This ginkgo tree stood on what was once the grounds of the Ministry of Education, which once occupied the lot at 1 Hitotsubashi 1-chome near the current-day Palace Side Building). This whole area was completely burnt out with the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, but miraculously, this ginkgo tree survived.
However, it was to be felled, however, as part of land readjustment works under the Imperial Capital Reconstruction Plan. Feeling discontent at having heard this, the Director of the Central Meteorological Observatory at the time, Okada Takematsu, made a request that the tree be spared to the Director of the Imperial Capital Reconstruction Bureau, Seino Chotaro, who also realized the tree's significance. The tree was then transplanted to this spot, where it has survived to this day.