The was

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's first Western-style skyscraper. It stood in the

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The ...

district of City of Tokyo (now

Taitō is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it is known as Taitō City. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 186,276, and a population density of 18,420 persons per km2. The total area is . Thi ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

) from 1890 until its demolition following the

Great Kanto earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

of 1923. The , as it was affectionately called by Tokyoites, was Tokyo's most popular attraction, and a showcase for new technologies. It housed Japan's first electric

elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

History

The Ryōunkaku quickly became a landmark and symbol of Asakusa after its opening in 1890. It was a major leisure complex for visitors from all over Tokyo. When the 1894 Tokyo earthquake weakened the structure, it was reinforced with steel girders. However on September 1, 1923, the

destroyed the upper floors and damaged the whole tower so severely, that it had to be

demolished Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

with explosives on September 23. A supermarket stands on the former grounds of the Ryōunkaku, with a historic marker placed near its entrance. In 2018, a nearby construction project unearthed the bricks of the tower's original foundation. Once the industrial building was completed, a reproduction of an 1890 illustration of the Ryōunkaku by

ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...

painter Utagawa Kunimasa IV was added to its outside wall.

Architecture and technology

The Ryōunkaku was designed by Scottish engineer

W. K. Burton William Kinnimond Burton (11 May 1856 – 5 August 1899) was a Scottish people, Scottish engineer, photographer and photography writer, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, who lived most of his career in Meiji period Japan. Biography Early life Bur ...

in the late 1880s, not long after his arrival in Japan. It was a tall tower of red bricks over a wood frame, in renaissance revival style. All twelve floors had electric lighting. The two electric elevators were designed by Ichisuke Fujioka, a founder of

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...

. They served the first through eighth floors, and could carry up to 10 persons each. However, for safety reasons, they were shut down after only half a year of operation.

Building uses

The Ryōunkaku's second through seventh floors held 46 stores selling goods from around the world. A lounge was on the eighth floor, and art exhibitions were held on the ninth floor. The tenth through twelfth floors were observation decks from which all of Tokyo could be seen, and on clear days,

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...

. Many artistic and cultural events were held in the Ryōunkaku, including Western music concerts,

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female J ...

photograph exhibitions, and beauty contests. A well-known store was the place where wood-block prints were made for Sugoroku, a popular Japanese board game.

Ryōunkaku in literature

As the Ryōunkaku's fame spread, it appeared in the works of contemporary authors such as Tanizaki Junichiro,

Ishikawa Takuboku was a Japanese poet. Well known as both a tanka and or poet, he began as a member of the Myōjō group of naturalist poets but later joined the "socialistic" group of Japanese poets and renounced naturalism. He died of tuberculosis. Major wo ...

Kitahara Hakushu Kitahara (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hakushū Kitahara or Kitahara Ryūkichi (1885–1942), Japanese tanka poet * Kana Kitahara (born 1988), Japanese footballer * Kenji Kitahara (born 1976), former ...

and Kaneko Mitsuharu. The edifice's opening was commemorated in

Ogawa Kazumasa , also known as Ogawa Kazuma or Ogawa Isshin, was a Japanese photographer, printer and publisher who was a pioneer in photomechanical printing and photography in the Meiji era. Life Ogawa was born in Saitama to the Matsudaira samurai clan. H ...

's most famous work, ''Types of Japan, Celebrated Geysha of Tokyo in Collotype and From Photographic Negatives Taken by Him'', published around 1892.

Gallery

Ryounkaku-beforedestruction-pond.jpg, Ryōunkaku and surrounding area Jintan 12kai.jpg, Ryōunkaku with Jintan billboard Ryounkaku tower (Asakusa Twelve Stories) model, c. 1890 AD, scale 1 to 10 - Edo-Tokyo Museum - Sumida, Tokyo, Japan - DSC06910.jpg, Architectural model of the tower at

Edo-Tokyo Museum The is a historical museum located at 1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-Ku, Tokyo in the Ryogoku district. The museum opened in March 1993 to preserve Edo's cultural heritage, and features city models of Edo and Tokyo between 1590 (just prior to the ...

Ryounkaku - after 1923 earthquake.jpg, After the earthquake

References

External links

Panoramic View from Observation Deck of RyōunkakuRyōunkaku at the Vintage Japanese Postcard Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryounkaku Towers completed in 1890 Skyscrapers in Tokyo Former buildings and structures in Japan Demolished buildings and structures in Japan Buildings of the Meiji period Retail buildings in Tokyo 1923 Great Kantō earthquake Buildings and structures demolished in 1923