Ōtemachi

Yomiuri Shimbun headquarters (now demolished)

Ōtemachi (大手町^?) is a district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is located north of Tokyo Station and Marunouchi, east of the Imperial Palace, west of Nihonbashi and south of Kanda. It is the location of the former site of the village of Shibazaki, the most ancient part of Tokyo.

History

View of a part of Ōtemachi as depicted in the Edo-zu byōbu screens (17th century CE)

Ōtemachi derives its name of Ōtemon ("Great Hand Gate") of Edo Castle. During the Edo period, various daimyo constructed their lavish residences outside the castle, such as the residence of the daimyo Matsudaira Tadamasa. Ōtemachi was completely destroyed during the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657. It was rebuilt, albeit on a smaller, less grand scale. Ōtemachi remained however in the possession of the various daimyo families until the end of the Tokugawa system and the start of the Meiji period in the 1860s. The various daimyo families lost their lots as the area was repossessed by the government, who constructed various governmental offices.

In order to gain revenue, the government decided to sell the area into private hands. The area was completely redeveloped.

Ōtemachi is known as a center of Japanese journalism, housing the main offices of three of the "big five" newspapers as well as being a key financial center and headquarters for large Japanese corporations. It is also the location of the Japan Postal Museum (TeiPark). Today nothing reminds of its residential past, the area is dotted with modern high-rise buildings.

Government and infrastructure

The Tokyo Fire Department is headquartered in Ōtemachi,^[1] as is the Japan Meteorological Agency.^[2]

Companies based in Ōtemachi

• Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co.
• Daiwa Securities Group
• Development Bank of Japan
• Japan Post
• Marubeni
• Millea Holdings
• Mitsubishi Estate Co.^[3]
• Mitsui & Co.
• Mitsui Life Insurance Co.
• Mizuho Financial Group
• National Life Finance Corporation
• Nihon Keizai Shimbun
• Nippon Suisan Kaisha
• Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
• Sankei Shimbun
• Yomiuri Shimbun^[4]

The Japanese offices of Sullivan & Cromwell, Cushman & Wakefield, and Protiviti are also located in Ōtemachi.^{[citation needed]}

Railway and subway stations

• Ōtemachi Station (Chiyoda Line, Hanzomon Line, Marunouchi Line, Toei Mita Line, Tozai Line)
• Tokyo Station, actually in the neighboring Marunouchi district (Chūō Line, Keihin-Tohoku Line, Keiyo Line, Marunouchi Line, Shinkansen, Sōbu Line, Yamanote Line, Yokosuka Line)

See also

Tokyo portal

• Taira no Masakado

References

1. ^ "Website Policy." Tokyo Fire Department. Retrieved on May 16, 2010.
2. ^ "Japan's seismic nerve center." The Japan Times. Retrieved on May 30, 2011.
3. ^ "Corporate Data." Mitsubishi Estate. Retrieved on March 7, 2010.
4. ^ "組織体制." Yomiuri Shimbun. Retrieved on March 5, 2010.

External links

Media related to Ōtemachi at Wikimedia Commons