The History of the Consulate General of Japan in SF

The Japanese consular office in San Francisco first started service as the "Consulate of Japan" on August 25, 1870. It is the oldest Japanese Government establishment in the U.S., with U.S. national Charles Wolcott Brooks serving as its first Honorary Consul. The Consulate of Japan in San Francisco opened one month earlier than even the Legation of Japan (now the Embassy of Japan).

San Francisco has played a significant role as a gateway throughout the history of the U.S.-Japan relationship. It was in 1860 when the first Japanese emissaries to the United States visited San Francisco Bay with a diplomatic delegation from the Tokugawa Shogunate aboard the United States Navy's steam frigate Powhatan, accompanied by the Kanrin Maru. This was an official delegation dispatched to negotiate the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce. Three crew members on the ship were left in San Francisco because of illness and rest in peace at the Japanese Cemetery in Colma, a suburb of San Francisco.

As Japan modernized in the late 19th century, an increasing number of Japanese people crossed the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of America, including official delegations, merchants, students and immigrants. After the Meiji Restoration in Japan (in which feudalism and the Shogunate were abolished), the Meiji government (Japan's first modernized government) needed to create diplomatic delegations permanently stationed in foreign countries to develop Japan's international relationships. With that in mind, the Japanese government designated an American, Charles Wolcott Brooks, as the first Consul of Japan in the U.S. in 1870, only two years after the Meiji Restoration. The first Japanese national to serve as Consul was Kentaro YANAGIYA in 1876. In 1907, our office was upgraded from "Consulate" to "Consulate General" and consequently, Chozo KOIKE, then head of mission, became the first Consul General of Japan in San Francisco.

Although our office was closed and the mission returned to Japan in 1941 because of the unfortunate war between Japan and the U.S., a new mission resumed its services in San Francisco as the Consulate General of Japan on April 28, 1952. This was seven months after 48 nations signed the Treaty of Peace with Japan at the peace conference held here in San Francisco. In the postwar era, the relationship between Japan and the U.S. has become increasingly significant. Looking back over the long history of our mission here in San Francisco, we hope to continue our tradition of fostering better understanding, cooperation, and friendship between our two countries for future generations into the 21st century.

1870	Aug 25	Honorary Consul	Charles Wolcott	Brooks
1872	Apr 27	Deputy Consul	Horace D.	Dunn
1874	Mar 11	Vice Consul	Saburo	Takagi
1876	Dec 15	Consul	Kentaro	Yanagiya
1883	May 15	Consul	Hiroshi	Tachida
1886	Mar 18	Consul	Saburo	Fujii
1889	Mar 1	Consul	Toshiya	Kawakita
1890	Nov 2	Consul	Sutemi	Chinda
1894	Nov 5	Consul Second Class (later, Consul First Class)	Saburo	Jinya
1898	Jun 7	Consul Second Class (later, Consul First Class)	Hirokichi	Mutsu
1901	Feb 9	Consul	Kisaburo	Ueno
1907	Dec 9	Consul General	Chozo	Koike
1912	Feb 5	Consul General	Matsuzo	Nagai
1916	Jun 1	Consul General	Masanao	Hanihara
1918	Oct 7	Consul General	Tamekichi	Ota
1921	Jan 24	Consul General	Shichitaro	Yada
1923	May 21	Consul General	Unojiro	Oyama
1925	Jan 14	Consul General	Toshihiko	Taketomi
1927	Dec 9	Consul General	Morizo	Ida
1930	Jun 24	Consul General	Kaname	Wakasugi
1933	Nov 8	Consul General	Hiroshi	Tomii
1936	Aug 20	Consul General	Kanzo	Shiozaki
1939	Jan 3	Consul General	Toshito	Sato
1941	Feb 20	Consul General	Yoshio	Muto

Mission withdraws on Dec 31, 1941
 

1950	May 3	Chief, Japanese Government Overseas Agency	Atsushi	Uyama
1952	Mar 24	Chief, Japanese Government Overseas Agency (later, Consul General)	Mitsuo	Tanaka

Consulate General reopens on Apr 28, 1952
 

1952	Dec 16	Consul General	Yasusuke	Katsuno
1956	Oct 8	Consul General	Akira	Nishiyama
1960	Feb 9	Consul General	Masao	Yagi
1961	Jul 19	Consul General	Toshio	Yamanaka
1963	Sep 25	Consul General	Tsutomu	Wada
1967	Mar 1	Consul General	Seiichi	Shima
1970	Jan 11	Consul General	Eikichi	Hara
1972	Dec 21	Consul General	Toshikazu	Maeda
1975	Feb 3	Consul General	Hidenori	Sueoka
1977	Dec 29	Consul General	Tamio	Amau
1979	Oct 11	Consul General	Hiroshi	Kitamura
1982	Sep 15	Consul General	Takehiko	Nishiyama
1984	Feb 6	Consul General	Masaki	Seo
1985	Dec 10	Consul General	Tatsuo	Arima
1988	Jan 31	Consul General	Shunji	Yanai
1990	Aug 31	Consul General	Atsushi	Tokinoya
1994	Mar 4	Consul General	Ryozo	Kato
1995	Sep 1	Consul General	Kiyohiko	Nanao
1998	Feb 19	Consul General	Hitoshi	Tanaka
2000	Feb 11	Consul General	Nobuaki	Tanaka
2002	Mar 9	Consul General	Shigeru	Nakamura
2004	Mar 26	Consul General	Makoto	Yamanaka
2007	Sep 9	Consul General	Yasumasa	Nagamine
2010	Sep 23	Consul General	Hiroshi	Inomata
2013	Nov 2	Consul General	Masato	Watanabe
2015	May 22	Consul General	Jun	Yamada
2018	Feb 23	Consul General	Tomochika	Uyama
2020	Feb 10	Consul General	Toru	Maeda
2021	Sep 9	Consul General	Hiroshi	Kawamura
2022	Sep 8	Consul General	Yasushi	Noguchi
2023	Sep 25	Consul General	Yo	Osumi

1848	Gold is discovered at the Sacramento River. The Gold Rush starts (1849)
1850	California becomes the 31st state
1860	Kanrin Maru, the first official Japanese vessel to visit San Francisco, arrives
1868	Meiji Restoration (Japan)
1869	Transcontinental Railroad is completed
1870	Consulate of Japan in San Francisco opens
1906	Great San Francisco Earthquake. The Consulate office is damaged
1907	Consulate of Japan in San Francisco upgraded to Consulate General of Japan
1924	Japanese Exclusion Act enacted in the U.S.
1929	Great Depression begins
1937	Golden Gate Bridge is completed
1939	World War II begins
1941	The war between Japan and the U.S. starts. The mission is recalled to Japan.
1945	World War II ends
1950	The mission returns as a foreign service office
1951	Treaty of Peace signed with Japan in San Francisco
1952	Consulate General of Japan reopens
1968	Japan Information Center (our public relations section) opens
1988	Consulate General of Japan moves from Japantown to Fremont Street
1989	Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco Bay Area
1996	The Consulate website is established
2014	Consulate General of Japan moves from Fremont Street to its current location