140th Anniversary Thematic Exhibitions: The Museum Building by Josiah Conder

The British architect, Josiah Conder, arrived in Japan in 1877 as an architecture advisor for the new Japanese government. He was immediately involved in the design and construction of the original main building of this museum, which was moved to its present location as the Ueno Museum. The resulting two-storied, brick building was completed in 1881 and used as the gallery space for Japan's second National Industrial Exhibition. After this, it became the museum's Building 1, with people in Japan cherishing its distinctive style for many years. The building was an architectural masterpiece representative of the early period of Conder's long career; however, it was regrettably demolished after being severely damaged in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Fortunately, the plans from the design and construction stages are kept by the Tokyo National Museum, and these records provide a glimpse of the museum as it was in the past. This exhibition, held 140 years after the museum's establishment, displays some of these plans, together with photographs taken during construction of the original main building and after its completion. We hope visitors are able to visualize Conder's impressive building, which stood where the present Honkan building stands.