Hakodate Magistrate's Office

During the Edo period, as foreign threats—such as the southward advance of Russian warships—intensified, the Hakodate Magistrate’s Office played a dual role in northern defense and foreign diplomacy following the opening of the port.
Originally established at the foot of Mount Hakodate in 1803, it was relocated in 1864 to a newly constructed site at Goryokaku for strategic defensive purposes.
However, the building was damaged during the Battle of Hakodate and subsequently dismantled, giving it a relatively short existence of just seven years.
In the years after the war, efforts to restore the magistrate’s office gradually gained momentum. Research based on historical documents and archaeological excavations, along with a photograph of the building’s exterior discovered in an antique shop in Paris, proved crucial to its reconstruction.
With remarkable accuracy—down to details such as the number of roof tiles—the building was reconstructed in 2010, approximately 140 years after the completion of Goryokaku, on its original site, though at about one-third the size of the original structure.
In keeping with Edo-period construction methods, the timber was sourced from the Tohoku region. The 16.5-meter-tall drum tower (taiko yagura), a distinctive feature rising from the center of the roof and once used to monitor the harbor, has also been faithfully recreated.
Inside, the grand hall, spanning 72 tatami mats, and the private rooms to the rear were designed with dignity to host meetings and receive foreign dignitaries. Standing here, visitors can vividly imagine the tense atmosphere of negotiations that once shaped the nation’s future.