Osaka Gas Building

A landmark 1933 office building on Midosuji Avenue in Osaka, designed by Yasui Takeo and designated as a nationally registered tangible cultural property.

Use

Office tower

Area

Chuo City, Osaka

Completed

1933

Floors

8 above ground, 2 below

Developer

Osaka Gas

Architect

Yasui Takeo

An Art Deco Landmark on Midosuji

The Osaka Gas Building, affectionately nicknamed “Gas Biru,” stands on Midosuji Avenue in Hiranomachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka. Completed on March 17, 1933, the eight-story, two-basement structure was designed by Yasui Takeo, one of the leading architects of modern Japan. Built in steel-reinforced concrete, its eaves height was kept to 100 shaku (approximately 30 m) to comply with Midosuji’s street-height regulations of the era, while the rooftop tower reaches about 36 m. The south building was designated a nationally registered tangible cultural property in 2003.

Yasui’s design blends Western Art Deco sensibilities with the formal discipline required of a corporate headquarters. The facade’s terracotta ornament and vertically emphasized bays create a stately presence that has defined this stretch of Midosuji for nearly a century. A north wing, designed by Sano Shoichi, was added in 1966 and received its own cultural-property designation in 2024, giving the two-building ensemble a rare double recognition. For decades the building served as the head office of Osaka Gas, the utility company that has supplied gas to the Osaka metropolitan area since the Meiji era.

A Historic Building in the Path of Renewal

Osaka has demolished many of its prewar buildings to make way for high-rise development, but the Gas Building has survived through a combination of heritage recognition and thoughtful stewardship. Osaka Gas has announced plans to build a new 33-story west wing (slated for completion around 2027), with the historic building itself scheduled for renovation by around 2031. The project envisions the original Art Deco facade standing alongside a modern glass tower — a pairing that has become common in European cities and is gaining acceptance in Japan.

Summary

Completed in 1933, the Osaka Gas Building is an eight-story steel-reinforced concrete structure on Midosuji Avenue, designed by Yasui Takeo and registered as a national tangible cultural property. Known as “Gas Biru,” it is one of the finest surviving examples of interwar commercial architecture in Osaka. A walk along Midosuji near the Hiranomachi intersection is the best way to appreciate its measured grandeur and understand how a 1930s corporate building continues to set the tone for one of Japan’s most celebrated avenues.