Nanto Bank historic head office

photo by kcomiida · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

At the base of the four Ionic columns there are sculptures of sheep, a symbol of wealth.

Completed in April 1926 for 523,000 yen at the time (over 300 million yen in today's money) to a design by the engineer-architect Nagano Uheiji, the head office has a neoclassical façade in Okayama granite and brown brick. At the base of the four Ionic columns at the entrance, four sculptures of sheep, a symbol of wealth, are the work of the sculptor Mizutani Tetsuya, of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. It is still a working bank branch today.

The building was originally built as the Nara branch of the 68th Bank (六十八銀行); today it is the historic head office of the Nanto Bank, which still operates there. It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 1997.

ℹ️ You can see it from outside at any time, at the crossroads where the Higashimuki shopping street begins. As it is a working bank branch, it has no opening hours for tourist visits.

🚉 Kintetsu Nara · 3 min walk

Sources: nantokanko.jp

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