Takao Prefectural Office (Kaohsiung)

The Takao Prefectural Office (高雄州庁, Takao Shūchō) was the seat of the administration of Takao Prefecture in southern Taiwan during the Japanese period (1895-1945). Takao Prefecture (高雄州), established in 1920 under Governor-General Den Kenjiro's administrative reforms, governed a vast territory encompassing modern-day Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County, making the prefectural office one of the most important government buildings in colonial Taiwan.

First and Second Generation Buildings

When Takao Prefecture was created in 1920, the prefectural government initially operated from the former Takao Public Hall (打狗公館), a brick building completed in 1914 at present-day Gushan Road 105. As Kaohsiung's urban center shifted eastward across the Love River in the late 1920s, a grand new prefectural office was planned. Groundbreaking for the new building took place on May 16, 1929, alongside the adjacent Youth Association Hall (青年會館). The new Takao Prefectural Office was completed on March 20, 1931, and officially inaugurated on May 1, 1931.

The building was designed by the prefecture's civil engineering section in the modern Romanesque architectural style (近世ロマネスク様式), a two-story brick structure featuring a symmetrical Roman-axis layout with Japanese-influenced roofing elements. Together with the Takao City Hall (高雄市役所) and Takao Station (高雄驛), it is popularly grouped as one of the "three great imperial crown-style buildings" of Japanese-era Kaohsiung.

Wartime Damage

During World War II, the Takao Prefectural Office sustained significant damage from American strategic bombing raids targeting Kaohsiung, a vital Japanese military and industrial hub in southern Taiwan. The building's right wing suffered structural damage from bomb strikes. Kaohsiung was heavily bombed throughout 1944-1945 due to its port, military installations, and industrial facilities.

Postwar Fate and Demolition

After Japan's surrender in August 1945 and the transfer of Taiwan to the Republic of China, the damaged prefectural office was repaired and repurposed as the Kaohsiung District Court (高雄地方法院). In 1966, a major renovation was carried out that simplified and stripped away much of the building's original Romanesque ornamentation. By the 1980s, the court had outgrown the building, and in 1987 the historic structure was demolished to make way for a modern courthouse designed by architect Zhu Zuming. The demolition of this significant colonial-era building occurred before Taiwan's cultural heritage preservation movement had fully matured.

Legacy

The site of the former Takao Prefectural Office is located in the Qianjin District of Kaohsiung, near the Love River. Its neighbor, the former Takao City Hall (旧高雄市役所), was more fortunate—it survived and was designated a historic monument, now serving as the Kaohsiung Museum of History. The prefectural office's history illustrates the complex fate of Japanese colonial architecture in Taiwan, where many significant buildings were lost before preservation efforts took hold.