Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Osaka Chuo Branch

Mitsui Bank, which traces its origins back to the Mitsui Exchange House of the Edo period, was founded in 1876 as Japan's first bank. After establishing a branch in Osaka, a new branch was opened at the current location in 1901. In 1914, a Western-style building was constructed based on the design of German architect Georg de Lalande, but it was later rebuilt according to the design of the Sone & Chujo Architectural Office and completed in 1936.

Georg de Lalande traveled to Yokohama in 1903 at the invitation of his former colleague, German architect Richard Seel. In the same year, as Seel returned to Germany, de Lalande took over his architectural design office. De Lalande worked not only in Yokohama but also traveled throughout Japanese territories, including Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Korea. He is also known for the Takada Shokai building, which features the German Art Nouveau style (Jugendstil).

Mitsui Bank merged with Taiyo Kobe Bank in 1990. After several name changes, it became Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in 2001. In 2002, the Koraibashi Branch (formerly a Sumitomo branch) located across the street was integrated.

On March 26, 2024, a redevelopment plan was announced to replace the new building completed in 1967, which is adjacent to the east, with a skyscraper. The main building, completed in 1936 and registered as a Tangible Cultural Property, will be preserved and utilized due to its historical value. Plans include improving safety while partially restoring the exterior and interior to their original state at the time of completion, with the project expected to be finished in 2030.

Architecture

The building is located at the northeast corner of the intersection where the one-way northbound Sakaisuji Avenue and the one-way westbound Koraibashi-dori Street meet.

Built in 1936, the building is a culmination of classical architecture. With features such as the giant Ionic order on the facade, it possesses a dignified and formal style typical of bank architecture. The Sone & Chujo Architectural Office, which handled the design, was one of the largest architectural firms in pre-war Japan. It was established by Tatsuzo Sone, a first-generation Japanese architect who studied under Josiah Conder alongside Kingo Tatsuno, and Seiichiro Chujo, who studied architecture at the University of Cambridge after traveling to England with Noriakira Uesugi, the former lord of the Yonezawa Domain. However, as Chujo passed away in 1936, the year the Osaka branch was completed, and Sone passed away the following year, the office effectively dissolved, making this their final work. The building is characterized by its neoclassical exterior featuring a colonnade made of granite from Kitagi Island, and the banking hall is lined with Corinthian columns made of Italian marble. The high ceiling is finished with an octagonal coffered ceiling.

In 1967, a curtain-wall building was added to the east side, which is the rear when viewed from the Sakaisuji side. In 2013, ring-shaped lighting fixtures were suspended from the ceiling in the banking hall.

Surroundings

The nearest station is Kitahama Station on the Sakaisuji Subway Line, and it is located slightly south of Kitahama Station on the Keihan Railway.

The Semba and Kitahama districts have long been the center of commerce and economy in Osaka, and the area around Koraibashi-dori developed as a banking district. Across Sakaisuji Avenue stands the Koraibashi Nomura Building, built by the Nomura Zaibatsu in 1927. To the south is the former Mitsukoshi Osaka store, which opened as a branch of Echigoya in 1691 and operated until 2005; this vicinity served as the base for the Mitsui Group in Osaka.