★★★★★ 5.0
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Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum
The year is 1894, and British architect Josiah Conder is putting the finishing touches on something revolutionary... Tokyo's very first Western-style office building, right here where you're standing in Marunouchi. This red brick beauty before you sparked such a transformation that locals nicknamed this entire street "Itcho London" - the London Block. But here's where the story gets extraordinary: this isn't actually that original 1894 building. The original was demolished in 1968, then painstakingly reconstructed forty years later using Conder's exact blueprints, original photographs, and even salvaged materials. Those elegant handrails you'll touch inside? They're the very same ones that Victorian businessmen gripped in 1894. As you enter through these Queen Anne-style doors, you're walking into Japan's tribute to its own modernization. The museum houses over 200 works by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec - one of the world's largest collections outside Paris. Each of the twenty exhibition rooms tells the story of how 19th-century European art captivated a nation emerging from centuries of isolation. This building didn't just house offices... it housed Japan's dreams of joining the modern world.
Did You Know?
- The Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum is a meticulous reconstruction of Japan’s first Western-style office building, originally designed in 1894 by British architect Josiah Conder—a key figure in Japan’s Meiji-era modernization. After the original was demolished in 1968, the museum was rebuilt in 2009–2010 using original blueprints, photographs, and even preserved materials like staircase handrails, making it a living monument to both architectural heritage and Japan’s rapid embrace of Western influence during a transformative period in its history.
- The museum uniquely focuses on 19th-century Western art, offering a rare window into how Japanese artists and intellectuals engaged with European styles during the Meiji era. Its permanent collection includes over 200 works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and it has hosted major exhibitions like 'Manet and Modern Paris' in collaboration with Paris’s Musée d’Orsay, emphasizing its role as a bridge for cross-cultural artistic exchange.
- Hidden within the museum is Café 1894, set in the building’s former banking hall, where visitors can enjoy coffee surrounded by original architectural details—a delightful blend of history and modern leisure. The museum also features the Marunouchi History Archive, offering families and curious visitors a chance to explore how Tokyo’s Marunouchi district evolved from a samurai residence area to a bustling business hub, complete with interactive exhibits perfect for children and adults alike.