This building was completed in 1923, the same year as Tokyo’s Maru Building. With nine floors aboveground and one belowground, it is one of the first in the city to herald the age of Osaka office buildings. Since it was built, it has featured a stately, classical design with offices divided into compact units to accommodate many tenants, and is now home to law firms, a newspaper, publishing company, advertising agency, IT firm, consultants, clinics, galleries, cafes, and interior showrooms. The outside west wall facing Midosuji boasts a design that looks truly modern for a building that is a century old. The slightly curved road on the east side of the building was once the site of the Shijimigawa River. The building is also deeply connected to various creative works, serving as the location of the Naniwa University Hospital from Toyoko Yamasaki’s novel The White Tower, and the inspiration for Narashige Koide’s famous painting “City View” as seen from the upper floors of the building.
The Dojima Building has participated in the Living Architecture Museum Festival Osaka since 2019, with the safe on the sixth floor open to the public during the event.