Gunma Prefectural Government Office Main Building (Showa Building)

Gunma's 1928 Prefectural Office

The Gunma Prefectural Government Office Main Building (Showa Building) (群馬県庁本庁舎) is a reinforced-concrete prefectural office of 1928, three storeys above ground and one below, in Otemachi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on December 20, 1996. Now known as the Showa Building, it was designed by Sato Koichi (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Gunma Prefecture).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as reinforced concrete, three storeys and a basement, with a building area of 2,019 square metres; registration number 10-0001, the first structure registered in Gunma, owned by Gunma Prefecture.

The Face of the Prefecture

According to Gunma Prefecture, the Showa Building has served as the face of the prefectural government for more than 90 years since 1928, and in its day used the most advanced building techniques in the Kanto region.

It was renovated when chosen as a venue for the National Cultural Festival in November 2001: the original structure was kept and badly damaged parts repaired, the exterior tiles were all replaced to the original design, and a lift and barrier-free access were added. In 2004 it won the best-reform category of the 13th BELCA Award (Gunma Prefecture).

Why It Was Registered

The Gunma Prefectural Showa Building was registered as a building that has become a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a model early Showa government building designed by Sato Koichi.

What to Look For

The ground floor of the Gunma Prefectural Showa Building is faced in stone (Gunma Prefecture describes it as imitation-stone tile) and the upper two floors in scratch tile (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Gunma Prefecture).

The main entrance is a carriage porch composed around a semicircular arch (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Inside, the third floor holds the formal state hall, and the second floor has exhibition rooms on the history of the prefecture and on Gunma-born prime ministers (Gunma Prefecture).

Visiting the Showa Building

According to Gunma Prefecture, the Gunma Prefectural Showa Building is open every day from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Meeting and exhibition rooms are available to non-profit and cultural groups, and there is a café on the ground floor. It is about 6 minutes by bus from JR Maebashi Station or 7 minutes from Shin-Maebashi Station. The address is 1-1-1 Otemachi, Maebashi; enquiries to the Showa Building office (027-226-2119).