Karatsu Bank 2

They really don't make them like they used to. 

Karatsu Bank

   In a previous posting, I wrote about the Meiji era architect Kingo Tatsuno (辰野金吾) and promised that I would add some photos of his other buildings if I ever had the chance to see them. Well, the opportunity arose in early April while I was on a business trip to the city of Karatsu, Saga prefecture, hometown of the architect.

   I was in luck: the Former Karatsu Bank (旧唐津銀行) building had recently been refurbished and it's doors once again opened to the public only a few weeks before my visit.

   Built in the 45th year of Meiji (1912), it was one of the last buildings Tatsuno would see completed before he died in 1919 of the Spanish flu.

   Unfortunately, that is all I know of this iconic structure. The historical section of the former bank's homepage is, ironically, still under construction.

Exterior shot of the bank

Power cables, arrgh!

I was happy they had the good sense to maintain the integrity of the lighting and mail boxes around the bank. Now, if only they would bury the goddamn power lines so people can take photos of the building without having to photoshop them out.

Shall we go inside?