Who was this person?
An architect of the Meiji and Taishō eras called "the father of modern Japanese architecture." He studied under Conder at the Imperial College of Engineering, became a professor after studying in Britain, and trained many architects. He designed the Bank of Japan head office and Tokyo Station, and his style of red brick with white stone is called the "Tatsuno style."
| Name | Tatsuno Kingo (辰野金吾) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1854 – 1919 |
| Period | Late Edo–Taishō |
| Birthplace | Karatsu, Hizen Province |
| Main achievements |
|
He was born the second son of a low-ranking official family in the Karatsu domain of Hizen (Saga). The family is said to have ranked even below foot soldiers. He was later adopted by his uncle's Tatsuno family and took the name Tatsuno Kingo. It was the start of a life that rose from humble status to Japan's leading architect.
At the Karatsu domain's English school he learned English from Takahashi Korekiyo, who would later become prime minister. Sone Tatsuzō, who also became an architect, studied there with him. He is said not to have been a quick learner but to have kept studying with exceptional effort.
He entered the first class of the Ministry of Public Works' Kōgakuryō (later the Imperial College of Engineering), set up by the government to train engineers. He first intended to study shipbuilding but switched midway to the department of architecture. This decision would change the history of modern Japanese architecture.
He studied Western architecture under Josiah Conder, an architect invited from Britain, and graduated top of the architecture department. His classmates included Katayama Tōkuma, later designer of the Akasaka Palace, and Sone Tatsuzō. They were the first Japanese architects trained in Western architecture.
He went to Britain as a government student, learning practical work at the architectural office where Conder had worked and also studying at the University of London. He toured Europe to see historic buildings, checking authentic Western architecture with his own eyes.
The year after returning, he succeeded Conder as professor at the Imperial College of Engineering. He then became a professor at the Imperial University and founded the Zōka Gakkai (later the Architectural Institute of Japan), a society for students of architecture. At the university he trained many architects, including Itō Chūta, devoting himself to guiding successors.
He designed and completed the head office of the Bank of Japan, the country's central bank. A massive stone building, it became a representative work of full-scale Western architecture designed by a Japanese. For the design he inspected and studied bank buildings in Europe. It is now an Important Cultural Property.
He became dean of the College of Engineering of the Imperial University (today's University of Tokyo Faculty of Engineering), leading the world of architecture as an educator too. After later leaving the university, he opened design offices in Tokyo and Osaka and worked as a private architect, leaving many buildings across Japan.
He opened a design office with colleagues and built showy buildings across Japan with red brick striped with white stone. This style is called the "Tatsuno style." Because his buildings were so sturdy, he was also nicknamed "Tatsuno the Solid."
He designed and completed the Marunouchi building of Tokyo Station. With its contrast of red brick and white stone and its large, symmetrical form with domes, it was loved as fitting for the capital's gateway. The station building is now an Important Cultural Property and has been restored to its original appearance.
While serving as a judge in the competition widely inviting designs for the National Diet Building, he caught the Spanish flu then raging and died in Tokyo. Leaving many buildings, beginning with the Bank of Japan head office and Tokyo Station, and many pupils he had trained, Tatsuno is called "the father of modern Japanese architecture."
A. An architect of the Meiji and Taishō eras called "the father of modern Japanese architecture." He studied under Conder at the Imperial College of Engineering, became a professor after studying in Britain, and trained many architects. He designed the Bank of Japan head office and Tokyo Station, and his style of red brick with white stone is called the "Tatsuno style."
A. Period: Late Edo–Taishō. Born in 1854, died in 1919.
A. Tatsuno Kingo was born in Karatsu, Hizen Province.
A. His masterpieces are the Bank of Japan head office (1896) and the Marunouchi building of Tokyo Station (1914), both Important Cultural Properties. He also left many "Tatsuno-style" buildings combining red brick and white stone across Japan.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Josiah ConderTakahashi Korekiyo
Kitasato ShibasaburōErnest FenollosaTakamine JōkichiShimoda UtakoKomura JutarōUeki EmoriMikimoto KōkichiTsubouchi Shōyō
People of the Meiji period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.