A brief respite from the 21st century's relentless demand for "starchitects" — exemplified by Rem Koolhaas, Tadao Ando and Frank Gehry — can be found at the Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, in "100 Years of W. M. Vories' Works."

William Vories (1880-1964), an American who later became a naturalized Japanese citizen, was a 20th-century architect of 19th-century religious and moral persuasions who would understate his achievements, referring to his trade as a "lucrative side-issue." Vories the architect was enamored with doing Jesus the carpenter's work, taking up the spirit of humility in contrast to the present day's desire for celebrity.

Architecture had been the dream of Vories' youth, but he arrived in Japan in 1906 as an English teacher in the city of Omi Hachiman at the Shiga Prefectural Commercial School. Vories described the place as "the heart of the last determined stand of Buddhism, in its least enlightened manifestation," and local opposition to his bible classes and encouragements to convert to Christianity led to the dissolution of his teaching contract two years later. To satisfy the need for a salary, he turned to architecture, with the accumulated profits going toward the establishment of the "Omi Brotherhood" and the task of evangelism.