Well, it is Thursday after the long holiday, and I am going to work for the first time in a while. Tokyo Station is, as always, full of people coming and going.
The Marunouchi building of Tokyo Station is a red-brick structure designed by Kingo Tatsuno, who is often called the father of modern Japanese architecture. It was first completed in 1914 and was restored in 2012 to its original appearance. The octagonal ceilings of the north and south domes are decorated with signs of the Japanese zodiac, but not all twelve are there. In 2013, the remaining four were discovered at the Romon Gate of Takeo Onsen in Saga Prefecture, and people talked about it as if Kingo Tatsuno’s playful idea had been found more than one hundred years later.
The Marunouchi building of Tokyo Station is Western in style, while the Romon Gate of Takeo Onsen is a wooden structure built without using even a single nail. It is very far from Tokyo, but I would love to visit it someday to meet the remaining four zodiac.
I hope today will be a good day both for those who are working and for those who are traveling.
Thank you very much for reading today.
Wishing you all the best.
さあ、大型連休明けの木曜日、久々の出勤です。東京駅は今日も多くの人が行き交います。
東京駅丸の内駅舎は、1914年に日本近代建築の父と呼ばれる辰野金吾氏の設計で誕生した赤レンガ造りの建物で、2012年に建築当時の姿に復元されました。南北ドームの八角形の天井に干支が飾られていますが十二支揃いません。翌2013年に佐賀県の武雄温泉楼門で残りの四支が見つかり、辰野金吾氏の遊び心が100年越しに見つかったと話題になりました。東京駅丸の内駅舎は洋風建築ですが、武雄温泉楼門は釘を一分も使わない木造建築です。東京からはとても遠いですがいつか行ってみたいです。
働く人も、旅行を楽しむ人にも、今日が良い一日になりますように。
今日も読んでくださってありがとうございます。
それでは皆さま、ごきげんよう。
