Otaru City Museum Director Naoaki Ishikawa Updated 2020.12.20

The Meiji government's construction of huge Western-style buildings in major cities such as Tokyo was a major force in helping the public understand Japan's modernization. In addition to inviting foreign engineers, training Japanese architects became an urgent task.

In 1877, the Meiji government invited Josiah Conder, a young architect just 25 years old, from England to become a professor of architecture at the Imperial College of Engineering. His first students were just four, one of whom was Shichijiro Sata (1856-1922), the designer of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha Otaru Branch (hereafter referred to as "Nippon Yusen Otaru Branch" or "Otaru Branch"), an Important Cultural Property.

Sata's classmates were Tatsuno Kingo, who designed the Bank of Japan Head Office and Otaru Branch and Tokyo Station, Sone Tatsuzo, who worked on the Mitsubishi Ichigokan and Mitsui Bank Otaru Branch, and Katayama Tokuma, who designed buildings related to the Imperial Household Ministry such as the State Guest House. All of them have built many buildings throughout Japan, many of which have been designated as Important Cultural Properties.

On the other hand, Sata's only works are the Otaru branch and the "Japan Geodetic Standards Archive" (a nationally designated important cultural property) in Tokyo. He was apparently not particularly sociable, and is less well known than the other three. However, while the three had strong personalities, such as Tatsuno, who was said to be his "classmate" but would later lead the Japanese architectural world and become a professor at the University of Tokyo, and Sone, who was the same age as his mentor Conder and a survivor of the Shogitai, Sata was only 18 years old when he met Conder, and was the youngest, so it was an environment that would have made it difficult for him to assert himself.

Perhaps because of this, his mentor Conder often took Sata with him as an assistant on construction sites. In that sense, it could be said that Sata was the person most faithfully influenced by Conder. His masterpieces, such as the Nagoya Post Office (destroyed in the Nobi earthquake, which is said to have been the catalyst for Sata's reclusive lifestyle) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake), were both heavy yet elegant works incorporating European styles.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange in particular has an exterior very similar to the Otaru branch, and can be considered a prototype. Following Conder's teachings, the interior decoration was designed with a unified design, while also skillfully incorporating imported building materials. At the same time, the design was also considerate of the user, with double-glazed windows and handles suitable for cold climates, and lighting that can illuminate the hands. It can be said that the building has firmly inherited elements of modern architecture from Conder, such as dividing the flow of traffic within the building into three sections: general visitors, distinguished guests, and staff.

Photo: The building at the time of completion (Otaru City Museum collection)

Photo: The first-floor sales office. A row of lights hangs low from the ceiling. Due to preservation and repair work, both the interior and exterior will be closed to the public from July 2020 to June 2023.

Photo: Double-glazed windows on the first floor

One of the most impressive things about the interior of the former NYK Otaru branch is the "Kinkarakawashi" (golden leather paper) that is pasted throughout the VIP room and the main conference room on the second floor. 110 years have passed since it was first made, and although its dazzling luster has faded, its intricate patterns and three-dimensional composition are enough to remind us of the splendor of its past.

Photo: The second floor VIP room at the time. Gold leather paper is pasted all over the walls.

As mentioned above, the wallpaper used at the Nippon Yusen Otaru branch was constructed using the latest technology at the time and imported building materials that made use of the building's own shipping routes, so there was a time when it was naturally described as "British wallpaper" or "gorgeous European wallpaper."

The Otaru City Museum, which has used this wallpaper since 1956, also stated in its original manual that the wallpaper was "Made in England." However, during restoration work that began in 1984 after the wallpaper was designated as a National Important Cultural Property, it was discovered that the wallpaper was made from processed washi paper, which was once manufactured using Japan's proud technology and exported overseas.

"Kinkarakawa" (golden leather) first appears in history. Leather made by layering thin metal foil, embossing floral and other patterns, and then processing it to give it a glossy finish became popular in Western Europe around the 16th century. It was primarily used to decorate chairs and other furniture, and in the 17th century, it was brought to Japan via the Netherlands. This leather decoration came to be called "Kinkarakawa" (a imported leather product that shines gold).

From the late 18th century to the 19th century, imitations of this paper made from Japanese paper appeared and began to be used for tobacco pouches and other items. As they were imitation leather products, they were called "kinkara leather paper."

As the Meiji era began, technology continued to evolve. This trend caught the eye of the Printing Bureau of the Ministry of Finance. When the Printing Bureau was first established, it was not just a banknote printing factory, its primary business, but also a model factory for cutting-edge printing technology, and it also produced side products (such as soap and vermilion ink). Within this department, a group of skilled workers specializing in washi paper processing began producing gold leather paper for wallpaper.

As a result, in 1880, they succeeded in creating a prototype, and when they sent samples to Europe and the United States, they created an extremely excellent product that was flooded with orders. Production and exports of this product reached its peak in the early 1890s. When Saratachi was designing the Otaru branch, Japanese gold leather paper was still in its glory days.

Later, with the spread of machine-made washi paper, the availability of high-quality washi paper decreased, and cheaper imitations began to be produced by machine in Europe and the United States, leading to a decline in production and technology. Records show that the last washi factory ceased production in 1937, and it was subsequently forgotten.

However, construction work at the NYK Otaru branch prompted attempts to restore this technique. At the same time, the existence of Kinkarakawashi paper was rediscovered throughout the country, and the experience gained at the Otaru branch is now being put to good use in its restoration.

Take a closer look at the wallpaper at the NYK Otaru branch. It is a single roll of paper that covers the entire floor and ceiling. It is made using the technique of Kinkarakawashi, which involves pressing the paper onto a wooden mold to create the uneven surface. The technique for creating this seamless pattern has yet to be fully understood, and a complete restoration of this wallpaper is still impossible. Kinkarakawashi is an exceptionally fine work of art, yet it was extremely short-lived. Perhaps it is this history that gives the wallpaper its melancholic feel as its color fades over time.

Photo: The current gold-leaf leather paper in the VIP room on the second floor

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