First Head office of the Steel Works

 

This site is registered on UNESCO World Heritage as Japan’s Meiji Industrial

Revolution site in 2015.

The the building for the Head office of the Imperial Steel Works was constructed in 1899,

two years before commencement of Japan’s Steel Industry.

The design of the building is a harmony of European and Japanese architectural styles.

The construction of the structure below the roof is a European style and uses red bricks

for the outside walls.

Aiming to symbolize a Good future for Japan, the roof was designed with a traditional

Japanese triangular shape and Japanese tiles were used to complete the roof. 

The building was initially used as a Head office until 1922, however with the expansion

of production facilities, the Head Office was moved to another place due to lack of space.

After that, the building was used for various purposes such as a Research and Developing

Center for Steel Products.