Participated in the "Takashimaya Nihonbashi Store Important Cultural Properties Tour" and guided us to the highlights. It was Mr. Kotani of the concierge who guided me.
The store (Sadataro Takahashi) built in 1933 was expanded from 1933 to 1940 (Togo Murano) while inheriting the original design, and it has a high degree of perfection as an integral architectural work and represents department store architecture. It is a building designated as a national important cultural property in 2009.
Last year (2016), Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi was also designated as a national important cultural property, but the reason for this designation is that it is "high value as a symbol of the development of department store architecture in Japan", so it is slightly different from that the Takashimaya Nihonbashi store is purely evaluated for buildings.
So, what are the features of the Takashimaya Nihonbashi store?
Sadataro Takahashi's plan won the first prize in a design competition based on the concept of "modern architecture based on Oriental hobbies".
As you all know, the 1st and 2nd floors (red tent) are granite and the 3rd and 7th floors are Western-style buildings with tiles. Tiles tend to be thought to be vulnerable to earthquakes, etc., but the pain of tiles in the Great East Japan Earthquake was less than 2%, reminiscent of the polite construction at that time.
And "Oriental hobbies" can be found everywhere.
coffered ceiling. Also, the sculpture of plaster was left untouched at that time.
It imitates a nail hide found in Japanese houses.
The chandelier is not the original one because it provided metal during World War II, but it has a Japanese-style lighting.
The stairs of the first building are made of marble and ammonites can be clearly seen (the middle of the 2nd and 3rd floors can be seen most clearly) It seems that many children can come to see during 
summer vacation.
The area around the elevator is also marble, but unlike the stairs, wood-grained marble is used. The elevator itself continues to use the manual things made by Atiss that have been used since the beginning.
In addition, there is a remnants of a drinking fountain on the left side of the front entrance. The design below is
It's a lotus valve.
The iron door at the front entrance is decorated with a Japanese-Western design.
The exterior was said to be Western-style, but Japanese-style is also incorporated in it. There is a balcony on the front entrance, where giboshi is designed.
At present, the rooftop could not be seen during renovation, but the tower was made with an elephant motif based on the child elephant "Takako" who had been on the roof for four years from 1950.
At that time, the rooftop of the department store was a small amusement park, but there was a child elephant on the roof of the Takashimaya Nihonbashi store. How did you raise this child elephant on the roof, but it seems that he caught it from outside with a crane. The elephant must have been very scared. At that time, it was 500kg.
However, he ate 36 kg of food every day, and four years later it became 1,500 kg, so he moved to Ueno Zoo. How did you drop the elephant, but at this time he walked down the stairs.
Also, the first parking lot on the rooftop at the department store was the Takashimaya Nihonbashi store, but the rooftop parking lot has disappeared due to the renovation.
At the Takashimaya Nihonbashi store, an important cultural property tour is held every second Friday at 11:00 and 15:00. Reservation is required for 10 people each time.
If you are interested, please apply below.
Takashimaya Nihonbashi Store: 03-3211-4111
