Yokohama is a port city in Kanagawa Prefecture which is next to Tokyo, the capital of Japan. For nearly 250 years, between the 17th and the mid-19th century, Japan had adopted a policy of restricting diplomatic relations and international trade. This policy was abolished in 1858 when the Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed between the United States and Japan. This treaty resulted in the opening of several Japanese ports, including the Osanbashi Pier in Yokohama in 1859.
At this time Yokohama was just a small fishing village with minimal port facilities. As soon as Yokohama was designated as the place for an open port, two docks had to be constructed within a very short timeframe. These docks were inadequate for large ships to dock directly so these ships had to anchor off the port. This resulted in small boats transporting goods and passengers between the ships and the pier. This is how the history of the port city Yokohama began.
The Osanbashi Pier was constructed near the original docks in 1894. The word “Osanbashi” means a big pier in Japanese. Since its opening, the Osanbashi Pier has served as the Pacific Ocean gateway for Japan. In 1989, roughly 100 years from its original construction, a reconstruction project was launched to accomodate the changing operational needs of the cruise trade. The year 2002 saw the completion of the Yokohama International Passenger Terminal.
The iron pier, or the Osanbashi Pier as it is called today, was completed in the first phase of the Port of Yokohama Construction Plan in the early 1900's.
Resolute, a German passenger vessel, calling at the Osanbashi Pier during her world cruise between 1931 and 1935.
An International Design Competition was held between 1994 and 1995. This was to ensure that the design of the Terminal would be recognized as a symbol of the Port of Yokohama and a potential source of pride for Yokohama. A total of 660 submissions came from 41 countries (336 from Japan and 324 from overseas), making this the biggest-ever international competition held in Japan.
The Grand Prize was won by Mr. Alejandro Zaera-Polo and Ms. Farshid Moussavi, an architect team operating in the UK. The construction work was carried out, using various detailed engineering studies based on their prize-winning design. With abundant curved surfaces, its unique form and a massive column-free space, this design was proving to be one of the most innovative projects ever constructed. The building attracted attention not only domestically, but also internationally, receiving the Worldwide Award in 2004 for architectural designs excellence.
