2-3 The Establishment of Sumitomo Main Office’s Temporary Construction Department, Based on the Premise of “Temporary”

The Sumitomo Head Office Temporary Construction Department was established to build the head office, as decided at the Onomichi Conference in Meiji 28 (1895). However, as the term “Temporary” suggests, it was understood that this design organization would be dissolved once the building was completed. Establishing a “temporary” construction department for each major project was a common practice at the time. Examples at the national level include the Ministry of Finance’s Temporary Diet Building Bureau for the National Diet Building and the Bank of Japan’s Temporary Construction Department.

Magochi Noguchi, who would later be recruited by Sumitomo, graduated from the Department of Architecture at the Imperial University’s College of Engineering under Professor Kingo Tatsuno—a leading figure in the Meiji-era architectural world—and, after completing his graduate studies, worked as an engineer at the Ministry of Communications.Sumitomo recruited Noguchi to establish a temporary architecture department and immediately sent him on a study tour of Europe and the United States to observe architectural practices there, a trip that lasted about one year. Great expectations were placed on Noguchi to create authentic Western-style architecture.
Upon his return, on June 1, Meiji 33 (1900), the Temporary Architecture Department at Sumitomo’s head office was officially established, and Noguchi assumed the position of chief engineer. In July of the same year, Yutaka Hidaka graduated from the Department of Architecture at the College of Engineering, Tokyo Imperial University, and joined the Temporary Architecture Department.Hidaka was also dispatched on two separate study tours to Europe and the United States. During his visit to the United States in Taisho 7 (1918), he dined and held discussions with members of the Chairman, as well as with architects such as Cass Gilbert—then considered the pinnacle of the American architectural world—and the firm McKim, Mead & White.It seems that for Noguchi and Hidaka, Europe and the United States were even more familiar to them than they are to us today.
In addition to their international outlook, Noguchi and Hidaka shared another common trait: a deep understanding of structural design. Noguchi studied seismic-resistant structures in graduate school, and Hidaka also gave lectures on structural design at the Architectural Association. Both were architects who placed great emphasis on “technology.”

Shortly after the Temporary Construction Department was established, a group photo of all 26 members was taken in front of the former gate of the Tokushima Domain Storehouse Row Houses along the Dojima River, which had served as the company’s founding office. In the front row, third and fourth from the left, are Magichi Noguchi and Haku Hidaka; of the remaining 24 people, 14 were graduates of the Technical School. This Kōte School was established through the joint private funding of engineering professors—including the President of the University of Tokyo and Kingo Tatsuno—based on the principle that “to promote the prosperity of Japanese industry, it is necessary to train engineers grounded in sound technical education.” Comprising eight departments—civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, architecture, mining, metallurgy, chemical engineering, and shipbuilding—it was Japan’s first privately funded technical and vocational school. The Kote School was established in Meiji 20 (1887) and is now known as Kogakuin University. From its inception, the Temporary Architecture Department was a design organization that brought together professionals who placed a strong emphasis on “technology.”

Although the primary purpose of establishing the Temporary Construction Department was to build the head office, the first projects undertaken were the Osaka Library and the Sumitomo family’s Suma villa.Subsequently, beginning with the bank’s temporary headquarters in Osaka (Meiji 41 <1908>), the division designed and supervised the construction of bank branches in a variety of architectural styles in numerous cities, including Tokyo, Onomichi, Kure, Kobe, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Yokohama, and Niihama.Furthermore, the department designed and supervised the Sumitomo family’s Chausuyama Main Residence, the Yufu-en Villa (the Sumitomo family’s Shishigatani villa) in Kyoto, the Izumiya Hakuko Museum, and two clubhouses. The high quality of these projects enhanced the reputation of the Temporary Construction Department both within and outside the Sumitomo Group.
Meanwhile, the remarkable growth of Sumitomo’s various businesses led to increased demand for diverse types of construction. Consequently, in Meiji 44 (1911), the department was reorganized into the Maintenance Section of the Sumitomo Head Office, transforming it from a “temporary” to a permanent design and supervision organization.
Eikichi Hasebe joined the company in Meiji 42 (1909), and Kenzo Takekoshi joined after returning from the United Kingdom in Taisho 6 (1917); however, it was not until Taisho 9 (1920) that work began on the design of the head office, which had been the department’s original purpose.

From the Meiji and Taisho periods through the early Showa period in Japan, there was an era when the client’s “aesthetic sensibility” exerted a strong influence on architecture. Since Sumitomo Shunsui was a client with an exceptional aesthetic sensibility—regardless of whether the style was traditional Japanese or Western—it is believed that the members of the Temporary Architecture Department poured their heart and soul into fulfilling his vision.
From ancient Rome through the 19th-century Neoclassical era, the three elements of “utility (function),” “strength (structure),” and “beauty” were recognized as the concepts that defined the value of architecture.During the Meiji period, when the adoption of Western technology and industrial modernization were the paramount priorities, it was only natural that “technology”—which realized “function” and “strength”—served as the foundation. However, within the Temporary Construction Department of the Sumitomo Head Office, due to the presence of Harusui Sumitomo, another of these three elements—namely, “beauty”—became an even more paramount priority.

(References)
Katsuhiko Sakamoto (1980), *Japanese Architecture: Meiji, Taisho, Showa, Vol. 5: The Design of the Commercial Capital*, Sanseido
Takao Konishi (1991), *Up to 13 Kitahama 5-chome*, Sogensha
Takao Konishi (2001), *Bonds of Friendship*, Sogensha
Takao Konishi (1993), “The Story of Sumitomo Maintenance’s Hometown,” *Nikken Sekkei In-House Newsletter, Special Issue, March 1993*, Nikken Sekkei