Kagawa Prefectural

Government Office East Building

Kagawa Prefectural Government Office Architecture Gallery
(East Building, 1st Floor)

The East Building of the Kagawa Prefectural Government Office was completed
in 1958 (the original main building and east building, design by Kenzo Tange) and
is seen as a representative piece of post-war Japanese architecture. Even now it
receives a steady stream of visitors. With design plans, sketches, and
photographs from the time of completion, this exhibition will look at the ideas
behind its conception and design, how it was completed, and the contribution it
has made to Japanese architectural history. Kagawa Prefectural Government Office at the time of completion (center)
and Takamatsu City (1958) / Owned: Kagawa Prefecture

Modernist Architecture and the Kagawa Prefectural Government Office

In the early years of the 20th century a new form of From the 1920s onwards, modernist architecture in In 1999, “DOCOMOMO Japan” (an international
architectural expression was born against the Japan surpassed the historicist styles that had been organization for the documentation and conservation of
backdrop of modern lifestyles and industry. studied since the Meiji period (1868-1912), and while buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the Modern
“Modernist Architecture” brought with it new developing traditional Japanese ideas and concepts of Movement) selected twenty buildings for “Modernist
technology and new materials, including iron, glass, architectural space, undertook to utilize the results of Architecture as Cultural Properties”. The East Building of
and concrete, coming to replace the historicist modern technological innovation and develop a model the Kagawa Prefectural Government Offices was selected and
architectural styles (classicist, gothic) that had been and style that would speak to people’s hearts. Japan in praised for its spacious composition, in particular the area
prevalent up to that point. the 20th century is shown in the design, the structure, dedicated for the use of residents in the city, its expression of
and the use of space found here. Modernist architecture tradition, cooperation with artists during construction, and
in this sense is a “cultural property” that reflects its its core system for protection against earthquakes. It was the
period. only government building to be selected.

The Battle with The Approach of

Historicism Modern
Technology
YS Chichibu Cement Plant YS
Sumitomo Building [1926]
Chochikukyo [1928] YS Kameki Tsuchiura House [1935] EK (Taiheiyo Cement Plant) [1956]
Sumitomo Eizen Design Office Eikichi Hasebe /
Kenzo Takekoshi Koji Fujii Kameki Tsuchiura Yoshiro Taniguchi + Nikken Sekkei

Kanagawa Prefectural Library EK

YS YS YS
Dojunkai Building [1926~1934] Keio Gijyuku Grade School [1937] Gunma Music Center [1961] and Music Hall [1954]
Dojunkai Building Department Yoshiro Taniguchi + Sone Chujo Architects Antonin Raymond Kunio Mayekawa

YS Kosuge Prison YS
Tokyo Central Post Office [1931] YS EK
(Tokyo Detention Center) [1929] Hizuchi Grade School [1958] Hara House [1954]
Tetsuro Yoshida
(Building Section of Post Telephone Telegraph Office) Shigeo Kanbara (Building Section of Judicial Office) Masatsune Matsumura Important Cultural Properties Makoto Masuzawa

Pursuing
Dynamic
Models
National Gymnasiums for YS
Palaceside Building [1966] EK Kagawa Prefectural Government Office [1958] TM Tokyo Olympics [1964]
Nikken Sekkei (Shoji Hayashi) Kenzo Tange Kenzo Tange

Japanese
Tradition and
Creation
The Museum of Modern Art, EK
Ube City Public Hall [1937] YS Inter-University Seminer House [1965] EK Hiroshima Peace Center [1952] EK Kanagawa [1951] Miyuki-no-ma, Hasshokan [1950] YS

Togo Murano Important Cultural Properties Takamasa Yoshizaka (AtlierU) Kenzo Tange Important Cultural Properties Junzo Sakakura Sutemi Horiguchi

DOCOMOMO20JAPAN & Kagawa Prefectural Government Office / Photo: Yuzuru SHIMIZU(YS), Eiji KITADA(EK), Toshihiro MISAKI(TM)
 Photo : Keiichi MASUDA Photo : Toshihiro MISAKI

Open Space for the People of the Prefecture Creation from Tradition
The offices have a plaza where people can gather and relax. The widely spaced Traditional Japanese architectural features, like the combination of pillars and beams
pillars, the lobby on the first floor, and the south garden with its small rolling creating the impression of a wooden structure, and the railing on the veranda, are all
hills offer an abundantly spacious, gently interwoven composition. constructed using modern materials. Even after half a century has passed, the concrete
remains strong. The south garden stretches out in front of the building and was made in a
Japanese style incorporating a desire to improve the lives of the people of the area.

Kagawa Prefectural Government Office

Towards Open Government Offices and the Integration of Art

Photo: Kouji KAMIYA

Building the steel frame (1956)

Photo: Kouji KAMIYA The use of reinforcing steel was still extremely rare at the time,
Those involved with the construction of the Government Offices (1955) and it served to increase the strength of the concrete. The most
Masanori Kaneko, then the Governor of Kagawa Prefecture, stands in the center in a white suit. To the right are Kenzo Tange, and Yoshikatsu advanced technology at the time was being put to use, and
Tsuboi (who worked on structural design). Governor Kaneko asked Tange to create a design that was “fitting for government offices in the included gas pressure welding, another unusual technique, for
age of democracy”, and “fitting for the main building of tourism in Kagawa”. the fittings of the steel bars.

