Main Building(original)

1899-1909
Constructed as Togu Gosho (Crown Prince's Palace)
The culmination of Japan's Western architectural technology and skills in the Meiji period
With the wedding of the Crown Prince (Emperor Taisho later) approaching, a momentum toward building a new Western-style Togu Gosho (Crown Prince's residence) grew. Under the overall direction of Dr. Tokuma Katayama, who studied directly under Dr. Josiah Conder, a British architect who took the lead in Japan's Western architecture in the Meiji period (Professor of Architecture at the Imperial College of Engineering (currently The University of Tokyo), eminent scholars, artists and engineers were fully mobilized.
A photo of the main building of the State Guest House, Akasaka Palace at the time of its establishment in 1909, as viewed from the south. A photo of the main gate of the State Gueset House, Akasaka Palace at the time of its establishment in 1909. Unlike today, the main gate was black at this time.