Bank of Japan Osaka Branch

The Bank of Japan Osaka Branch moved into a new building on its present site on Nakanoshima, from Okawacho, now Kitahama 4, in January Meiji 36 (1903). Designed by Tatsuno Kingo in brick and stone, it is marked by the dome over the centre. The building was later kept rather than replaced, and in Showa 57 (1982) a six-storey annex and the preservation and repair of the old building were completed. Yodoyabashi, the bridge in front of it, was swept away by the great Yodogawa flood of Meiji 18 (1885) and rebuilt the following year, nine metres wide, with iron piers and wooden girders, at which point it was aligned in a straight line with Oebashi. It was widened and rebuilt in iron in Meiji 44 (1911) for the city tram, and when Midosuji opened it was replaced in Showa 10 (1935), through a public design competition, by a granite-faced steel-reinforced concrete arch bridge 36.4 metres wide. With the Bank of Japan it forms a solid piece of townscape and a symbol of Nakanoshima. Both the Bank of Japan building and Yodoyabashi are designated Important Cultural Properties.

Translated and shortened from the Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City tourist listings (観光施設一覧, CC BY 4.0).