Kouraibashi Nomura Building

Takeo Yasui gained the favor of Tokushichi Nomura II for his designs of the Dojima branch of Osaka Nomura Bank in 1922, and of the bank’s main branch in 1924. Tokushichi II was then forming an enormous corporate group, which was led by Nomura Securities and included banking, insurance, international trade, and other interests. He became the best supporter and the largest client of Takeo Yasui, who went into independent practice in 1924. Tokushichi Nomura II was also keen on building management. Along Sakai-suji, he built the Kitahama Nomura Building (1921, designed and built by Takenaka Corporation), the main branch building mentioned above, in Bingomachi, and the Koraibashi Nomura Building in 1927. The site for the Koraibashi Nomura Building lacked depth, and all its rooms were for rent, so its elevation had a simple composition. Its detailing, however, is filled with clever techniques. The spandrel wall is tilted forward, and a band of tiles run along under the windows of each floor. The walls use tuff stone and tile on the first floor, and scraped mortar on the second and higher floors, for a material finish reminiscent of soil. The building is a superb work of design combining modernity with primitivism. The seventh floor is a later post-war extension.