Positioned on either side of the street as far as Yodoyobashi station are 26 bronze sculptures by a variety of Japanese and international artists. Here you will find works by Henry Moore, Churyo Sato, Emilio Greco, Shinya Nakamura, Fernando Botero, Giorgio De Chirico and August Rodin to name but a few. Taking up the theme of ‘In Praise of Mankind’, all of these pieces are works inspired by the figure and according to some of the web guides are intended to encourage people as they are walking by, to stop and engage with the feeling of history. Some of them are beautiful examples of the sculptors’ skills but the sense that I got was not one of history, but rather one of money. After all, this ‘stretch’ of Midosuji between Shinsaibashi and Yodoyobashi is often referred to as the business district and the fact that a large majority of the pieces were donated by businesses and corporations left me with the feeling that I was walking around the palace gardens and that I was supposed to be impressed.
text source: http://archives.kansaiscene.com