Etsuro Sotoo Rias Sanriku (Japan). He was also vice president of the Nipon Center of Canet de Mar. Sotoo Etsuro (2010). Vertical Freedom. Conversations on the Sagrada Familia . . Etsuro Sotoo Etsuro Sotoo (born 1953 in Fukuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese sculptor strongly influenced by Antoni Gaudí. His interest in Gaudí led him to convert to the Roman Catholic Church. His most noted work are sculptures located in the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. In 1978 Etsuro Sotoo visited Barcelona and was impressed by the Sagrada Familia. He worked as a stonecutter and also on the Nativity façade, following the instructions left
Sagrada Família the West, and the Glory façade to the South (yet to be completed). The Nativity Façade was built before work was interrupted in 1935 and bears the most direct Gaudí influence. The Passion façade was built according to the design that Gaudi created in 1917. The construction began in 1954, and the towers, built over the elliptical plan, were finished in 1976. It is especially striking for its spare, gaunt, tormented characters, including emaciated figures of Christ being scourged at the pillar; and Christ on the Cross. These controversial designs are the work of Josep Maria Subirachs. The Glory façade,