was an architect who created the prototype of the Imperial Crown Style for the Japanese Empire. He was a native of Akita, in northern Honshu, and moved to Tokyo in 1881, when he was fifteen. At Keio University, he enrolled in an architecture course under Josiah Conder. Early years Kikutarō Shimoda was born in 1886, was the eldest son of Satake clansman, Junchū Shimoda, in Kakunodate, Akita (now part of Semboku, Akita, Japan. During his third year studies at , he moved to Tokyo to take up language studies at , after which in 1883 he took the entrance exams for the (now part of the University of Tokyo). Out of the 1000 entrance exam participants, Shimoda passed the exams placed 47th out of the top fifty passing entrants. Tertiary education In 1885 having passed the entrance exams, Shimoda enrolled in the School of Architecture at the Imperial College of Engineering, along with Tamisuke Yokogawa. Not satisfied with Tatsuno Kingo's lectures, who had recently returned from studying in the United Kingdom, Shimoda also took lectures from Hanroku Yamaguchi, who had been conducting lectures on French School architecture, which was not a mainstream architectural movement, at the Department of Education. During this time, Shimoda translated, European and American General Architecture, and taught English at (present day, Seisoku Gakuen High School. In 1889 his father died suddenly, and Shimoda took out an Army scholarship-loan. Shimoda gradually developed an inclination toward the theory of Evolution and the field of biology, and began to show disinterest in his college studies. Due to this, when graduation approached, Shimoda did not get along with his academic supervisor Tasuno Kingo, which became an obstacle to negotiating his final graduation design, in turn Shimoda did not complete his university studies. Out of Hanroku Yamaguchi's good will, who was then the head of the technical maintenance department at the Ministry of Education, allowed Shimoda to be employed at the Ministry. Shimoda published his translation of European and American General Architecture, which was an architectural review introducing residential housing. Together with the proceeds from this publication and his father's inheritance, he provided for his family, also raising capital for managing the architectural designs of and private villas, he left for the United States. Career in America Upon his arrival in America, he took up employment at the New York offices of A. Page Brown. In 1892 Shimoda submitted a personal