Photo: Kouji KAMIYA Photo: Kouji KAMIYA

Moving stones (1957) Fifth proposal for the South Garden: model (1957)
Aji granite, chosen as a symbol of good harvest, was brought to the site over The Kenzo Tange Laboratory was responsible for the design of the garden. Oil-based clay was used in many layers of the
the period of a day, and laid at the pond. study, and the garden stones were laid in the pond as a “symbol of good harvest” and part of the wish for the rich lives of the
local people, which was contrary to the typical ideas that go into Japanese gardens, like the wish for the long youth and
longevity of the owner.
 Four Highlights of the
Kagawa Prefectural Government Offices

Photo : Toshihiro MISAKI Photo : Seiji IZUMI

Integration of Art  The Core System

In the first floor lobby, open planned with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, is “Wakeiseijaku – At the center of the high rise building (the old main building), is the
Harmony, Respect, Purity, Tranquility” by the artist Genichiro Inokuma, to welcome people architectural “spinal cord” of the construction, the concrete anti-seismic wall,
into the building. Inokuma considered the ideas of post-war democracy to be in the spirit of the first of its kind in Japan. The public facilities including the stairs, elevator,
the Japanese tea ceremony, and created this piece. The Kenzo Tange Laboratory produced and toilet are centered on the core and office space is provided by partitions
the designs for wooden and ceramic chairs, wooden shelves, and stone tables. All serving which run along the small beams.
to contribute to the “integration of art” into public spaces.

Photo: Kouji KAMIYA

The production of the reception desk
Photo: Yasushi ICHIKAWA
The Governor’s Desk in the 1st floor lobby
This desk was made by the international designer Isamu Kenmochi. He aimed to produce a “Japanese Modern” At the time many desks were produced in a geometric style which utilized the shape of
style, which combined traditional Japanese designs with modern techniques and materials. It is currently on display the materials. This photo shows Governor Kaneko inspecting the production of the Aji
in the Kagawa Prefectural Museum. granite desk.

Owned : Kagawa Prefectural

The hall of the Prefectural
Office at the timeof completion (1958)
The furniture was designed by Isamu Kenguchi, and is still in use today.

Photo : Toshihiro MISAKI

The roof in the present day
(off limits to visitors)

Open Space on the Roof

At the suggestion of Governor Kaneko,
the roof was made an open space.
Visitors could enjoy coffee and beer
from the restaurant while enjoying the
view out over the Seto Inland Sea. It
Photo : Toshihiro MISAKI was popular among residents as a
The entrance of the Prefectural Office Hall today place to come and relax.
A red gotou painted door and shelves designed by Kenzo Tange. Photo: Kouji KAMIYA
Blueprint design of the Kagawa Prefectural Kagawa Prefectural Government Office Data
Government Office Owned : Kagawa Prefectural Design / Kenzo Tange Laboratory (Kenzo Tange, Takashi Asada, Taneo Oki, Kouji Kamiya)
The design is dated 10th of June, 1955. You can Structure Design / Yoshikatsu Tsuboi Facilities / Kenji Kawai, Toshio Sakawa
Furniture / Isamu Kenmochi, Testsuo Matsumoto, Yasuko Yoshida, Yasuji Kobayashi Mural / Genichiro Inokuma
clearly see the design which places the core at the
Construction / Obayashi Corporation Design Period / 1954-1957 (including garden) Construction period / December 1955 – May 1958
center of the building, and standing as if it were Completion / 26th May 1958 Structure / 8 floors of steel reinforced concrete Total floor space / 12,066.20㎡ (at the time of completion)
the building`s spinal cord. Awards / 1st Building Contractors Society Award (1960), Top 100 Civil Architecture Award (1998), DOCOMOMO 20 Japan Award (1999)

The Architecture of
Tange in the Setouchi
Many of the early works of Kenzo Tange are found in the Setouchi area,
and are in tune with Japanese traditions, local characteristics, and the
prevailing post-war democracy. For Kenzo Tange, the Setouchi was
where he discovered his unique identity, gained a large number of
supporters and collaborators, and where he first developed architecture
that was connected to real society. The Kagawa Prefectural Government
Office is the result of his time here.
The works of Kenzo Tange that remain in the various areas of the
Setouchi serve to inspire architects working here, and have given rise to
a number of new distinctive works. His buildings have become the
influential foundation of the architectural culture of the Setouchi area.
Commemorative photograph of Kenzo Tange taken just Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium (1964) / Owned : Kagawa Prefectural
before completion (Spring 1958) / Photo: Kouji KAMIYA

Ichinomiya Row Houses, Takamatsu (1960-64) Model of Memorial for Students Who Perished in the War (1966) / Photo: Yasushi ICHIKAWA Model of Imabari City Office Complex (City Office, City Assembly 1958, Public Hall 1965) /
Not extant / Photo: Kouji KAMIYA Photo: Yasushi ICHIKAWA