This beautiful palace was originally constructed as the Crown Prince´s Palace, its construction started in 1899 and it was completed in 1909 on the site of of the mansion of the Kishu Tokugawa family, who belonged to the most powerful feudal lords in Japan. It is the only neo-Baroque European style palace in Japan, constructed of brick around a steel frame. It has three floors – two above and one under the ground level. The building is both earthquake and fire resistant.
Dr. Tokuma Katayama (1854-1917), a famous Meiji architect was the overall director of the construction. He was significant in introducing Western, particularly French, architecture into Japan. He studied under Josiah Conder (1852-1920), a British architect who was an advisor to the Meiji government and is known as the father of Japanese modern architecture.
The design of this palace is influenced by the Palace of Versailles, Neue Burg of Vienna, the Buckhingham Palace and the East Facade of the Louvre Palace. Japanese motifs are worked into this basic European design and this fusion of Japanese and Western themes is a very interesting feature of this palace. After World War II the palace was transferred to the Japanese government. In 1967 it was decided to restore and remodel it to serve as the State Guest House. The works were completed in 1974.
No photos are allowed inside, but the visit of the rooms is astonishing. The first room is Kacho no ma, which means the Room of Flowers, according to various flowers and birds depicted in the 36 oil paintings. It is panelled with dark wood and really beautifully decorated. There are photos of the Spanish queen Letizia with king Felipe VI, they had dinner here in 2016 and also of the first lady Melania Trump and president Donald Trump, they had dinner here in November 2017
