Kanagawa Prefectural Government Building

• Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

• Architect: Karo Obi, Matazo Naritomi (Kanagawa Prefecture)

• Style: Imperial Crown

• Completed in: 1928

The Kanagawa Prefectural Building, located in Yokohama, Japan, is a complex of administrative and legislative buildings as well as a mayor's office to manage the affairs of Kanagawa prefecture.

The current building is the 4th building as the Kanagawa Prefectural Government building. It was designed by Karo Obi and Matazo Naritomi in the Imperial Crown architectural style, which emerged during the Japanese Empire in the early 20th century, characterized by western-style buildings topped with Japanese-style roofing. Some of the examples of the Imperial Crown architectural style are shown below.

Nagoya City Hall [Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons]

Aichi Prefectural Government Building [Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons]

Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art [Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons]

Tokyo National Museum [Kestrel, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons]

The Kanagawa Prefectural Building showcases a central tower inspired by the motif of a Japanese pagoda, complemented by Art Deco architectural elements influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Central Tower inspired by the Japanese pagoda

Motif of Art Deco

The entrance hall showcases a harmonious combination of geometric Art Deco decorations with Japanese-style elements, creating a sense of grandeur. The building's interior incorporates numerous elements of Hosoge (宝相華), a traditional Buddhistic floral motif frequently utilized in art and architecture, depicting an imaginary celestial flower.

Entrance Hall

Stair lamp with Hosoge motif

Stair Rail with Hosoge motif

Also the motif of ginkgo leaves is prominently featured, as the ginkgo tree serves as a symbolic tree of Kanagawa Prefecture. The ceiling and wall lamps in the Entrance Hall are adorned with a delicate ginkgo leaf motif, for example.

Ceiling lamp in the Entrance Hall

Wall lamp in the Entrance Hall

All the eaves around the building used to be made of terra cotta however they have now been replaced with copper due to the safety reason. The piece of the original terra cotta is displayed on the roof top.

Rooftop view (note Yokohama Customs House in the back)

References:

Kanagawa Prefectural Government. (2024, December 2). キングの塔（神奈川県庁本庁舎）へようこそ！ [Welcome to the King's Tower (Kanagawa Prefectural Government Main Building)!]. https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/rb2/cnt/f380088/index.html

Reeve, J. (2024, September 12). Structures of power. Unwinnable. https://unwinnable.com/2024/09/12/structures-of-power/

Tanaka, A. (2021, April 17). Kanagawa Prefectural Government Main Building. A's Tours & ITs. https://tanakaakio.com/2021/04/17/kanagawa-prefectural-government-main-building/

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 神奈川県庁舎 [Kanagawa Prefectural Government Building]. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 22, 2025, from https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/神奈川県庁舎