The Kyowa Bank (株式会社協和銀行, Kyowa Ginko) was a Japanese city bank that operated from 1948 until 1991, when it merged with Saitama Bank to form Kyowa Saitama Bank, later renamed Asahi Bank. The bank’s origins trace to Nippon Savings Bank, which was reorganized and renamed Kyowa Bank in 1948. [1]
Design and History
Graphic designer Tadashi Ohashi (大橋正, 1916-1998) created promotional materials for Kyowa Bank, including two silk-screen posters produced in 1973 to mark the bank’s 25th anniversary. These works, titled “ご愛顧ありがとうございます 創立25年 協和銀行（ツバキ）” (Thank you for your patronage, 25th anniversary of Kyowa Bank, Camellia) and “おかげさまで創立25年を迎えました 協和銀行” (Thanks to you, we have reached our 25th anniversary, Kyowa Bank), are held in the collection of the Matsudo City Board of Education and documented by Art Platform Japan. [2] [3]
Ohashi was a pioneering figure in Japanese graphic design. He studied at Tokyo Higher School of Crafts and Industry (now Chiba University Faculty of Engineering), worked at Daimaru department store and Dentsu, and became a freelance designer in 1945. He is known for his long association with Kikkoman, where he handled art direction, design, and illustration from 1950, and for his work for Meiji Seika from 1952 to 1972. [4] His notable works include the Kikkoman mascot “Kikko-chan” and the Meiji Centennial symbol mark. [5]
While the 1973 anniversary posters confirm Ohashi’s involvement with Kyowa Bank’s visual communications, no official documentation has been located that verifies a 1968 logo design by Ohashi for the bank. The specific claim of a 1968 geometric logo cannot be confirmed from available sources.
Meaning and Symbolism
The 1973 anniversary poster featuring a camellia (ツバキ) suggests the flower held symbolic significance for the bank’s 25th anniversary celebration. However, no documented explanation of the camellia’s meaning in relation to Kyowa Bank’s identity has been found in the available sources.
The bank’s name “Kyowa” (協和) translates to “cooperation and harmony,” reflecting the post-war reorganization of the Japanese banking sector. The bank was formed in 1948 when Nippon Savings Bank converted to a commercial bank and adopted the Kyowa name. [1]
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