The Ryōunkaku Tower


Between 1890, when it was built, and 1923, when it was destroyed, the Ryōunkaku was Tokyo's tallest building.

Measuring 69 meters, the 12-storey, octagonal building was located in Asakusa Park. It was designed by the Scottish sanitary engineer William Kinnimond Burton, who came to Japan in 1887, and died there in 1899 at the age of 43. The name of the building literally means "Cloud-Surpassing Pavilion."

This ukiyo-e print, which shows the tower soon after it opened, is by Utagawa Kunisada III.

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