Consulate General of Japan

At the beginning of the XX century, Vladivostok became the center of Japanese immigration, accepting at least 3.5 thousand immigrants from this country. Artisans, traders, laundresses, and hairdressers came to work part-time in the city. Especially in demand were Japanese masons, carpenters, boatmen and tailors. Over time, a fairly large Japanese community has formed in Vladivostok with its interests and values. The Japanese diaspora needed help and protection in resolving bureaucratic issues; the need arose to resolve acute diplomatic issues ^[1] .

The first representative of the interests of the Japanese community was the Japanese commercial agent Sawaki-san. In 1876, he bought a piece of land on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Admiral Fokin Street (then China and Beijing streets), on which he erected a small wooden house and hung a Japanese flag ^[1] . In 1912, a trade agreement was concluded between Russia and Japan and an agreement on consular missions was signed, according to which the Consulate General of Japan was opened in Vladivostok. In 1914, at the request of the Japanese consul, the city government allocated a site for the construction of the new consulate building. The building was designed by the Japanese architect Jakob Shafrat, who had previously worked in Manchuria. The building was laid in May 1915, and construction was completed in 1916 ^[2] .

In the thirties, relations between the USSR and Japan escalated, the consulate began to suspect of observing the waters of the Golden Horn Bay. In 1945, the Japanese consulate was closed. Today, the building houses the civil board of the Primorsky Regional Court ^[1] .

The building is two-story, L-shaped in plan. It is built of brick for plaster and with a base of rough granite blocks. In the architectural and compositional plan, the building guesses the motives of ancient architecture. The main facade is highlighted by a six-columned portico of the Doric order with a triangular pediment, above which stands the statue of the goddess of victory Nikki. The main entrance to the building is located in the angular cylindrical rotunda. The entrance portal is framed by massive pylons of roughly cut blocks of granite, topped with statues of winged griffins. The facades are decorated with friezes with a meander-like ornament, cartouches, and maskers ^[3] .

• Monuments of history and culture of the Primorsky Territory. Materials for the arch. - Vladivostok: Dalnevost. books. ed., 1991 .-- 268 p.

• Ocean Avenue