Around Roppongi Station: before it was Roppongi

Six Trees or Six Samurai Families?

Roppongi literally means six trees, but nobody can establish with certainty which six trees, if any, gave the neighborhood its name. Minato City presents a traditional explanation that six ancient pine trees once stood here. Another theory connects the name to six warrior families with residences in the area: Uesugi, Kutsuki, Takagi, Aoki, Katagiri, and Hitotsuyanagi. The Edo-Tokyo Museum also records a third theory involving the Edo Roppo, groups of flamboyant men known for their distinctive behavior. The museum cautions that none of these competing explanations can be considered proven. During the Edo period, the area contained two small settlements, Iikura Roppongicho and Ryudo Roppongicho, while most surrounding land consisted of samurai estates and religious properties. In 1869, these settlements and adjoining areas were reorganized into Azabu Roppongicho. Behind today's nightlife, offices, and museums lies a place name whose precise origin remains unresolved.

→ Look for the Roppongi place name around Roppongi Crossing. The six pines described in one origin theory have not been verified as surviving trees.

Sources (in Japanese): 港区・地名の歴史（麻布地区）, 江戸東京博物館・六本木の地名の由来, 港区立三田図書館・六本木の地名調査

Was Tokyo Midtown once a samurai estate and military headquarters?

The land beneath Tokyo Midtown was once the Edo-period residence of one of Japan's most powerful feudal families. It belonged to the Mori clan, rulers of the Hagi domain in present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture. During the Meiji period, the property became an Imperial Japanese Army garrison. After Japan's defeat in 1945, it served as accommodation for American military officers.

Following its return to Japan, the site became the headquarters of the Defense Agency in 1960. For generations, this valuable land was largely closed to the general public.

The Defense Agency relocated to Ichigaya in 2000, opening the way for redevelopment. Tokyo Midtown officially opened on March 30, 2007, bringing offices, shops, a hotel, an art museum, and public green spaces to the former government compound. The development preserved and transplanted approximately 140 trees from the old Defense Agency grounds. Stones from a drainage structure belonging to the Mori estate were also reused in retaining walls, preserving physical traces of the site's earlier history.

→ Walk through Tokyo Midtown's landscaped grounds and Hinokicho Park, looking for preserved trees and stonework that connect the modern complex to its past.

Sources (in Japanese): 東京ミッドタウン公式・歴史と開発, 港区立三田図書館・国立国会図書館レファレンス協同データベース, 三井不動産・東京ミッドタウン開業発表