Where was the Marunouchi Architectural Office built and what kind of building was it?

With the publication of "Marunouchi Architectural Drawings 1890-1973" (Shinkenchiku-sha) in 2020, we, the "Old Drawings Research Group," changed our name to the "Marunouchi Town Research Group" and, in addition to digging deeper into old drawings, we also organize information from old photographs in order to convey the history of Marunouchi in a more visual way. In this article, we would like to introduce the Marunouchi Architectural Office, where we began.

Marunouchi Architectural Office was established in 1890 (Meiji 23) within Mitsubishi Sha 's headquarters in Kanda-Awajicho, and the following year moved to a temporary wooden building erected on the site of the former Yaesu Building as the site office for the construction of "Building No. 1." The building was a traditional wooden structure with a single-story, rectangular hipped roof, tiled roof, and clapboard siding. Marunouchi Architectural Office subsequently relocated to Kobe, but in 1900 (Meiji 33), it was established on the third floor of the headquarters of "Building No. 1." In 1908 (Meiji 41), it moved to "Building No. 6." In 1910 (Meiji 43), it came under the jurisdiction of the Land Department and moved to "Building No. 11." This marked the beginning of the office's history as an in-house design firm.

Meanwhile, after the Marunouchi Building was relocated to Kobe, the building was used as a club for Mitsubishi Sha. It appears that the idea was given from the start to allow the building to be used as a club when its role as a site office was no longer necessary. In 1914 (Taisho 3), a judo and kendo hall was built, along with tennis courts and an archery range. Later, the building was moved to a site across Daimyo-koji to allow for the construction of the Yaesu Building, and continued to be used as a martial arts center. Within the Western-style urban space known as "One Block London" and "One Block New York," one can glimpse the continuity of Japan's vibrant lifestyle alongside its wooden architecture.

We would like to continue introducing the role that wooden architecture has played in modernizing streetscapes, urban functions, and working styles.