1876 Yoshitora Ukiyo-e View of the Dai-Ichi National Bank Building, Tokyo

This stunning 1876 Ukiyo-e triptych, depicting the Dai-Ichi Bank Building in Tokyo, was drawn by the artist Yoshitora and published by Takekawa Seikichi. Both the bank and its building, along with several other financial institutions in the same area, were key signifiers of Japan's modernization in the early Meiji period.

A Closer Look

Edobashi (江戸橋) is to the left, and Nihonbashi (here as 日本ばし) is to the far left, while Yoroibashi (here as よろいばし) is just to the right of the bank building, indicating a general northwards orientation. The Kaiun Bridge, referred to in the title, sat between Edobashi and Yoroibashi in Tokyo's Kabutochō (兜町) neighborhood. The bridge is gone, but a stone pillar remains as a memorial. Like the other bridges just mentioned, it was a wooden bridge from the Edo period but was rebuilt with stone in the Meiji period, in this case, 1875, which was likely part of the motivation for drawing this view. As a side note, the utilization of both kanji and kana in place names (such as 'bridge' being rendered as both 橋and ばし) is a reflection of the exciting but somewhat confused linguistic atmosphere of the early Meiji.

The main focus of the view is the Dai-Ichi Kokuritsu, or First National Bank, Building (discussed more below), which was notable for being among the first Western-style banks and the first Western-style buildings in Japan. Additional buildings in the background are labeled, including other financial institutions such as the Mitsui Group (三ツ井組), Fifth National Bank (第五銀行) and the Kaiwase Kaisha (為替會社).

The Dai-Ichi National Bank

The Dai-Ichi Kokuritsu Bank (First National Bank of Japan) was founded in 1873, shortly after the Meiji Restoration (1868). Among the first Japanese banks to issue banknotes instead of specie (coins), it was founded by Shibusawa Eiichi (渋沢栄一, 1840 - 1931), the father of modern Japanese finance. Shibusawa used the bank as a springboard for building the Meiji Japanese economy, financing hundreds of joint stock corporations (he also founded the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce). It was later an early means for expanding Japanese influence and eventually colonizing Korea. The Dai-Ichi Bank remained a major financial institution into the Second World War period and has since gone through several mergers and divisions, ultimately becoming part of the Mizuho Financial Group.

The bank building seen here was also a novelty, being constructed with brick and standing several stories tall. It was originally built in 1872 and was intended for the Mitsui Group, but was instead acquired by the new Dai-Ichi Bank the following year (though it colloquially continued to be known as the 'Mitsui Building' or 'Mitsui House' for some time). Like the Mitsui Building seen in the background here, the style is not exactly a copy of Western architecture. It is rooted in Western architecture while maintaining some Japanese architectural motifs and styles (such as the pointed roof at the center and the incorporation of bird (possibly cranes) reliefs on the front of the balcony). Although this building no longer exists, the area maintains connections with the financial world as home to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Kaiwase Kaisha, also seen here, was another early Meiji financial experiment that issued loans and paper currency, accepted deposits, and handled foreign exchange (it was closed with the National Bank Act of 1872 which merged several such existing institutions, but the building remained). This was typical of early Meiji financial experiments, which often floundered after a few years and were merged into larger operations. Meanwhile, the Mitsui Group, whose headquarters are prominent at the left, was a vitally important conglomerate in the modernization of Japan, developing into the archetypal zaibatsu (財閥) in the Meiji period; it remains one of the country's most important corporate groups today.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川芳虎, here using his birth name, Nagashima Tatsugorō 永島辰五郎, and signing at left using a penname 孟斎) and printed by Takekawa Seikichi (武川清吉) in May 1876 (Meiji 9). It is rare, only being noted among the holdings of Keio University, the Edo-Tokyo Museum, the National Institute of Japanese Literature, and the Fukuoka City Museum.

The Dai-Ichi Bank Building was so significant to Japan's modernization project that it was drawn by multiple artists in the early Meiji period, and thus this view should be distinguished from several others with similar titles and perspectives, including a highly-similar undated view by Yoshishige (歌川芳重) (titled '東京海運橋三ツ井組第一國立之銀行ハウス之圖'), Kuniteru II's 1872 view of the bridge and bank building ('東京海運橋兜町為換座五階之圖'), and Takeda Ikumaru's (武田幾丸) 1873 view of the same area (東京海運橋兜街三井組為換坐西洋形五階造).