Reconstruction of Ricoh's Landmark Building in Ginza, Tokyo

JPT · 02-03-2023, 10:25 PM - **25 Likes**

This post is not directly about cameras, but might be interesting to those with an interest in Japan, Ricoh or architecture.

Ricoh announced last week that they would be rebuilding the San’ai building in Ginza.

The “San’ai Dream Centre”

This is a property owned by Ricoh that is right on the main crossing of Ginza in Tokyo. Tokyo has a number of very busy commercial districts, and Ginza is considered to be the most prestigious of these. It’s home to some of the oldest department stores and flagship stores of global fashion and jewellery brands, each of which compete with each other to have the most attention-getting architecture. On the other corners of the main crossing are the Wako department store, the Mitsukoshi department store and a Nissan showroom.

The San’ai building itself is a small, cylindrical glass structure, which used to have a Ricoh Imaging showroom and gallery on the top two floors, known as “RingCube”. This closed a few years ago. The other floors have some cafes and in recent years a tacky second hand clothing store called "Brand Off", aimed at the crowds of tourists that come through this area. On the exterior of the building is a huge, illuminated Ricoh sign at the top and two large billboards that flank the building, advertising Pentax, Theta or GR products. It has always struck me as ironic that even with the minimal advertising Ricoh/Pentax does, the only place where they have billboards is one of the most expensive places on Earth.

Here is a link to Google Street View - hope it works!
Google Maps

The building’s history

I always thought this building must be from the 80s, because of the way to looks, and the fact that so much was built in that era. But the announcement from Ricoh the other day mentioned it dates from 1963. So I looked into the history a bit.

That time was when Japan was really focusing on being a technological power in the run-up to the 1964 Olympics. Around that time, Tokyo Tower was made not long before and the bullet trains came into service the year after. It seems that the San’ai building was considered a much-loved symbol of that era, which might explain why it escaped demolition for so long. It must have seemed very futuristic at the time.

Looking at images, it went through a number of incarnations, from having a Mitsubishi sign, through Vodafone and eventually to Ricoh. I do remember seeing the Vodafone sign in my early years in Japan. I also realized how much the impact of the building has been diminished by being boxed in by adjacent buildings. The 1960s photo makes it look really cool!

What is really interesting is that the founder of the San'ai fashion brand, responsible for building it in the first place, was Kiyoshi Ichimura. Who is also known for being . . . wait for it . . .the founder of Ricoh! So Ricoh is not just the owner of this building, but also has a deep sentimental attachment to it.

There is an article about Kiyoshi Ichimura here.
The man who built the San-Ai building | GINZA OFFICIAL

The redevelopment

When the Ricoh showroom closed, I was pretty sure the building would be demolished. Buildings over 40 years old in Japan are normally targeted for redevelopment. One big concern is that they are not built to modern earthquake resistant standards. In the case of the San’ai building, there is also the issue that it contains so little usable space. Each floor was an awkward doughnut shape. No matter where you were inside, it felt like you were in a curving corridor.

Having said that and not knowing the history, I was kind of expecting that Ricoh would sell the real estate to another developer and it would turn out to be something completely new - like a Vuitton shop or something like that. Instead, it seems that Ricoh will do this themselves and basically build a new San’ai building on the same site.

Ricoh’s press release (Japanese) is here.
??????????????????????????? | ??????? ???IR | ???

They explain the safety reasons and their intention to maintain the legacy of the building in the new design. Also, Ricoh intends to preserve the memory of the old structure, by recording it using their Theta technology.

The new building

The reconstruction will start from this March, and last for two years.

The task of designing the new building has gone to Tetsuo Kobori Architects. I hadn’t heard of them before, but looking at their website, it seems that they have worked on a range of projects, large and small. They seem to like incorporating wood into their designs, which has been a trend for the last decade or so.

The architect said that he intends to keep a circular motif in the new building. You can see some of his works here. Works | Tetsuo Kobori Architects – ???????????

The architecture on that site seems quite tasteful and low-key, but I personally hop it is not too low-key. I think something like the old building on a larger scale and with modern materials would be great. Locations like this need to keep that bright Tokyo city feel that we expect at big intersections. They talk about making it a "New landmark", so I think it will be an eye-catching design, but I think they'll also try to show their sustainability credentials by making it with wood instead of steel.

I would say the chances of having a Ricoh or Pentax showroom in the new building are a bit low. Pentax already has another new location in Tokyo. It seems that Ricoh wants to highlight their digital work solutions, However, I do think it is good that the Ricoh name will stay at that location. And they may have billboards or screens outside that can be used to promote their camera products.

