A 120-year-old building in Amagasaki City has been saved from demolition with the owner donating the building for free to the city. The city will be acquiring the 3,000 sqm of land it sits on within the year.

The Unitika Memorial Hall was built in 1900 as the head office of Amagasaki Spinners – the predecessor of Unitika Group and one of the early founders of Japan’s textile industry. This company grew into a leading fiber manufacturer. The history behind this building makes it a precious part of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution and a rare link to Amagasaki’s pre-war textile industry. It is the oldest surviving European-style building in the city.

Amagasaki Spinners changed its name to Dainippon Spinners in 1918. At the time it was one of Japan’s top three textile makers. The company had built the largest spinning mill here, although it was destroyed in a 1945 air raid. Miraculously, the 2-story red-brick office building survived the bombings. In 2007 it was selected by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as one of Japan’s Heritage of Industrial Modernization sites. 

The owner, Unitika, floated the idea of demolishing the building back in 2019. Initial plans to retrofit and restore the building were abandoned due to the cost. It was estimated to cost around 400 ~ 500 million Yen (approx. 3.8 ~ 4.7 million USD) to retrofit. The company suffered financial difficulties in 2014, borrowing 37.5 billion Yen and embarking on a restructuring program. The recent coronavirus impact on the apparel and manufacturing industry has only served to worsen the company’s outlook, making historical preservation projects like this one out of the question.

In 2020, there were discussions to donate the building to Hyogo Prefecture and have it relocated to a park within the city. However, the estimated cost for relocation was over 1 billion Yen. Plans were scrapped in July 2022, with the prefecture requesting that the city step in to find a solution.

Location

Higashihonmachi, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture

Sources:
The Kobe Shimbun, November 26, 2022.
The Mainichi Shimbun, August 23, 2020.