In the early days of Japanese rule, Taiwan did not have mechanized production of red bricks. It was not until 1913 that the Taiwan Governor-General's Office established Taiwan Renga and began mass production of red bricks. 

The red bricks produced at that time were divided into four grades, the best of which were "TR bricks" with the word "TR" engraved on the surface of the bricks, standing for "Taiwan Renga" (the Japanese pronunciation of Taiwan Renga). Because of its excellent quality, TR bricks were widely used in various official buildings and were high-end building materials at the time.