“The Gaisen doro [triumphal avenue]”, London Town, looking toward Babasaki and the Imperial Palace, Marunouchi, Tokyo, c. 1920.

“Londontown Ichigo-kan,” Marunouchi, Tokyo, c. 1920. An unknown artist’s postcard depiction of the first commercial property completed by Mitsubishi in their new district — their corporate headquarters which became colloquially known as Ichigo-kan, “Building No.1”. The company HQ has long since outgrown the premises which were demolished in 1968. In 2009, a faithful reproduction of Ichigo-kan was completed on the corner property where it once stood, re-opening as a museum.

“Josiah Conder’s three-story buildings, which he designed for the Mitsubishi group, were red-brick structures with white stone quoins. Windows and doors were outlined in white stone.

“The new Western-style district he created was known as ‘London Town’. Its streets were lined with trees and the newest of modern appurtenances, poles to support above-ground electrical wires. London Town with its Queen Anne style architecture in Marunouchi, and the not-too-distant Ginza area with its newly paved streets and brick-built structures, were the pride of the Meiji era.

“The sponsors of London Town hoped it would quickly become the new commercial and financial center of Tokyo. The first building was completed in 1894, but unfortunately the Stock Exchange, the Bank of Japan, and other financial and commercial establishments remained in Nihonbashi to the east. Success for London Town would have to await the arrival of the railroad into central Tokyo [in 1914].”

– Tokyo: A Cultural Guide to Japan’s Capital City, by John Martin, Phyllis Martin, 2013

A ca. 1960 aerial view of the Marunouchi business district. At center, shaded in red, is the Mitsubishi “London Town” block built between 1894-1910 that became the anchor of the business district. To its left is the Meiji Insurance Co. building, completed in 1928. At top-center, shaded in red, is Tokyo Central Station.