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Iwate Bank Red Brick Building

Locally knownKnown to people who live here. Not in the international guidebooks.

Researched and written by Hinato

Tatsuno Kingored brickMoriokaImportant Cultural Property1911

Photo: 掬茶 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · original

Iwate Bank Red Brick Building survives on maintenance and memory as much as on its original construction — that tension is part of the visit.

Tatsuno Kingo designed Tokyo Station, and this is the only building of his left standing in the Tohoku region. It was completed in 1911 as the head office of Morioka Bank, with his student Katsurai Manji, a Morioka man, working alongside him — red brick banded in white granite, domed corner turret, the whole Tatsuno vocabulary at provincial-bank scale.

It served as a bank until 2012 and is now a nationally designated Important Cultural Property open to the public. The building is split into two: the Morioka Bank zone, with the original banking hall, counters and vault, is charged; the Iwate Bank zone, covering the later use of the building, is free. It stands on the Nakanohashi bridge corner in the old commercial quarter, opens at ten, and closes on Tuesdays.

Before you go

Opening hours

10:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Last entry 4:30 PM

Closed: Closed Tuesdays and over the New Year

Admission

Morioka Bank zone ¥300 adults and ¥100 elementary and junior high school students | Iwate Bank zone free

Best time to visit

Year-round

Time to allow

60 minutes

Access route

Access notes

Nakanohashi-dori 1-2-20, Morioka, on the Nakanohashi bridge corner. About a short walk from JR Morioka Station or a short bus ride. Closed Tuesdays and over the New Year. The Morioka Bank zone, including the banking hall and vault, is ¥300 for adults and ¥100 for elementary and junior high school students, free for preschool children; the Iwate Bank zone is free. Completed in 1911 to a design by Tatsuno Kingo and Katsurai Manji, and a national Important Cultural Property.

Historical notes & tips

**Tatsuno's only surviving building in Tohoku.** The architect of Tokyo Station. The resemblance is unmistakable once you are in front of it. **Pay the ¥300 for the banking hall.** The free zone covers the later history; the original hall, counters and vault are in the charged half and are the reason to come. **Closed Tuesdays.** With New Year closure. Opening is late, at ten, so this is an afternoon stop. **Katsurai Manji was from Morioka.** Tatsuno's student, working with him on his home city's bank. That local connection is why the building is here at all. **It banked until 2012.** A hundred and one years of continuous use, which is why the interior fittings survived rather than being stripped.

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