Three medium-sized embassies — the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Iraq, and Canada — are within two blocks of my Tokyo residence. Here are some pics and some commentary.
First stop was that Khmer embassy. As I took photos outside, a Japanese-fluent Cambodian diplomat invited me inside the grounds to take a picture of the regal sculpture inside.
The Iraqi embassy was unoccupied from 1991-2004. Although it is currently staffed by a skeleton crew, the building has yet to be repaired or cleaned up: trash litters the front foyer, the gate is rusted shut, and vines crawl up the crumbling building. But at least the flag is brand new.
And the Canadian embassy is plain peculiar: a row of several blue and green shoebox style buildings with lots of satellite dishes.
About Curzon
Lord George Nathaniel Curzon (1859 - 1925) entered the British House of Commons as a Conservative MP in 1886, where he served as undersecretary of India and Foreign Affairs. He was appointed Viceroy of India at the turn of the 20th century where he delineated the North West Frontier Province,
ordered a military expedition to Tibet, and unsuccessfully tried to partition the province of Bengal during his six-year tenure. Curzon served as Leader of the House of Lords in Prime Minister Lloyd George's War Cabinet and became Foreign Secretary in January 1919, where his most famous act was
the drawing of the Curzon Line between a new Polish state and Russia. His publications include
Russia in Central Asia (1889) and
Persia and the Persian Question (1892).
In real life, "Curzon" is a US citizen from the East Coast who has been a financial analyst, freelance translator, and university professor; he is currently on assignment in Tokyo.
Great shots! Wonderful to hear the new flag of Iraq is flying too.
As far as the Candians go…we all know how shifty and sneeky they are…with all those dishes they must be up to no good…some nefarious plot to do evil…evil evil Canada…
Dammit. I used to have a link to a “Blame Canada” website that was hilarious as hell, but now I can’t find it. Just ruins this whole reply. *sigh*
Hey, I’d take shoebox over an igloo any day!
The French Embassy has nice grounds, and even better, is within walking distance of an Aussie pub (Dirty Nell’s)
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