is the
diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...
of
Japan to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. It is located at 2520
Massachusetts Avenue NW
Massachusetts Avenue is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C., and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District is a historic district that includes part of it.
Appearing in Peter Charles L'Enfant's original plan, Massachusetts Av ...
, Washington, D.C., in the
Embassy Row
Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C. with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded ...
neighborhood. In addition to serving as Japan's diplomatic mission in the United States, the embassy provides Japanese consular services to residents of the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
, and
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
.
Ambassador
The incumbent
Ambassador of Japan to the United States is Koji Tomita, who presented his credentials in February 2021.
Past Ambassadors include
Kenichirō Sasae
is a retired Japanese diplomat who served as Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2010 - 2012 and Japan's ambassador to the United States from 2012 - 2018. He is currently President of the Japan Institute of International Affairs.
Career
Sa ...
, who presented his credentials in November 2012, and
Ichirō Fujisaki, who served as ambassador from 2008 to October 2012.
The ambassador lives at 4000 Nebraska Avenue NW. The home, which sits on eight acres in the
American University Park
American University Park is a neighborhood of Washington, D.C., named for the American University. AU Park, as it is often abbreviated, is situated against the Maryland border in the Northwest quadrant, bounded by Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Ne ...
neighborhood of northwest Washington, D.C., was designed by Japanese architect
Isoya Yoshida and completed in 1977 at a cost of $12 million ($50.85 million in 2022).
About the building
The embassy was designed by the U.S. firm of Delano & Aldrich (one of whose principals was
William Adams Delano
William Adams Delano (January 21, 1874 – January 12, 1960), an American architect, was a partner with Chester Holmes Aldrich in the firm of Delano & Aldrich. The firm worked in the Beaux-Arts tradition for elite clients in New York City, Lon ...
, a distant relative of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
).
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...
Hirohito
Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
allegedly approved the design personally.
The
United States Commission of Fine Arts
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States, and was established in 1910. The CFA has review (but not approval) authority over the "design and aesthetics" of all construction with ...
approved the design of the building on September 16, 1930. Erected in 1931, the building is in the
Georgian Revival
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, ...
architectural style, with subtle elements of
Japanese architecture
has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors ('' fusuma'') and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space t ...
.
[''Washington, D.C.'', p. 209.][Field, Gournay, and Somma, p. 139-140.]["Japanese Embassy." HABS No. DC-264. Historic American Buildings Survey. Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. National Park Service. Department of Interior. 1971, p. 1.](_blank)
Accessed 2013-06-18.
As originally designed, the embassy consisted of the ambassador's residence, two
chancery
Chancery may refer to:
Offices and administration
* Chancery (diplomacy), the principal office that houses a diplomatic mission or an embassy
* Chancery (medieval office), responsible for the production of official documents
* Chancery (Scotlan ...
buildings with strong Japanese architectural influence, a tea house, and tennis, gym, and other recreational facilities.
The embassy features a cobblestone courtyard and driveway in front of the building.
The original embassy building is now known as the Old Ambassador's Residence, and is located at 2516 Massachusetts Avenue NW. The original embassy and the two chancery buildings are two-and-a-half stories in height, with two underground levels. The total building height is about .
The chancery buildings, which front onto Massachusetts Avenue NW, are about wide. The grounds were landscaped to complement
Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park is a large urban park that bisects the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The park was created by an Act of Congress in 1890 and today is administered by the National Park Service. In addition to the park proper, the Rock Cr ...
, which abuts the rear of the embassy grounds. As of 1971, the Japanese Embassy was one of the few remaining formal estates in the city.
The total cost of construction was $500,000.
Following the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...
in December 1941, the embassy was seized by the United States government and re-purposed to house the
Far Eastern Commission. The embassy was returned to Japanese control in April 1952.
In 1959, then-Ambassador Koichiro Asagai and
Tatsunosuke Takasaki, a member of the House of Representatives of the
National Diet, proposed creating a replica of the rock garden at
Ryōan-ji
Ryōan-ji ( ja, 竜安寺, label= Shinjitai, ja, 龍安寺, label= Kyūjitai, ''The Temple of the Dragon at Peace'') is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhis ...
at the Japanese embassy. Constructed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first Japanese embassy to the United States, the scaled-down garden was finished in 1960. A small teahouse named Ippakutei (the "Teahouse of 100 Years"), built in the style found at the
Katsura Imperial Villa
The , or Katsura Detached Palace, is an Imperial residence with associated gardens and outbuildings in the western suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. Located on the western bank of the Katsura River in Katsura, Nishikyō-ku, the Villa is 8km distant f ...
