Official
Let's confirm the first step in the information society "Place of starting inspection work"
There is [Ginza Post Office] close to Hamarikyu Onshi Garden. The opening of this post office was surprisingly new, in 1991. Previously, it was called [Southern Tokyo parcel centralized station], and it was a facility for efficiently handling parcels that had increased dramatically since the latter half of the Showa era. After the widespread use of private delivery services, demand has calmed down, and it has been replaced with ordinary post offices today.
A monument called "the place where inspection work starts" is built right next to the post office. According to the inscription, it is stated that "On June 17, 1876, an insulator laboratory in the Ministry of Construction Telegraph Dormitory was established here ..." This is the place where telegraph technology was introduced during the Civilization and enlightenment in the Meiji era, and the inspection of insulators, which are indispensable for the construction of transmission networks.
In the first place, "Telegraph technology" began in 1853 (Kaei 6) when Admiral Perry had brought it to Japan on a black ship. It was 10 years after it was put into practical use in the United States. At that time, "insulators" were made of glass. At the beginning of the Meiji era, we gradually expanded our telegraph network using imported glass insulators in Japan.
Later, in 1870 (Meiji 3), Saga's Yatsushiro Fukagawa Eizaemon (later founder of Koransha) began manufacturing "pottery insulators" using traditional Japanese techniques. This has greatly contributed to the spread of telegraph networks. In that case, a quality inspection was required, and an inspection station was set up here.
Today, when the Internet became commonplace, it may be difficult to imagine that more than 150 years ago people watched the amazing technology of telegraphs, but I think it was the first step in the later information society. I hope you will feel the flow of such a time when you pass nearby.