Tokyo Station - History

History

In 1889, a Tokyo municipal committee drew up plans for an elevated railway line connecting the Tōkaidō Main Line terminal at Shinbashi to the Nippon Railway (now Tōhoku Main Line) terminal at Ueno. The Imperial Diet resolved in 1896 to construct a new station on this line called Central Station (中央停車場, Chūō Teishajō?), located directly in front of the gardens of the Imperial Palace.

Construction was delayed due to the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War, but finally commenced in 1908. The three-story station building was designed by architect Tatsuno Kingo (who also designed Manseibashi Station and the nearby Bank of Japan building) as a restrained celebration of Japan's costly victory in the Russo-Japanese War. The building is often rumored to be fashioned after Amsterdam's main station, although there is little evidence to support the opinion. Terunobu Fujimori, a scholar of Western architecture, denies the rumor, having studied Tatsuno's styles as well as the building itself.

Tokyo Station opened on December 20, 1914 with four platforms; two serving electric trains (current Yamanote/Keihin-Tohoku Line platforms) and two serving non-electric trains (current Tōkaidō Line platforms). The Chūō Main Line extension to the station was completed in 1919 and originally stopped at the platform now used by northbound Yamanote/Keihin-Tōhoku trains. During this early era, the station only had gates on the Marunouchi side, with the north side serving as an exit and the south side serving as an entrance.

In 1921, Prime Minister Hara Takashi was assassinated at the south gates. The Yaesu side of the station opened in 1929.

Much of the station was destroyed in B-29 firebombing on May 25, 1945. The bombing shattered the impressive glass domes. The station was quickly rebuilt within the year, but simple angular roofs were built in place of the domes, and the restored building was only two stories tall instead of three.

The Yaesu side was also rebuilt following the war, but the rebuilt structure was damaged by fire in 1949, and the Yaesu side was then significantly upgraded with a contemporary exterior and large Daimaru department store. The new Yaesu side facilities opened in 1953, including two new platforms for Tōkaidō Main Line services (now used by Shinkansen trains). Two more platforms opened in 1964 to accommodate the first Shinkansen services. The Yaesu side was partially rebuilt again in 1991 to accommodate the Shinkansen extension from Ueno.

From July 1987 to 2000 there were a series of regular free public concerts held in Tokyo station. Referred to as "Tokyo Eki Kon" (Tokyo Station Concerts) they were first held as a celebration of the launch of Japan Railways Group as the privatized successor to the state-owned Japanese National Railways. 246 concerts were performed but the popularity waned and the last one was held in November 2000. The event returned in 2004 as the "Aka Renga (Red Brick) Concerts", and held 19 times, but after redevelopment of the station started in earnest the concerts were suspended once again. In 2012, as the reconstruction approached its end, there were calls for the concerts to be held again.

The Tokyo Station complex is currently undergoing extensive development, which include major improvements to the Marunouchi (west) and Yaesu (east) sides of the station. The Marunouchi side underwent an extensive 5-year renovation which was completed in October 2012. The historic 98-year-old Marunouchi side of the station was restored to pre-war condition. The bombing of Tokyo during World War II caused extensive damage to the Tokyo Station building, shattering the glass domes which originally adorned the rooftops of the building. Angular rooftops intended to be temporary replaced the domes, but remained until the renovations. The surrounding area converted into a broad plaza extending into a walkway toward the Imperial Palace, with space for bus and taxi ranks. On the Yaesu side, the current multi-story exterior will be replaced by a much lower structure with a large canopy covering outdoor waiting and loading areas, and will connect the newly built GranTokyo North and South Towers at both ends. The high rise office towers will provide additional access to and from the station, and include multi-story shopping areas which will contribute to the station complex. This project is due to be fully complete by 2013.