Last edited by JPT; 02-03-2023 at 11:25 PM.

MarkJerling · 02-03-2023, 10:46 PM

Fantastic informative architecture and history post, thank you!

garywakeling · 02-04-2023, 01:21 AM

Thank you so much for sharing, a very interesting read

**yucatanPentax** · 02-04-2023, 02:47 AM

A very informative post. Here's my prediction, based on real estate to camera projections: Ricoh seems to be showing that they greatly value notalgia by rebuilding a previous building. This causes me to feel that Ricoh values historic and classic products and/or product lines.

Notice that Pentax, which Ricoh owns, greatly emphasized the classic film camera feel, "as thin as possible" and the great optical viewfinder, which is decidedly a classic in a world with EVFs and rear screens.

Therefore, Ricoh's commitment to Pentax cameras is strong and will continue into the future with regularly released new oroduct offerings!

**volley** · 02-04-2023, 04:21 AM

Many thanks for sharing!
I've been standing in front of that building many times during my business trips to Japan ... brings back some great memories!

Mistral75 · 02-04-2023, 05:12 AM

Thank you @JPT for your post, informative and a joy to read as always.

The San'ai business was part of the Ricoh group (it was included in the 'Other' division). Loosing money since a couple of years, it was sold to Wacoal at the end of January 2015.

JPT · 02-04-2023, 06:54 PM

Originally posted by yucatanPentax

A very informative post. Here's my prediction, based on real estate to camera projections: Ricoh seems to be showing that they greatly value notalgia by rebuilding a previous building. This causes me to feel that Ricoh values historic and classic products and/or product lines.

I don't think it is purely sentiment or nostalgia that leads them to do this. For a company that doesn't have many public-facing products, there are benefits to having their name in the public eye. One important one is recruiting young people. It is really hard to recruit engineering graduates in Japan. If the company is household name, it really helps to attract jobseekers. Some companies are even running TV commercials to show the attractiveness of a career at their company for young people.

So I think they just want to keep this opportunity to keep the Ricoh brand visible at a very prominent location.

02-03-2023, 10:25 PM - 25 Likes	#1
JPT Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Tokyo Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,821	Reconstruction of Ricoh's Landmark Building in Ginza, Tokyo This post is not directly about cameras, but might be interesting to those with an interest in Japan, Ricoh or architecture. Ricoh announced last week that they would be rebuilding the San’ai building in Ginza. The “San’ai Dream Centre” This is a property owned by Ricoh that is right on the main crossing of Ginza in Tokyo. Tokyo has a number of very busy commercial districts, and Ginza is considered to be the most prestigious of these. It’s home to some of the oldest department stores and flagship stores of global fashion and jewellery brands, each of which compete with each other to have the most attention-getting architecture. On the other corners of the main crossing are the Wako department store, the Mitsukoshi department store and a Nissan showroom. The San’ai building itself is a small, cylindrical glass structure, which used to have a Ricoh Imaging showroom and gallery on the top two floors, known as “RingCube”. This closed a few years ago. The other floors have some cafes and in recent years a tacky second hand clothing store called "Brand Off", aimed at the crowds of tourists that come through this area. On the exterior of the building is a huge, illuminated Ricoh sign at the top and two large billboards that flank the building, advertising Pentax, Theta or GR products. It has always struck me as ironic that even with the minimal advertising Ricoh/Pentax does, the only place where they have billboards is one of the most expensive places on Earth. Here is a link to Google Street View - hope it works! Google Maps The building’s history I always thought this building must be from the 80s, because of the way to looks, and the fact that so much was built in that era. But the announcement from Ricoh the other day mentioned it dates from 1963. So I looked into the history a bit. That time was when Japan was really focusing on being a technological power in the run-up to the 1964 Olympics. Around that time, Tokyo Tower was made not long before and the bullet trains came into service the year after. It seems that the San’ai building was considered a much-loved symbol of that era, which might explain why it escaped demolition for so long. It must have seemed very futuristic at the time. Looking at images, it went through a number of incarnations, from having a Mitsubishi sign, through Vodafone and eventually to Ricoh. I do remember seeing the Vodafone sign in my early years in Japan. I also realized how much the impact of the building has been diminished by being boxed in by adjacent buildings. The 1960s photo makes it look really cool! What is really interesting is that the founder of the San'ai fashion brand, responsible for building it in the first place, was Kiyoshi Ichimura. Who is also known for being . . . wait for it . . .the founder of Ricoh! So Ricoh is not just the owner of this building, but also has a deep sentimental attachment to it. There is an article about Kiyoshi Ichimura here. The man who built the San-Ai building \| GINZA OFFICIAL The redevelopment When the Ricoh showroom closed, I was pretty sure the building would be demolished. Buildings over 40 years old in Japan are normally targeted for redevelopment. One big concern is that they are not built to modern earthquake resistant standards. In the case of the San’ai building, there is also the issue that it contains so little usable space. Each floor was an awkward doughnut shape. No matter where you were inside, it felt like you were in a curving corridor. Having said that and not knowing the history, I was kind of expecting that Ricoh would sell the real estate to another developer and it would turn out to be something completely new - like a Vuitton shop or something like that. Instead, it seems that Ricoh will do this themselves and basically build a new San’ai building on the same site. Ricoh’s press release (Japanese) is here. ??????????????????????????? \| ??????? ???IR \| ??? They explain the safety reasons and their intention to maintain the legacy of the building in the new design. Also, Ricoh intends to preserve the memory of the old structure, by recording it using their Theta technology. The new building The reconstruction will start from this March, and last for two years. The task of designing the new building has gone to Tetsuo Kobori Architects. I hadn’t heard of them before, but looking at their website, it seems that they have worked on a range of projects, large and small. They seem to like incorporating wood into their designs, which has been a trend for the last decade or so. The architect said that he intends to keep a circular motif in the new building. You can see some of his works here. Works \| Tetsuo Kobori Architects – ??????????? The architecture on that site seems quite tasteful and low-key, but I personally hop it is not too low-key. I think something like the old building on a larger scale and with modern materials would be great. Locations like this need to keep that bright Tokyo city feel that we expect at big intersections. They talk about making it a "New landmark", so I think it will be an eye-catching design, but I think they'll also try to show their sustainability credentials by making it with wood instead of steel. I would say the chances of having a Ricoh or Pentax showroom in the new building are a bit low. Pentax already has another new location in Tokyo. It seems that Ricoh wants to highlight their digital work solutions, However, I do think it is good that the Ricoh name will stay at that location. And they may have billboards or screens outside that can be used to promote their camera products. Last edited by JPT; 02-03-2023 at 11:25 PM.

