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Okuno Building on the backstreets in Ginza, Tokyo, survived the air raids during the Second World War and is still unique today.

  • Writer: Masahisa Takaki
    Masahisa Takaki
  • May 30
  • 1 min read

Updated: Jun 6

Almost all the buildings in Ginza, the most famous high-end shopping area in Japan, have been rebuilt transforming into a modern and glittering district.  This old building named Okuno Building is one of the few buildings in Ginza that survived the air raids during the Second World War.  The building was built in 1932 under the name of Ginza Apartment equipped with heating devices using steam as well as a communal bathroom and laundry. This was Japan’s first top-notch apartment building in reinforced concrete with a private elevator.  Designed right after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, the building met revised earthquake resistance standards.  Now, about 100 years after the completion, the building’s tenants have changed from the original individuals to commercial establishments such as galleries, antique stores and showrooms.  As it has undergone regular maintenance work following the original architectural specifications in and out, the aspects in those years remain unchanged.  For these repair works, they sometimes dared to manufacture the materials that were no longer available.


Jason Hardy


 
 
 

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