Yokohama Customs House (Queen's Tower)

The Yokohama Customs headquarters (横浜税関本関庁舎), popularly known as the "Queen's Tower" (クイーンの塔), stands at 1-1 Kaigan-dori, Naka-ku, Yokohama — directly facing Yokohama Port. The current building is the third-generation customs house, designed by architects Muraji Shimomoto (下元連) and Tori Yoshitake (吉武東里) of the Ministry of Finance's Bureau of Construction Management, and completed in 1934 (Showa 9) as part of the Imperial Capital Reconstruction project following the devastating 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that destroyed the previous structure.

The five-story steel-reinforced concrete building features a striking 51-meter tower crowned with an Islamic mosque-inspired dome finished in distinctive green-bronze patina. The architectural style blends Western classical elements — arched windows, Moorish battlements, and ornamental columns — with exotic touches influenced by Indian and Islamic design traditions. Its graceful, curved silhouette earned the "Queen" nickname from foreign sailors and traders in the port, contrasting with the angular "King" (Kanagawa Prefectural Office) and the clock-towered "Jack" (Yokohama Port Opening Memorial Hall). Together, these three buildings form the legendary "Yokohama Three Towers" (横浜三塔).

During the war years, the customs control system was reorganized in 1943 when, in November, Yokohama Customs was absorbed into the Maritime Bureau (海運局) under wartime consolidation. Despite the devastating American air raids on Yokohama on May 29, 1945 — which burned out most of the city centre — the customs building survived largely intact, its robust reinforced-concrete construction withstanding the firebombing that leveled much of the surrounding port district.

On August 30, 1945 — the same day General MacArthur landed at nearby Atsugi Airfield — the Yokohama Customs building was requisitioned by the United States Eighth Army as part of the wholesale Allied seizure of Yokohama's port infrastructure. The building was designated for military administrative use, housing the Eighth Army's headquarters. Customs itself, which had been placed under the Maritime Bureau in November 1943, was not re-established until June 1946. The port of Yokohama itself became a critical logistics hub for the occupation forces, with the customs house, surrounding warehouses, and dock facilities placed under direct American military control.

The occupation requisition lasted until 1953, when the building was returned to Japanese control following the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty. Restoration work was carried out in 1953-1954 to repair occupation-era modifications and restore the building's original character. Yokohama Customs resumed full operations, and the building has continued to serve as an active customs headquarters to the present day.

The first floor houses the "Queen's Square" (クイーンのひろば) exhibition hall, a free public museum displaying the history of Yokohama Port, customs enforcement exhibits including confiscated counterfeit goods and CITES-prohibited specimens, and architectural documentation of the building itself. The building was designated a Yokohama City Recognized Historical Structure in 2001 and remains one of the most photographed landmarks in the port area.