Kaigan Building, Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Chūō-ku, Kobe, Japan
The Kaigan Building is a three-storey brick structure clad in granite on Kaigandōri in Kobe's Chūō ward, completed in 1911 to designs by Kawai Kōzō. A large pediment once crowned its cornice, making it one of the grandest buildings on the street until wartime damage destroyed it. Inside, a colourful stained-glass panel decorates the stairwell ceiling.
The Kaigan Building was built in 1911 in Kobe's Kaigandōri district as the head office of the trading firm Kanematsu Shōten, founded by Kanematsu Bōjirō. It was designed by architect Kawai Kōzō and built by the Hatate-gumi firm in brick with a granite facing, three storeys above ground. It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.
The building was erected as the head office of the Kanematsu Shōten trading company founded by Kanematsu Bōjirō, and the whole ground floor served as its offices while the upper floors were let out. Traces of that office era survive in the interior of the ground-floor boutique, and a colourful stained-glass panel decorates the stairwell ceiling.
The building is at 3-1-5 Kaigandōri in Chūō-ku, Kobe, an eight-minute walk from Kyūkyoryūchi-Daimarumae Station on the Kaigan subway line and about ten minutes from Motomachi Station. The interior is lit from sunset until 22:00, and shops occupy the first three floors.
The building was erected in 1911 by the contractor Hatagumi as the head office of Kanematsu Shōten, the trading firm founded by Kanematsu Bōjirō and predecessor of today's Kanematsu. The whole first floor served as the firm's office, while the upper floors were rented out; traces of that office era survive in the interior of the ground-floor boutique.
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