Building Memories - The History of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Part 2

As we saw in the first part of our reflections on the history of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi since its establishment it a timeline defined by a spirit of change that is sometimes not immediately obvious in the enduring building you will find today. None the less its foundations are built on constant renewal, whether in response to the destruction wrought by earthquakes in advance of the safety technology we enjoy today, and more important even than that, the tumultuous tide of Tokyo's own history. Fittingly it is there that our story begins when in the first year of Enpō (1673) in Edo era Japan, the period that was responsible for the growth of present day Tokyo, Takatoshi Mitsui was to found the kimono dealer Echigoya in the heart of this emerging city that would later grow into the Mitsukoshi we know today.

Needless to say, the lack of photography prevents us from getting a direct sense of what this first iteration of the store must have been like, but fortunately the ukiyo-e woodblock print art of the era not only captures the architectural form but also the lively atmosphere. The earliest of which dating to Enpō 1 (1673), the very year when the store was first opened, finds a cross section of Edo life in a very different setting to the one you can find today with a raised tatami matted shop floor largely free of merchandizing and the staff fetching every item from the store room as required amongst a distinctly Japanese setting. Even so, this is a world not entirely disconnected from the present with the figures offering tea to visitors still part of the omotenashi service of the store at certain places, and the bold noren merchant curtains at the entrance a familiar sight even now over the New Year and other occations.

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http://i.isetan.co.jp/mitsukoshi/nihombashi/en/news/2017/04/145en.html

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