\nI began by looking up \u201cEchigoya\u201d on the internet and came across information on Mitsui-Echigoya (currently \u201cMitsukoshi\u201d) and many passages on that stereotype phrase from samurai dramas.
\n\u201cEchigoya, you are so wicked\u2026\u201d
\nThe phrase is often heard in conversations between villainous merchants and local governors, or so was my impression. However, watching samurai drama closely, I realized that these lines appear do not appear as often as I had imagined and that the name of the store could be \u201cTajimaya\u201d or \u201cMikawaya.\u201d Therefore, this phrase, \u201cEchigoya, you are\u2026.\u201d came to be widely known as they it was translated into comedy skits and mango.\n<\/div>\n
\n
\nIf the Echigoya that we are so familiar with from samurai drama and comedy is a kimono store from the Edo period, then it must be based on the famous Mitsui-Echigoya or the Echigoya here in Ginza. In \u201cMito Komon,\u201d Japan\u2019s long-running samurai drama, Mito Komon always identifies himself as a \u201ccr\u00eape merchant from Echigo Province.\u201d Mito Komon, Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the historical model of the character, is said to actually have been very fond of crepe textiles from the Echigo region, and Chosuke Nagai, the founder of Echigoya in Ginza was originally from Takada (currently, Jouetsu City), famous for Echigo crepe. (Takatoshi Mitsui, who established Echigoya in Nihonbashi, was not from Echigo, but from Ise Province.)
\nWhile it is not known whether Chosuke Nagai was really the son of a crepe merchant, he opened an indigo dye store called Echigoya in Minami-denma-cho in Kyobashi (currently, Kyobashi 1-chome and 2-chome) when he was around twenty years old, in 1755 (Horeki 5). When he was fifty years old, he called himself Jinemon, which has been inherited generation after generation.
\nThe store opened in Ginza in 1805 (Bunka 2), when the founder passed away and second-generation owner took over the family business. The original store was located on a street corner a few meters closer to Kyobashi, so the store has been in business in Ginza 2-chome for approximately 220 years.
\nThe area was then called Shin-ryogae-cho 2-chome, named after the silver mint (\u201cginza\u201d is the Japanese word for silver mint) and the money exchange (\u201cryogae-sho\u201d in Japanese) that was established after the mint. On the other side of the street, in front of Ginza Itoya, there is a small monument that marks the birthplace of Ginza. Therefore, Echigoya developed its business in the area of Ginza close to Kyobashi, which was a busy place from early times.\u3002
\nThe store\u2019s records remain from the Meiji period, when the third-generation owner ran the business. There is a picture of the \u201cdashigeta-zukuri\u201d (protruding beam-style) two-story store which depicts a signboard that says \u201cGofuku Futomono-rui Echigoya\u201d with the logo adopted by the third-generation owner representing the character \u201c\u69ae,\u201d which means prosperity. The anachronistic word \u201cfutomono\u201d was used for cotton kimono as a distinction from silk \u201cgofuku\u201d (kimono).\n<\/div>\n
\nWhile it is not known whether Chosuke Nagai was really the son of a crepe merchant, he opened an indigo dye store called Echigoya in Minami-denma-cho in Kyobashi (currently, Kyobashi 1-chome and 2-chome) when he was around twenty years old, in 1755 (Horeki 5). When he was fifty years old, he called himself Jinemon, which has been inherited generation after generation.
\nThe store opened in Ginza in 1805 (Bunka 2), when the founder passed away and second-generation owner took over the family business. The original store was located on a street corner a few meters closer to Kyobashi, so the store has been in business in Ginza 2-chome for approximately 220 years.
\nThe area was then called Shin-ryogae-cho 2-chome, named after the silver mint (\u201cginza\u201d is the Japanese word for silver mint) and the money exchange (\u201cryogae-sho\u201d in Japanese) that was established after the mint. On the other side of the street, in front of Ginza Itoya, there is a small monument that marks the birthplace of Ginza. Therefore, Echigoya developed its business in the area of Ginza close to Kyobashi, which was a busy place from early times.\u3002
\nThe store\u2019s records remain from the Meiji period, when the third-generation owner ran the business. There is a picture of the \u201cdashigeta-zukuri\u201d (protruding beam-style) two-story store which depicts a signboard that says \u201cGofuku Futomono-rui Echigoya\u201d with the logo adopted by the third-generation owner representing the character \u201c\u69ae,\u201d which means prosperity. The anachronistic word \u201cfutomono\u201d was used for cotton kimono as a distinction from silk \u201cgofuku\u201d (kimono).\n<\/div>\n
\n![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Column_21_01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The logo representing the character \u201c\u69ae\u201d can be found on the signboard <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\nThe floor plan of the store in 1893-1894 (Meiji 26-27) shows store space facing Ginza-dori, and the names of various items, including \u201cyuzen,\u201d \u201comeshi\u201d (crepe), and \u201cmomen\u201d (cotton), were written out in the area where the dresser might have been. In the back of the long narrow building was the back parlor and kitchen. The warehouse was located facing what is currently known as the Gas Lamp Street. On the second floor, they had a 6-tatami mat room, a 4-tatami mat room and a maids\u2019 room, implying that the employees slept upstairs.
\nI interviewed Ms. