かつてこの地にあった旧三井本館は、1923年（大正12年）の関東大震災の被災を受け、当時の三井合名会社（※）社長・三井八郎右衞門髙棟、同社理事長・團琢磨によって、東京復興の規範を示すべく、建て替えが決定されました。
設計・施工を依頼したのは、当時世界最先端の建設技術を誇ったアメリカの〈トローブリッジ・アンド・リヴィングストン〉事務所。「関東大震災の二倍の地震が来ても壊れない」強度や「壮麗、品位、簡素」をコンセプトに掲げる秀逸なデザインのほか、空調をはじめとする先端設備、非常に短い工期を実現した工法が採用されました。
総事業費は当時の一般的なビルの建築費の約10倍。当時の日本の建設業界全体に多大な影響をあたえたプロジェクトでもあり、その成果は現代にも受け継がれています。
（※）三井合名会社は、1909年（明治42年）に設立された、三井家の11名のみを出資社員とする日本初のホールディング・カンパニー。直轄事業のうち、三井銀行、旧三井物産の2社は合名会社から株式会社へ改組。三井鉱山は三井合名に吸収され、三井合名鉱山部を経て、2年後に株式会社となった。三井の財閥体制に三井信託、三井生命、三井倉庫などが加わっていく。全体の資産を統合し、本社を合名会社として傘下に株式会社化した子会社を置くかたちは、イギリスのロスチャイルド家に見られるコンツェルン形態であった。
三井本館について
三井本館
東京都中央区日本橋室町2-1-1
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東京メトロ 銀座線「三越前」駅 A-7・A-8 直結
東京メトロ 半蔵門線「三越前」駅 A-7・A-8 直結
東京メトロ 東西線「日本橋」駅 徒歩7分
東京都営 浅草線「日本橋」駅 徒歩10分
東京メトロ 丸の内線「大手町」駅 徒歩11分
JR総武線「新日本橋」駅 徒歩3分
JR山手線「神田」駅 徒歩7分
JR山手線「東京」駅 徒歩12分
About the Mitsui Main Building
With the previous Mitsui Main Building, which occupied this site, suffering severe damage from the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923 (Taisho 12), a reconstruction plan to create a structure that would serve as a model example for the restoration of Tokyo was initiated under the direction of the president of the Mitsui Gomei Kaisha, Hachiroemon Takamine Mitsui, and the managing director, Takuma Dan.
The firm in charge of the project was Trowbridge & Livingston, who prided themselves on the state-of-the-art architectural technology at the time. The building featured sturdiness that could withstand an earthquake twice the size of the Great Kanto earthquake, a design that follows the main concepts of “magnificence,” “elegance,” and “simplicity,” cutting-edge amenities including air conditioning, and moreover, was built with a method of construction that necessitated an exceptionally short-span of time.
The total project fee amounted to ten times the cost required to construct a standard building of the time. It is a project that greatly impacted the Japanese construction industry of the time, and the legacy it left still remains relevant today.
*About the Mitsui Gomei Kaisha
In 1909, Mitsui Gomei Kaisha (literally, “Mitsui General Partnership Corp.”) was established as the first Japanese holding company comprised of solely 11 investing partners from the Mitsui family. Out of the subsidiaries overseen by the holding company, Mitsui Bank and ex-Mitsui & Co. were later reorganized as separate operating entities. Mitsui Mining was initially absorbed by the Mitsui Gomei Kaisha and thereafter gained its own corporate entity after functioning as the company’s mining subsidiary for two years. The Mitsui zaibatsu then moved on to incorporate Mitsui Trust, Mitsui Life Insurance, and Mitsui Soko Group into their system. This structure of consolidating the company’s entire asset as a holding company, which then serves as the umbrella body for legally independent subsidiaries, is a business model seen practiced by the Rothchild family of England as well.
The firm in charge of the project was Trowbridge & Livingston, who prided themselves on the state-of-the-art architectural technology at the time. The building featured sturdiness that could withstand an earthquake twice the size of the Great Kanto earthquake, a design that follows the main concepts of “magnificence,” “elegance,” and “simplicity,” cutting-edge amenities including air conditioning, and moreover, was built with a method of construction that necessitated an exceptionally short-span of time.
The total project fee amounted to ten times the cost required to construct a standard building of the time. It is a project that greatly impacted the Japanese construction industry of the time, and the legacy it left still remains relevant today.
*About the Mitsui Gomei Kaisha
In 1909, Mitsui Gomei Kaisha (literally, “Mitsui General Partnership Corp.”) was established as the first Japanese holding company comprised of solely 11 investing partners from the Mitsui family. Out of the subsidiaries overseen by the holding company, Mitsui Bank and ex-Mitsui & Co. were later reorganized as separate operating entities. Mitsui Mining was initially absorbed by the Mitsui Gomei Kaisha and thereafter gained its own corporate entity after functioning as the company’s mining subsidiary for two years. The Mitsui zaibatsu then moved on to incorporate Mitsui Trust, Mitsui Life Insurance, and Mitsui Soko Group into their system. This structure of consolidating the company’s entire asset as a holding company, which then serves as the umbrella body for legally independent subsidiaries, is a business model seen practiced by the Rothchild family of England as well.
Mitsui Main Building
2-1-1 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Access
Please use public transportation when visiting.
Directly connected from A7 and A8 exits from Mitsukoshimae Station on the Ginza Line
Directly connected from A7 and A8 exits from Mitsukoshimae Station on the Hanzomon Line
A 7-minute walk from Nihonbashi Station on the Tozai Line
A 10-minute walk from Nihonbashi Station on the Asakusa Line
An 11-minute walk from Otemachi Station on the Marunouchi Line
A 3-minute walk from JR Shin-Nihonbashi Station
A 7-minute walk from JR Kanda Station
A 12-minute walk from JR Tokyo Station
