❤ donatesubscribe
70216-0058 - Osaka City Office, 1920s

Osaka 1920s
Osaka City Hall

Artist Unknown
Publisher Unknown
Medium Postcard
Period Taisho
Location Osaka
Image No. 70216-0058
Purchase Digital File
Author

Osaka City Hall in Nakanoshima. Built between 1918 (Taisho 7) and 1921 (Taisho 10), Osaka City Hall was designed by representative Meiji Era architects like Yasushi Kataoka, Hikotaro Imabayashi and others, who followed an original design by Yokichi Ogawa.

It was said that the tower on the roof was built to make City Hall look just a little higher than the nearby District Court, which had been completed in 1917 (Taisho 6) and had a very imposing red brick tower (partly visible behind City Hall on this image).

Osaka already looks thoroughly modern on this postcard, with the stone City Hall in the foreground, the street cars, automobiles and the concrete and brick buildings in the back. A far cry from the townscape full of traditional wooden architecture that had graced this area until the Great Kita Fire of 1909 (Meiji 42).

Starting in 1982 (Showa 57) City Hall was gradually torn down and in 1986 (Showa 61) it was replaced by a modern building. For other photos of Nakanoshima, click here.

Published
Updated

Leave a Comment

Reader Supported

Old Photos of Japan aims to be your personal museum for Japan's visual heritage and to bring the experiences of everyday life in old Japan to you.

To enhance our understanding of Japanese culture and society I track down, acquire, archive, and research images of everyday life, and give them context.

I share what I have found for free on this site, without ads or selling your data.

Your support helps me to continue doing so, and ensures that this exceptional visual heritage will not be lost and forgotten.

Thank you,
Kjeld Duits

support

Reference for Citations

Duits, Kjeld (). Osaka 1920s: Osaka City Hall, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on October 7, 2025 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/414/osaka-city-hall

Explore More

…

Tokyo 1872
Anjincho in Nihonbashi

Rackety wooden houses with shingled roofs in Tokyo’s Anjincho (安針町) in the Nihonbashi district.

…

Tokyo 1910s
Hattori Building, Ginza

Two streetcars pass by the Hattori Building in Tokyo’s fashionable Ginza. Carts are parked under the verdant trees.

…

Nagasaki 1872
Amidabashi Bridge

A beautiful romantic view on Amidabashi (Amida Bridge) over Nagasaki’s Zeniyagawa (Zeniya River, nowadays called Nakashimagawa), photographed in 1872 (Meiji 5).

Add Comment

There are currently no comments on this article.