Abstract
In February 1888, Yozo Yamao was appointed as President of the Architectural Bureau. Then, in September of the same year, he made changes to the Ende & Böckmann construction plan for the central government district in Tokyo, which had already been approved by the Cabinet, and established his own new plan for the district. Yamao's plan is known in the field as the plan that provided the framework for the present-day central government district. However, very little research has been conducted on the plan, and much remains unknown about its content and the process by which Yamao established it. Seeking to redress this situation, the study derived the following new facts from several new historical materials such as a copy of Yamao's plan map: (1) Yamao sent a letter to Ende & Böckmann informing them that he intended to make changes to the construction plan to remain within the budget approved by the Cabinet. (2) In the new plan, Yamao focused closely on reducing costs—for example by positioning as many ministry buildings as possible on firm land that was government-owned; however, at the same time, he endeavored to incorporate elements of Baroque city planning in various locations to decorate the capital.
