The main building of Daimaru’s flagship department store was built between 1922 and 1933 according to a design by William Merrell Vories, an American missionary who turned to architecture to finance his proselytising and ended up playing an instrumental role in the introduction of modern Western architecture to Japan.
The neo-Renaissance exterior, including the granite façade toward Midosuji Avenue, contrasts with an interior featuring ceiling frescoes, art deco furnishings and stained glass. The building underwent extensive renovations between 2016 and 2019 but its original appearance was largely preserved, with the iconic peacock relief now decorating the store’s Shinsaibashisuji entrance.