Writer Kobayashi Takiji, who lived in Otaru at the beginning of the Showa period (1926-1989), described the port of Otaru as “a city like the ‘heart’ of Hokkaido,” as goods from all over Hokkaido were gathered there and shipped out to Honshu. These words also bring to mind the image of Otaru in its heyday as a prosperous city.

　

　Otaru flourished as a commercial city, and at the end of the Taisho period (1912-1926), it was also a “financial town” with 25 banks. Many bank buildings designed by the best architects of the time still remain, and the view of buildings from the Meiji, Taisho, and even the mid-Showa periods is breathtaking. The area was a symbol of the modernization of not only Hokkaido but also of Japan, and it can be seen that the area was prosperous.

　

　Furthermore, after the Russo-Japanese War, the use of the shipping route from Otaru to South Sakhalin (present-day Sakhalin Oblast, Russia) flourished, and trading companies and major banks began to establish themselves in Otaru one after another. Many merchants, called “wealthy merchants,” became successful. Some of the most notable examples are Naoji Takahashi, who made a fortune by manipulating the azuki bean market in London and was called “Azuki Shogun,” Yohkichi Fujiyama, and Miyakichi Itaya, who were successful in the shipping business. These wealthy merchants contributed to the development of Otaru by constructing public facilities with their private funds. Their passion still lives on in Otaru today.