Mido

Miscellaneous Story of Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi

I would like to introduce the trivia of Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, one of Japan's leading department stores.
First of all, the origin of the name "Mitsukoshi" is that in the early Edo period, Takatoshi Mitsui opened a kimono shop called "Echigo-ya" at 1-chome Nihonbashi Honmachi, Edo.
In the Meiji era, the surname was "Mitsui Kimono Store" because the surname was "Mitsui", and in 1904, "Mitsui" and "Koshi" of "Echigoya" were taken to "Mitsukoshi". It became a kimono store and became the current "Mitsukoshi".

The emblem on the wall in front of the new building in Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi is "dolphins". When the new building was built, it was said that it became a dolphin motif with the idea that it was the former fish shore just before and that it would be a customer's pilot.

 

Lion statue

The Zodiac story of the Lion statue Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi

There is a lion statue at the entrance of Mitsukoshi, but when it became Japan's first department store in 1914, it was the idea of Ousuke Hibi, the manager of the time, when Mitsukoshi became the king of business It seems that two lion statues set up to make it the king of business. It seems that the model is a lion statue in Trafalgar Square in London. Ousuke Hibi likes big lions and named his son "thunder sound".

In the Edo period, the predecessor of Mitsukoshi, Echigo-ya, was rented out to customers with a name in an umbrella. Because the Echigo-ya mark is included, customers who borrowed umbrellas advertised, and the store was more and more crowded. Even today, the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi store rents umbrellas containing the word "MITSUKOSHI" free of charge on rainy days.

Did you know that there was a petit "Disneyland" on the roof of Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi?
It is said that an event called "Children's Dream Country Fun Disneyland" was held from April 30 to July 7, 1957, two years after the opening of the Honke California. In particular, the cup-shaped playground equipment called the "Mary Cup" seemed to be popular.

In addition, it can be said that it is a department store that has been ahead of the times, such as introducing Japan's first escalator, holding Japan's first fashion show, and offering Japan's first children's lunch.