4-2 Osaka Stock Exchange Market Hall — A Pioneer in High-Functionality, Large-Scale Spaces —

During the Edo period, when the economy was based on rice, Osaka—where all the domains across the country maintained their storehouses—served as the economic center of Japan and was known as the “Kitchen of the Nation.”Futures trading, officially sanctioned by the shogunate, began in Kyōhō 15 (1730) at the Dojima Rice Exchange (Dōjima Kome Kaishō), and this is said to have been the world’s first futures trading.It was common for rice merchants to invest their surplus funds and become money changers, leading to a proliferation of such money changers in the Kitahama district of Osaka.Amid this boom, the relocation of the Gold Exchange (Kinsōba Kaisho) to the site of the present-day Osaka Securities Exchange in Kanpō 3 (1743) served as a pivotal turning point in establishing Kitahama as a hub for stock trading.
With the advent of the Meiji era, in order to lay the foundation for a modern capitalist economy, the Osaka Stock Exchange was established in Meiji 11 (1878), with prominent merchants such as Tomohiro Godai, Konoike, Sumitomo, and Mitsui serving as founding members.The exchange built during the Meiji era essentially followed the format of the Edo-period Gold Exchange. Consequently, it later became necessary to construct a securities exchange building befitting a modern capitalist economy.

During the Edo period, the city of Osaka had an urban structure centered on an east-west axis, with Osaka Castle to the east serving as the starting point and extending toward Osaka Bay to the west. With the advent of the Meiji era and the establishment of Osaka Station in Umeda to the north, north-south avenues became the primary thoroughfares, marking a shift in the city’s axis from east-west to north-south.However, even after this shift in urban axes, the primary north-south thoroughfare—before Midosuji was developed—remained Sakaiguchi, along which the streetcar ran. The site of the stock exchange was located at the intersection of Sakaiguchi and the Tosabori River, which was considered Osaka’s prime location at the time.
Incidentally, during this same period in Nagoya, the relationship between the castle and the train station also led to a shift in the city’s structure, with the north-south and east-west axes swapping places. Similarly, in Tokyo, major changes in the city’s structure occurred as a result of the reconstruction plans following the Great Kanto Earthquake. It can be said that this was an era in Japan when urban structures changed in response to the new times.

The demands of a new era are also reflected in architectural design. When the Osaka Stock Exchange was renovated in Showa 10 (1935), it required a large, air-conditioned and heated space capable of accommodating 2,000 floor traders—a design entirely different from the traditional trading halls of the past. It was an era in which the new capitalist economy demanded a new approach to architecture.
As can be seen from the first-floor plan, this building consists of two major elements. One is the large-scale trading floor, and the other is the oval-shaped entrance hall located in the upper-left corner of the first-floor plan. Although a new market economy had emerged, people living in the fierce world of the “stock market”—a realm beyond human control—ascribed profound, personal meanings to each of these spaces.The serene entrance hall was seen as a “place to cool off,” while the trading floor—bathed in bright natural light streaming through a skylight 52 shaku (approximately 16 meters) high—was viewed as an auspicious sign that “market prices would soar to the sky.”

The new exchange required a large wall to display the constantly changing stock prices across its entire surface. To ensure that the stock prices were easily visible from every location in the trading floor—where stock trading took place amid a buzz of excitement—the wall was designed as a large, gently curved surface.The steel-frame structure, which supported this vast space, featured a pioneering design that incorporated the most advanced electric welding techniques of the time throughout the building, and construction was carried out meticulously under strict supervision.Furthermore, the acoustic design was engineered to meet the seemingly contradictory requirement of absorbing the clamor from the 500 telephones ringing in the tiered telephone booths while ensuring that the sound of the clappers struck from the raised platform could be heard clearly.Kenzo Takekoshi, who played a central role in this project, stated, “My primary focus was on enhancing the market’s functionality, as well as the lighting and acoustics of the exhibition hall.”
The design integrated architectural, structural, and mechanical engineering disciplines, and the construction was carried out with meticulous precision. It can be said that this achievement was made possible precisely because these tasks were executed with such systematic precision during the early Shōwa period. This market hall could be considered a precursor to highly functional, large-scale spaces like the modern Saitama Super Arena.
This project, which served as a crucial turning point for the Hasebe & Takekoshi Architectural Office in overcoming the hardships caused by the Great Depression, also stands as a milestone in the history of Nikken Sekkei. At the same time, in terms of both its content and technology, it served as a pioneer in projects that responded to social and economic evolution, thereby charting the course Nikken Sekkei would follow in the years to come.

In Showa 10 (1935), a building with a distinctive presence—characterized by its elliptical silhouette and colonnade—appeared in Kitahama, at the intersection of Sakaisuji and Tosabori Streets.This was the entrance hall of the Osaka Stock Exchange Market Building. Filled with the refreshing, soft light streaming through the stained-glass windows, this oval-shaped entrance hall was an elegant and refined space, with both the floors and walls finished in Italian marble.Designed by Eikichi Hasebe, this space, exuding a rich sense of tranquility, must have stood in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the stock trading floor.
As I reflect on this contrast between the clamor and the silence, I can almost hear the very breath of the people who lived through the stock market in the distant past.

(References)
Osaka Securities Exchange (Market Hall) Development and Preservation Strategy Study Group (2004), “Historical Survey Report on the Former Osaka Securities Exchange Market Hall,” Osaka Securities Exchange
Kenzo Takekoshi (1980), *Yusen Jijo*, Sogen-sha
(1935) “Osaka Stock Exchange,” *Architecture and Society* (June 1935 issue)
Japan Architectural Association
Hisashi Yosano　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(2011) “Archives: Learning from the Architecture of Our Elders—The Osaka Securities Exchange
Old Market Hall,” *Nikken Sekkei Newsletter* (September 2011 issue), Nikken Sekkei