Across from the Hanzōmon Gate stands a site of considerable gravity. This is the British Embassy in Tokyo. It is the chief diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom in Japan. The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Japan leads the mission.
The British Embassy in Tokyo plays a vital role. It sustains relations between Japan and the United Kingdom. It addresses political, economic, and cultural interactions. The embassy also offers visa services. These services are for Japanese and other nationals in Japan. It provides consular services to about 19000 British citizens in Japan. The UK also has a Consulate-General in Osaka.
In 1858, diplomatic relations formally began. This was between the United Kingdom and the Tokugawa shogunate. It followed the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce. Sir Rutherford Alcock became Consul-General in Japan. He resided at the British Legation in Kobe. In 1859, the first legation in Edo, now Tokyo, opened. It was at the Tōzen-ji temple in Takanawa. Alcock moved to Edo and became Minister Plenipotentiary.
Security became a concern by 1861. Members of the Sonnō jōi movement attacked the British Legation. They revered the emperor and wanted to expel foreigners. Alcock was severely injured. The attacks showed Tōzen-ji was unsuitable. Its architecture and location were not secure. The legation moved to Yokohama.
Takasugi Shinsaku led a squad on January 31, 1863. They set fire to a new legation building site. This was in Gotenyama, Shinagawa. The site became unusable. The legation remained in Yokohama.
After the Tokugawa shogunate fell in 1868, Tokyo became safer. The new government made it so. Sir Harry Smith Parkes was the new Minister Plenipotentiary. He moved the legation to Tokyo permanently in 1871. Yokohama was too far from the capital. Parkes used Sengaku-ji temple as a temporary office.
Parkes looked for land for the legation. He found properties abandoned by daimyō. This was due to the abolition of the domain system. He acquired the land in 1872. The location was in Ichiban-cho. It was directly across from the Imperial Palace’s Hanzōmon Gate. This site remains home to the British Embassy today. Parkes agreed with the Japanese government in May 1872. He acquired the land with a perpetual fixed-rent leasehold.
Robert Boyce planned the compound’s layout. He was an architect for the Office of Works in Shanghai. The compound included the minister’s residence and chancery offices. There were also single-story houses for British staff. Parkes requested a tower to view Mount Fuji. Construction finished in December 1874. The site was ready in 1875. Thomas Waters designed the red-brick residence. He also rebuilt Ginza as a Western-style “Bricktown.”
The British Legation became an embassy in 1905. This followed Japanese victories over China and Russia. Japan gained status as a great power. The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake damaged the chancery. A new chancery was planned. It opened in 1929.
Diplomatic relations stopped during the Pacific War in 1941. The British Embassy in Tokyo closed. After the Occupation of Japan in 1945, the compound became HMS Return. It was a shore establishment of the Royal Navy. The British Liaison Mission in Tokyo acted as a diplomatic mission from 1946 to 1952. The Treaty of San Francisco came into force on April 28, 1952. The British embassy reopened.
The British Embassy stands as a symbol. It represents the enduring bond between the United Kingdom and Japan. It has adapted through war and natural disasters. The British Embassy continues its important work today. The Hanzōmon Station on the Hanzōmon Line serves the embassy.