The Tokugawa feudal government enforced the national seclusion policy from the 17th century, with the exception of China, Korea and the Netherlands. Due to the political pressure from the Western countries in the mid-19th century, Japan was obliged to open the door to the world. The US Consulate was founded in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 1856, then the British one in Tokyo in 1872. Through various kinds of difficulties caused by the exclusionism power in Japan, the British Consulate moved to the present site in 1872, and became the British Embassy. The radical exclusionists repeatedly attacked the officers of the consulate by katana, or set the consulate building on fire before it moved. The present site, an area of 36,000 square meters, is very close to the Hanzo-mon gate of the old Edo Castle, and originally was four daimyo mansions. The stately building in the picture, built in 1929, is the oldest embassy building in Japan. In this connection, the land price of this prime downtown location is estimated at 2 billion dollars though, the rent for this is only eight hundred thousand dollars a year. Thus the price negotiation between the two countries is ongoing now.
Licensed tour guide, travel consultant,
Masahisa Takaki.
全国通訳案内士 高木聖久。
