The Amazing Tokyo Station (Architect Tatsuno Kingo)!
A story of the architect who built stately Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station, with its beautiful red rose colored bricks, welcomes thousands of us every day. Many people from all over Japan have visited there. Architect Tatsuno Kingo designed Tokyo Station, which received heavy damage during the war.
Tokyo in the Meiji period was in the midst of Japan’s transition to a modern state, and Tatsuno was expected to create Tokyo Station as a world class front door to the Imperial city Tokyo that would astonish visiting foreigners. He also had to put considerable effort into foundation work because the ground was too soft for such a heavy building.
He met many Western architects, including Josiah Conder, who influenced him considerably. He learned that not only knowledge of technology but also elements of art are necessary for architecture. He recognized that an architect must be a person engaged in culture as well as in building.
Like a living example of Goethe’s words, “Architecture is frozen music,” Tokyo Station still towers in front of us. It is a solid and steadfast structure that also wraps us with soft form and tasteful rendering at every corner.
We tend to be hurried and just pass through Tokyo Station, but it is good to take time to feel and enjoy the beautiful station building.
