- No-28
- Shimonoseki Nanbe-cho Post Office Bldg. (Former Akamagaseki Post & Telegraph Office )
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■ Commentary
Shimonoseki Nanbe-cho Post Office Bldg. is the oldest post office building in existence today and is still being used. The Akamagaseki Postal Handling Office that was established in Nishinohashi-cho, Akamagaseki (present-day Shimonoseki City) in 1871 changed its name to Akamagaseki Post Office in 1883. The office building was moved to Sotohama-cho.
Furthermore, it merged with the Akamagaseki Telegraph Office in 1888 and the name changed to Akamagaseki Post & Telegraph Office. The building standing today was moved to its current location in 1900. The 1st floor was the post office and the 2nd floor the telegraph office.
The 2-story, brick office building with a mortar finish is over 100 years old. The office building features true Japanese-designed Renaissance architecture designed by a Japanese person. The total floor space is 828 square meters. The building shows engineering standards of Western-style architectural design mastered by Japanese engineers in the late 1800s/early 1900s. The design was by Shiro Mitsuhashi who was also a leadern advocate of architectural thought in the early 1900s. He was in charge of designing this building during his approximately 5 years as an engineer at the Ministry of Communication that began in 1898.
In the Japanese architectural world in the late 1800s, British architect Josiah Conder guided acted as a mentor to the Japanese. He became a teacher at what is now the University of Tokyo and taught many Japanese engineers about Western architecture. The generation that was directly instructed by Conder is called the 1st generation of architects, and among them was the famous Tatsuno Kingo who designed Tokyo Station.
Furthermore, engineers who learned from Tatsuno Kingo are called the 2nd generation, and the 2nd-generation architect, Shiro Mitsuhashi built the Nanbe-cho Post Office Bldg. The design he learned is reflected in the building.
True to Renaissance style, the building is in a bilaterally symmetrical, square C shape with square pilasters ornamented on top placed on either side of the main entrance that protrudes slightly from the building. The entrance is arch shaped with a pediment (the triangular area attached to the top of entrances and windows) on the arch.
Arched windows on the 1st floor and windows with pediments on the 2nd floor are placed in an orderly fashion to create a well-regulated beauty of form in the moderate design. Fukuoka Iwasaki Gumi was in charge of construction.
The building was designated a national registered tangible cultural property (building) in 2001. Currently, there is a café on the western side of the 1st floor, and a display corner of materials related to the building in the southwest corner of the 1st floor. -
■ Information
Address：22-8 Nanbe-cho, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture
Tel： 083-222-0161
Parking：available
Hours : 9:00–17:00; Illumination: Sunset to 22:00
Closed : Saturdays, Sundays
Fee : Free
Other/Notifications：Can only be viewed on weekdays
URL: -
■Category
Category: Constituent cultural properties
Genre: Story 2
Areas:Shimonoseki area
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