services to Japanese art and architecture, the Emperor awarded Conder the order of the Rising Sun, fourth class in 1884, and in 1894 the order of the Sacred Treasure, third class, and official rank of honorary chokunin (a high-ranking imperial post).

Conder was the author of The Flowers of Japan and the Art of Floral Arrangement (1891), Landscape Gardening in Japan (1893), The Floral Art of Japan (1899), and Paintings and Studies by Kawanabe Kyosai (1911). He also wrote articles on aspects of Japanese art and culture for Transactions of the Royal Institute of British Architects, The Builder, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, and other publications.

Conder was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1878 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1884. In 1915 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Imperial University in Tokyo. He remained in Japan for the rest of his life and died in Tokyo, Japan on 21 June 1920.