, is in back of the rock garden.
The Japanese Embassy was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
on February 20, 1973.
Chancery

A stark,
Modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
chancery building (the offices of an embassy) was completed in 1986.
The chancery was built after Congress passed the Foreign Missions Act in 1982, which made it easier for embassies in the District of Columbia to expand their chanceries.
[Mariano, Ann. "State Department, City Clash Over Zoning Rules For Japanese Chancery." ''Washington Post.'' February 19, 1983.] Oddly, the new law significantly delayed construction of the chancery. The federal government lagged in promulgating regulations for the approval of chanceries, which meant that the chancery had to be approved by the District of Columbia Zoning Commission instead. But by the time the matter arose before the Zoning Commission in February 1983, the city was already in a multi-year process to revise its zoning regulations. The delay imperiled the funding provided by the Japanese government for the new building.
Under intense pressure from the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
as well as the Japanese and Saudi Arabian governments (both of which wanted to build new chanceries immediately), the city enacted emergency zoning regulations on April 12, 1983.
[Mariano, Ann. "District Passes Emergency Zoning Regulations." ''Washington Post.'' April 13, 1983.] Construction of the chancery was approved on June 10.
[Mariano, Ann. "Japanese Get District Approval To Begin Expansion of Embassy." ''Washington Post.'' June 11, 1983.] It was designed by architect Robert B. Anderson of the Benham Group. The local
Advisory Neighborhood Commission
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are bodies of local government in District of Columbia, in the United States. The ANC system was created in 1974 through a District referendum (73 percent voted "yes") in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. T ...
and the Sheridan-Kalorama Neighborhood Council applauded the design for "retaining the historical aspects" of the embassy compound.
The project consolidated chancery offices from two rented buildings elsewhere in the District into a single structure on the embassy grounds.
The chancery has 250 underground parking spaces,
and a tunnel from Waterside Drive lead to the underground parking garage (providing a more secure entry for important diplomats or visitors).
Events
President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...
visited the embassy on June 16, 1980,
and on March 17, 2011, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
visited the embassy to express condolences over the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six m ...
. President
Joe Biden visited the embassy on July 2022 after
the Assasination of the former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe. To pay respect and tribute.
Programs
The Washington Japanese Language School (ワシントン日本語学校 ''Washington Nihongo Gakkō''), a
supplementary school for Japanese children subsidized by the Japanese government, was first established in 1958,
with classes held in the basement.
[ ]
Clipping
from Newspapers.com. the school offices are in Maryland and classes are held at
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school, founded in 1923, in the Network of Sacred Heart schools for girls. The school offers grades 1-12 and a co-educational early childhood program.
History ...
in
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...
.
[
]
See also
*Japanese Embassy to the United States (1860)
The was dispatched in 1860 by the Tokugawa shogunate (bakufu). Its objective was to ratify the new Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation between the United States and Japan, in addition to being Japan's first diplomatic mission to the ...
*Japan–United States relations
International relations between Japan and the United States began in the late 18th and early 19th century with the diplomatic but force-backed missions of U.S. ship captains James Glynn and Matthew C. Perry to the Tokugawa shogunate. Follow ...
*Embassy of the United States, Tokyo
The Embassy of the United States in Tokyo (駐日アメリカ合衆国大使館 ''Chū Ni~Tsu Amerikagasshūkoku taishikan'') represents the United States in Tokyo, Japan. Along with consulates in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Naha, the E ...
* U.S.-Japan Council
References
Bibliography
*Federal Writers' Project. ''Washington City and Capital.'' Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1937.
*Field, Cynthia R.; Gournay, Isabelle; and Somma, Thomas P. ''Paris on the Potomac: The French Influence on the Architecture and Art of Washington, D.C.'' Athens, Ga.: United States Capitol Historical Society, 2007.
*Salmi, Noelle. ''Frommer's San Francisco Day by Day.'' Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
*Yamada, Shoji. ''Shots in the Dark: Japan, Zen, and the West.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009.
*''Washington, D.C.'' Greenville, SC: Michelin Travel Publications, 2001.
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Japan
Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District
Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C.
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
Japan–United States relations
Japanese-American culture in Washington, D.C.
Japan