Shibakawa Building

The Shibakawa Building was born in reinforced concrete, dressed in the Maya and Inca ornament of South America, at a time when wooden buildings in the Japanese manner were still common and were prized. Before the Western-style house was built the roof was of wood and the walls only clad in copper, so Matashiro, uneasy about fire, rebuilt in reinforced concrete, which resists earthquake and fire better. It was meant for the family's own use, but as there was room to spare, and Matashiro had an interest in education, it was used as a school for brides, the Shiransha Kaseigakuen. From 1929 until the school closed in 1943 about 3,000 young women, graduates of prestigious Kansai girls' schools, daughters of good families known in Osaka as itosan, finished their studies there, and the school is called a forerunner of the women's junior college. The rooftop terrace now holds events from time to time, and restaurants and shops have taken space in the building.

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