Japanese architecture, Hakodate Bugyosho

158 years ago, in Hakodate, the Tokugawa shogunate started the construction of Goryōkaku, a star-shaped fort with fortifications designed in the Western-style, according to the plans of the French military engineer Vauban. Still, the buildings inside the fort were built in the Japanese style, the main building being the Magistrate's office (Bugyosho in Japanese). Unfortunately, the fort and all the buildings were destroyed by the Meiji government troops at the end of the Boshin War.

More than a century later, in 1985, the Goryōkaku fort was restored and, more recently, between 2006 and 2010, the Bugyosho building was also carefully reconstructed by analyzing old documents, photos and drawings, using traditional construction techniques and authentic materials.