is an early

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

building in the city of Niigata, Niigata, within the MINATOPIA, or park surrounding the Niigata City History Museum. The building was designated an

Important Cultural Property of Japan An The term is often shortened into just is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and judged to be o ...

and a National Historic Site of Japan in 1969. The building is an example of

Giyōfū architecture was a style of Japanese architecture which outwardly resembled Western-style construction but relied on traditional Japanese techniques. It flourished during the early Meiji period, and disappeared as knowledge of Western techniques became more ...

, mixing western and Japanese elements. The building has red roof tiles and arched doorways, combined with " namako-style" plaster walls and a pagoda-like tower.

Overview

The Treaty of Amity and Commerce (United States–Japan) of 1858, otherwise known as the "Harris Treaty" stipulated that the ports of Kanagawa,

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

, Hyōgō and Niiigata be opened to foreign trade as treaty ports. Similar treaties were also signed with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Niigata was the largest port on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

which was under direct control of the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. However, in the case of Niigata, no action was taken until after the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

and the port was only declared open to foreign shipping in 1868. The Niigata Customs House building was built in 1869, initially as a shipping office to coordinate the loading and unloading of vessels and warehousing of cargo, but from 1873 to 1966 was used as a government office to collect customs duties. Since Niigata Port was located on the

Shinano River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing g ...

, a riverbank near the mouth of the river was reclaimed to form a small artificial island, similar to Dejima in

, and the customs office was located on this island. The building was constructed by local carpenters who visited

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

to view the western-style buildings being erected in the treaty port there. The walls of the building utilized the

Namako wall ''Namako'' wall or ''Namako-kabe'' (sometimes misspelled as ''Nameko'') is a Japanese wall design widely used for vernacular houses, particularly on fireproof storehouses by the latter half of the Edo period. The ''namako'' wall is distinguished ...

design that was popular at the time. The building was damaged during the

1964 Niigata earthquake Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, and

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

, and ceased to be used as a customs house in 1966. After its designation as a National Historic Site in 1969, It was turned over to the administration of the city of Niigata in 1970 and after several years of restoration to return it to its early Meiji period appearance, it now serves as a museum. The adjacent customs bonded warehouse was restored in 1982 in order to convey the scenery at the time of the opening of the customs office, and the stone steps of the landing site that had been buried in the ground due to the reclamation of the riverbank and land subsidence were also restored.

References

External links

Niigata City History Museum

{{in lang, ja Museums in Niigata Prefecture Buildings of the Meiji period Buildings and structures in Niigata (city) Historic Sites of Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan Giyōfū architecture

Overview

See also

References

External links