Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Main Store was designated an Important Cultural Property on July 25th.
The main building of the store was completed in 1914 (Taisho 3), and expansion and renovation work was completed in 1921 (Taisho 10). However, it was damaged in a fire caused by the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 (Taisho 12). Retaining the steel frame of the main building and floor slabs, the building was rebuilt in 1927 (Showa 2) as a seven-story building. The Mitsukoshi Theater on the sixth floor also opened.
"The store has a stately exterior based on a Western classical style, and the interior is gorgeously decorated using pioneering designs from each era, centered around the elegant colors of the Mitsukoshi Theater and the five-story central hall. It has been expanded and renovated repeatedly while incorporating various systems to attract customers, and is highly valuable as a symbol of the development of department store architecture in Japan," the Agency for Cultural Affairs stated in its selection reasons.
The design was by Yokogawa Construction (now Yokogawa Architects), which handled many pre-war commercial buildings, and they were responsible for everything from the new building to the subsequent expansion. The structure, which emphasizes horizontal and vertical without using arches, and the Art Deco-style decorations such as the high tower (monumental tower) and the handrail grills and glass in the central hall, along with the special dining room designed by French interior decorator Rene Bleu, give a sense of unity to the exterior and interior, and are a dense space that incorporates classical style and the new trends of the time, and have been passed down to the present day.
The 12 buildings that received the designation as Important Cultural Properties at this Agency for Cultural Affairs council include Garyu Sanso in Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture, the former Tohoku Gakuin missionary house in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, the former Kameoka family residence in Date City, Fukushima Prefecture, the former Nakajima family residence in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, the Zoshigaya Kishimojin Hall in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, the former Kakuumi family residence in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, the former Hasegawa family residence in Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture, and Enryaku-ji Temple in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture.
Text: Noda Tatsuya