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02-03-2023, 10:46 PM	#2
MarkJerling Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wairarapa, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 20,422	Fantastic informative architecture and history post, thank you!

02-04-2023, 01:21 AM	#3
garywakeling Moderator Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,773	Thank you so much for sharing, a very interesting read

02-04-2023, 02:47 AM	#4
yucatanPentax Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Dallas / Yucatan Posts: 1,841	A very informative post. Here's my prediction, based on real estate to camera projections: Ricoh seems to be showing that they greatly value notalgia by rebuilding a previous building. This causes me to feel that Ricoh values historic and classic products and/or product lines. Notice that Pentax, which Ricoh owns, greatly emphasized the classic film camera feel, "as thin as possible" and the great optical viewfinder, which is decidedly a classic in a world with EVFs and rear screens. Therefore, Ricoh's commitment to Pentax cameras is strong and will continue into the future with regularly released new oroduct offerings!

02-04-2023, 04:21 AM	#5
volley Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Springe Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,693	Many thanks for sharing! I've been standing in front of that building many times during my business trips to Japan ... brings back some great memories!

02-04-2023, 05:12 AM	#6
Mistral75 Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Paris, France Posts: 7,527	Thank you @JPT for your post, informative and a joy to read as always. The San'ai business was part of the Ricoh group (it was included in the 'Other' division). Loosing money since a couple of years, it was sold to Wacoal at the end of January 2015.

02-04-2023, 06:54 PM	#7
JPT Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Tokyo Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,821 Original Poster	Originally posted by yucatanPentax A very informative post. Here's my prediction, based on real estate to camera projections: Ricoh seems to be showing that they greatly value notalgia by rebuilding a previous building. This causes me to feel that Ricoh values historic and classic products and/or product lines. I don't think it is purely sentiment or nostalgia that leads them to do this. For a company that doesn't have many public-facing products, there are benefits to having their name in the public eye. One important one is recruiting young people. It is really hard to recruit engineering graduates in Japan. If the company is household name, it really helps to attract jobseekers. Some companies are even running TV commercials to show the attractiveness of a career at their company for young people. So I think they just want to keep this opportunity to keep the Ricoh brand visible at a very prominent location.