The seventh annual "TOKYO KIMONO WEEK 2013 - Kimono, Japanese Culture, Nihonbashi" kicked off on October 17th. An opening ceremony was held on the same day, featuring appearances by Shoichiro Sanshiki, chairman of the TOKYO KIMONO WEEK Executive Committee, Shohei Niihara, general manager of Mitsui Fudosan's Nihonbashi Urban Development Promotion Department, as well as Yoji Naka, general manager of Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Main Store, and Tsunekata Kameoka, general manager of Takashimaya Nihonbashi Store, who are implementing the first collaborative project. Approximately 90 stores in the Nihonbashi area are participating in "TOKYO KIMONO WEEK 2013." Numerous events are scheduled to run until the 29th, including talk shows by kabuki actors Ebizo Ichikawa and Shido Nakamura, and the annual "Kimono Group Photo Shoot" in Nihonbashi. To coincide with the event, Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Main Store and Takashimaya Nihonbashi Store will simultaneously hold kimono events, "Mitsukoshi Kimono Festa" and "Takashimaya Kimono Weeks: Inheriting Tradition and Beauty," and will also hold a joint stamp rally. Mitsukoshi will open "Hana Musubi," a next-generation kimono shop focusing on ready-made kimonos, on October 23rd. Takashimaya plans to hold the "Kawashima Textile Exhibition" from the 23rd to the 29th, showcasing traditional Japanese textile culture. Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Main Store Manager Naka, who tried on a haori and hakama for the first time, said, "Mitsukoshi has been a kimono retailer for 340 years since the first store opened in Nihonbashi Honcho 1-chome. Both Nihonbashi department stores still have the largest and most passionate kimono departments in Japan. Kimono culture deserves to evolve and grow. This fall, we will continue to explore new possibilities for kimono by renovating our sales floors and creating spaces where people can wear kimono."

Manager Kameoka of Takashimaya Nihonbashi said, "In order to innovate (kimono culture), we must decide to protect, nurture, and pass on everything else, and change everything else. We want to create new stores and companies, cherishing the feelings of everyone involved in Nihonbashi, kimono fabrics, and kimonos," and unveiled a tenugui hand towel designed in collaboration with Mitsukoshi as a prize for the stamp rally.