Mengyo Kaikan, Osaka

The Mengyo Kaikan is a large building that stands as a monument to the flourishing textile spinning industry that revitalized Osaka after the Meiji Restoration. This industrial boom of the middle Meiji period gave the city the title, Manchester of the Orient.

The Mengyo Kaikan was designed by renowned architect, Setsu Watanabe. It was built as a club of the textile magnates in 1931. They contributed a sum of over 50,000 yen for its construction. The foundations were laid in 1931, the sixth year of the Meiji period. It was at the time, the symbol of modern Osaka. It also housed offices of textile companies and meeting spaces with the object of developing, promoting and improving the fast growing textile industry of Japan.

The Mengyo Kaikan building has a range of design styles from all over the world. Before World War II, it has welcomed many important state guests including Helen Keller, heads of State of many nations and the then American first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. The building and the nearby guest quarters have been declared Important Cultural Properties. It survived the bombings of World War II without damage. The Mengyo Kaikan from its inauguration was and remains a membership based institution and is open to the public only on the 3rd Saturday of every month.