Tracing 90 Years of RIHGA Royal Hotel History.
“Creating a modern hotel for distinguished guests in Osaka”… In response to requests from Osaka’s political and business establishment, the Hotel New Osaka, predecessor of the RIHGA Royal Hotel, was established in 1935 as a project symbolizing the “Great Osaka” era. Since then, the RIHGA Royal Hotel has continually evolved with changing times and built up a tradition. Here we trace its 90-year history.
ROYAL HISTORY Vol. 1: A Guesthouse for Osaka—The Path to Building a Modern Hotel.
The history of hotels in Osaka begins with Jiyutei, opened by a restaurant.
To unravel the history of how the Hotel New Osaka, the predecessor of the RIHGA Royal Hotel, was established in 1935 (Showa 10), we need to trace back the history of hotels in Osaka after the Meiji Restoration.
That history begins with Jiyutei. Jiyutei (originally called Ryorintei) was Japan’s first Western-style restaurant, opened in Nagasaki in 1863 (Bunkyu 3) by Kusano Jokichi, a chef for the Dutch consul. It was a favorite of figures such as Godai Saisuke (Tomoatsu) a retainer of the Satsuma domain, Iwasaki Yataro, the founder of the Mitsubishi conglomerate, and Goto Shojiro, who later became the Governor of Osaka Prefecture.
After the Meiji Restoration, there were no hotels for foreigners in Osaka. Because of this, Governor Goto and Godai, who had become a judge for foreign affairs and Osaka Prefecture, ordered Kusano to open Osaka’s first Western-style restaurant and hotel, the Foreigners’ Lodging House: Jiyutei, in Umemoto-cho (now Honda 1-chome in Nishi Ward) next to the Kawaguchi foreign settlement in Nishi Ward.(1) This Foreigners’ Lodging House: Jiyutei marks the beginning of hotel history in Osaka. Entrusted with the role of hosting guests from Japan and abroad, Kusano went on to open the Jiyutei Hotel in 1881 (Meiji 14) at the site where the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka now stands.
In 1895 (Meiji 28), the Western-style section of the Jiyutei Hotel was renovated and renamed the Osaka Hotel. Later, after a change in management, the Osaka Hotel became the Osaka Club Hotel. It was equipped with electric lighting and steam heating, and had English-speaking staff, making it the only hotel in Osaka at the time with facilities suitable for foreign guests. However, the hotel was completely destroyed by fires in both 1901 (Meiji 34) and 1924 (Taisho 13). Since the site where the hotel stood had already become Nakanoshima Park, owned by the city of Osaka, permission to rebuild was not granted and the hotel was closed. Later, a branch hotel called the Imabashi Hotel was renamed the Osaka Hotel and continued operations, but it was not a prestigious hotel for distinguished guests like the original Osaka Hotel in Nakanoshima.
Driven by the passion of political and business leaders, construction began on the Hotel New Osaka, the predecessor of the RIHGA Royal Hotel.
In 1925 (Taisho 14), Osaka had grown to a population of 2.11 million, surpassing Tokyo’s 2 million and becoming Japan’s largest metropolis, known as “Great Osaka.” According to Tourist Destinations and Western-Style Hotels published by the Ministry of Railways in 1934, Osaka before 1935 when the Hotel New Osaka opened had only three hotels—the Osaka Hotel (formerly the Imabashi Hotel), the Dobuil Hotel, and the Umeda Hotel— with a mere 184 rooms and this was insufficient in both quality and quantity.(2) Also, plans for holding a grand exposition in Osaka were being discussed for 1928 (Showa 3), three years from 1925, and to accommodate this, voices arose for building a modern hotel as a “guesthouse to welcome distinguished guests to Osaka,” led by the Mayor at that time, Hajime Seki, and centered around the Osaka Chamber of Commerce (later the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry). The first New Hotel Consultation Meeting was held in 1926 (Taisho 15), and although the exposition plans were later canceled, the Hotel Construction Executive Committee met 11 times by May 1928 (Showa 3), gradually fleshing out the hotel’s concept and management projections. Called “Osaka’s guesthouse,” the hotel became a city-wide project with full participation by political and business leaders.
In 1930 (Showa 5), Mayor Seki submitted an application through Prefectural Governor Zenzaburo Shibata to the Deposit Department of the Ministry of Finance for low-interest funding, and a loan of 3.5 million yen (equivalent to approximately 2 billion yen in today’s value) was approved (with an additional 600,000 yen added later). Locations such as the area in front of Osaka Station had previously been proposed as candidates for the hotel site, but it was decided to use the land of Toshin Soko at Nakanoshima 3-chome, Kita-ku, Osaka City (on the west side of the current Nakanoshima Festival Tower West). In October of the following year 1931 (Showa 6), it was decided to name the hotel the “Hotel New Osaka” and 14 prominent figures from Osaka’s business community were listed as incorporators of the new company.
The Hotel New Osaka was completed in December 1934 (Showa 9) and held its completion celebration banquet on January 10, 1935 (Showa 10).
(The complete story of the Hotel New Osaka will be featured in the upcoming “ROYAL HISTORY Vol. 2”)
Text by Eriko Michida / 140B
<References>
(1) ・Hiroshi Takata (Professor, Osaka Gakuin University) and Jun-ichiro Tokue (Professor, Toyo University), Chapter 8 “History of Hotels in Osaka: Focusing on Guesthouse Hotels” in Luxury Hospitality: High Value-Added Tourism That Will Transform Japan’s Future, (Dobunkan Shuppan) 2024, (in Japanese).
(2) ・Hiroshi Takata (Professor, Osaka Gakuin University) and Jun-ichiro Tokue (Professor, Toyo University), Chapter 8 “History of Hotels in Osaka: Focusing on Guesthouse Hotels” in Luxury Hospitality: High Value-Added Tourism That Will Transform Japan’s Future, (Dobunkan Shuppan) 2024, (in Japanese).
・Tourist Destinations and Western-Style Hotels (published by the Ministry of Railways) 1934, (in Japanese).
(Chronology)
1868 (Meiji 1): Foreigners’ Lodging House: Jiyutei opened as Western-style restaurant and hotel in Umemoto-cho (currently Nishi Ward)
1881 (Meiji 14): Jiyutei Hotel opened in Nakanoshima Park
1895 (Meiji 28): Western-style section of Jiyutei Hotel renovated, and name changed to Osaka Hotel
1899 (Meiji 32): Osaka Hotel sold to Osaka Kurabu, and name changed to Osaka Club Hotel
1901 (Meiji 34): Osaka Club Hotel completely destroyed by fire
1903 (Meiji 36): Reopened after changing name back to Osaka Hotel
1924 (Taisho 13): Osaka Hotel completely destroyed by fire again. Property had already become a park owned by Osaka City, so permission to rebuild was not granted and the hotel closed. A branch hotel, the Imabashi Hotel, changed its name to the Osaka Hotel and continued operations.
1935 (Showa 10): Hotel New Osaka, predecessor of the current RIHGA Royal Hotel, opened
