It is ironic because the nearly century-old station is the focal point of two modern, glitzy office building complexes, one in the Marunouchi District on its west side, and the other in the Nihonbashi and Yaesu areas on its east side. Mitsubishi Real Estate Co., one of the developers, intends to 'transform Marunouchi into a world-class center of dynamic interaction,' according to real estate consultant Dylan Robertson, writing in J@pan Inc magazine.
From Soseki Natsume and Ryunosuke Akutagawa to Hyakken Uchida and Hiroyuki Agawa -- Japanese novelists who have written about railroads are numerous. One novelist, Natsuo Sekikawa, offered an explanation for the large number of railroad buffs among baby boomers. 'The heyday of the National Railways coincided with the high economic growth period, a period of need and hope.' There may be Japanese who, when they recall vernal rites such as college entrance exams, matriculation, or job hunting, see in their mind's eye Tokyo Station.
The National Railways directed Tatsuno to design a station after the style of a Momoyama palace, since the building would face Edo Castle. But when the architect showed them design to the Emperor, the castle's post-Restoration resident, His Majesty remarked, 'Stations and the like are best rendered in a foreign style.' Tatsuno returned to the drawing board and designed a Renaissance-style station. But the architect had still another master. Shimpei Goto, director of the National Railways and later mayor of Tokyo, examined Tatsuno's blueprint. 'Japan defeated Imperial Russia,' he said. 'The station will be the gateway to Japan. This is not of sufficient scale. Design a station that will awe the world.' Thereafter Tatsuno modeled the station after Amsterdam Central.
Tokyo Central Station does not awe today, but would have been impressive then. Even if it hadn't suffered a dimension-reducing vicissitude, it has been relatively diminished as the city grew upward and buildings inched closer. Today it is a landmark invisible for the surrounding buildings.
The preservation work to the station will restore the third story and the fourth-story octagonal domes, all of which were consumed by fire in an air raid on May 25, 1945.
'The redevelopment...efforts on the East and West sides of Tokyo Station...are...leading the way for the country as a whole to reposition itself in the global economy,' notes Robertson. And the fulcrum of that repositioning will be an image of 19th century Amsterdam. Ironic indeed.
Burritt Sabin
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