Morioka | The only building by Kingo Tatsuno in Tohoku, Iwate Bank Red Brick Building

In 1911, Japan's popular architect Kingo Tatsuno built a magnificent building for the Morioka Bank Head Office. Kingo Tatsuno studied in the UK and was a favorite student of the famous architect Josiah Kant. After returning to Japan after completing his studies, he became a leading figure of the first generation of architects and built important buildings such as Tokyo Station and the Kyoto Branch of the Bank of Japan. He has never been to Taiwan, but the "Tatsuno Kingo style" of classical columns, semicircular arches, red bricks with white decorative ribbons, and other Japanese and Western architectural styles of the time have left their DNA in the three stations in the north, central and south, as well as the Control Yuan and other buildings. Back to the Red Brick Museum, after Tatsuno Kingo built it, Morioka Bank was poorly managed and was acquired by Iwate Shokusan Bank. In 1936, the entire exterior wall was painted white. It was not until the renovation in 2016 that Tatsuno Kingo's style was brought to the public again. He is good at using high-ceiling spaces to create a sense of grandeur and spaciousness, retro ceiling sculptures, long skylights, and even the carvings in each room are different. Today, half of the building is Iwate Bank, and the other half is the fee collection area of ​​Morioka Bank. It can also be seen that this century-old building has been constantly changing hands in the economic torrent. 📍Address: 1 Chome-2-20 Nakanohashidori, Morioka, Iwate 020-0871 Japan 🚗Take the Iwate bus from JR Morioka Station for about ten minutes; you can also walk for about half an hour to arrive. #MarchGoodPlaces2025