Embassy of the United Kingdom, Tokyo

Coordinates: 35°41′11″N 139°44′40″E / 35.68639°N 139.74444°E / 35.68639; 139.74444
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British Embassy, Tokyo
駐日英国大使館
Map
LocationJapan Tokyo, Japan
AddressNo 1 Ichiban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Coordinates35°41′11″N 139°44′40″E / 35.68639°N 139.74444°E / 35.68639; 139.74444
AmbassadorJulia Longbottom
WebsiteOffice Website

The British Embassy, Tokyo (駐日英国大使館 Chūnichi Eikoku Taishikan) is the chief

Ichibanchō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Japanese: 東京都千代田区一番町一), to the west of the Imperial Palace, and separated from the latter by a moat
.

Role

The British embassy performs a sustaining role in

Consulate-General in Osaka
.

History

Brick-built entrance gate of the British Embassy in Tokyo, 1912

After the signing of the

Consul-General in Japan and took up residence at the British Legation in Kobe. In 1859, the first legation in Edo (now Tokyo) was opened at the Tōzen-ji temple in Takanawa
. Alcock, moved to Edo and was promoted to Minister Plenipotentiary.

The outrage on the British Embassy at Japan, in 1861

By 1861, security had become a significant concern at Tōzen-ji. An attack was launched on the British Legation by members of the

Shinagawa
and the site became unusable. The legation remained in Yokohama.

After the

daimyō as a result of the abolition of the domain system, and he obtained the land required in the fifth month of 1872.[3] The land he chose for the new legation was at Ichiban-cho, directly across from the Hanzōmon Gate of the Imperial Palace, a site of considerable gravity that remains home to the British Embassy today. In May 1872, Parkes agreed with the Government of Japan to acquire the land with a perpetual fixed-rent leasehold.[2]

Robert Boyce, architect for the Office of Works in Shanghai was brought in to plan the layout of the compound. It would include the minister's residence, chancery offices and single-storey houses for British staff amongst other ancillary buildings. At Parkes's request, the design also included a tower to look out at Mount Fuji. Construction was finished in December 1874 and the site ready to be occupied in 1875.[2] The residence was a red-brick building designed by Thomas Waters, also famous for rebuilding Ginza as a Western-style "Bricktown".[4]

After the Japanese victories over China and Russia, which earned the Empire of Japan status as a great power, the British Legation in Tokyo was upgraded to an embassy in 1905. After the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake caused extensive damage to the chancery, plans for a second building were carried out by the Ministry of Works, and a new chancery, the present building, came in use in 1929.

The interruption of diplomatic relations between the British Empire and Imperial Japan occurred at the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, and the British Embassy in Tokyo was closed down. Following the Occupation of Japan in 1945, the embassy compound became a shore establishment of the Royal Navy, named HMS Return.[5][6] Between 1946 and 1952, prior to the Treaty of San Francisco, the British Liaison Mission in Tokyo performed the role of a diplomatic mission in Japan. The treaty came into force on April 28, 1952, and the British embassy was re-opened.

Access

The embassy is served by the Hanzōmon Station on Hanzōmon Line, Tokyo Metro.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Embassy, Tokyo.

References

  1. ^ "統計表一覧 政府統計の総合窓口 GL08020103". E-stat.go.jp. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  2. ^
    ISBN 9780711238602
    .
  3. ^ 荻原、pg76。原資料は明治5年3月28日（1872年5月5日）付けの「英国公使館地所証書」
  4. ^ The Far East, A Monthly Illustrated Journal, Tokyo, January 31, 1875
  5. ^ "Tokyo, Sharks and Ice Cream. ABCtales". Ericv. 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  6. ISBN 9781134251742. Retrieved 23 October 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
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