The former Iwasaki House Garden

The Iwasaki Family founded Mitsubishi. These buildings and garden were built in 1896 as a residence for Hisaya, Iwasaki Family’s third head, and were later restructured as Tokyo’s garden. The 12-acre premises used to have 20 buildings. Today, the western-style hall, the Japanese-style hall, the pool hall and the garden are preserved.

The 2-story wooden western-style building with a basement was designed by the famous British architect, Josiah Conder. It represents modern Japanese housing in western style, and the Jacobian decorations inside are a must-see.

The pool hall was also designed by Conder. The wooden structure was likened to a swiss mountain cottage, a rarity in Japan back then. The shoin-style Japanese Hall is attached to the western hall, and a prominent carpenter then, Kijuro Okawa, is said to have worked on it. All these are valuable historical architectural remains of mansions in the Period and are designated as national important cultural properties.