Marunouchi


Marunouchi is a commercial district of Tokyo located in Chiyoda between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. The name, meaning "inside the circle", derives from its location within the palace's outer moat. It is also Tokyo's financial district and the country's three largest banks are headquartered there.

History

In 1590, before Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Edo Castle, the area now known as Marunouchi was an inlet of Edo Bay and had the name Hibiya. With the expansion of the castle, this inlet was filled, beginning in 1592.
A new outer moat was constructed, and the earlier moat became the inner moat. The area took the name Okuruwauchi.
Daimyōs, particularly shinpan and fudai, constructed their mansions here, and with 24 such estates, the area also became known as daimyō kōji. The offices of the North and South Magistrates, and that of the Finance Magistrate, were also here.
Following the Meiji Restoration, Marunouchi came under control of the national government, which erected barracks and parade grounds for the army.
Those moved in 1890, and Iwasaki Yanosuke, brother of the founder of Mitsubishi, purchased the land for 1.5 million yen. As the company developed the land, it came to be known as Mitsubishi-ga-hara.
Much of the land remains under the control of Mitsubishi Estate, and the headquarters of many companies in the Mitsubishi Group are in Marunouchi.
The government of Tokyo constructed its headquarters on the site of the former Kōchi han in 1894. They moved it to the present Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku in 1991, and the new Tokyo International Forum and Toyota Tsusho Corporation now stands on the site. Nearly a quarter of Japan's GDP is generated in this area.
Tokyo Station opened in 1914, and the Marunouchi Building in 1923. Tokyo Station is reopened on 1 October 2012 after a 5 year refurbishment.
Much of the area was damaged in the deadly 1974 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing.

Places in Marunouchi

AddressAlternative nameImageHeightNumber of floorsBuilt
5-1 Marunouchi 1Shin Marunouchi Building198382007
4-1 Marunouchi 2Marunouchi Building179372002
6-1 Marunouchi 2Marunouchi Park Building170342009
7-3 Marunouchi 2Tokyo Building164332006
4-5 Marunouchi 1Mitsubishi Trust & Banking Head Office148302003
1-2 Marunouchi 2Meiji Yasuda Life Building146302004

Companies based in Marunouchi

has its headquarters in the Marunouchi Trust Tower Main. Konica Minolta has its headquarters in the Marunouchi Center Building in Marunouchi.
Marunouchi also houses the Japan offices of Aeroméxico, Citigroup, Nikko Cordial, Nikko Citigroup, Banca Commerciale Italiana, Rabobank, JPMorgan Chase, Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank of India, Bayerische Landes Bank, Bloomberg, BT Asia Securities, First National Bank of Boston, KPMG, Latham & Watkins, Mellon Bank, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Morrison & Foerster, Overseas Union Bank, Philadelphia National Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ropes & Gray, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Royal Insurance, Standard Chartered Bank, Standard & Poor's, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Bain & Company.
Japan Airlines used to have its headquarters in the Tokyo Building in Marunouchi.

Rail and subway stations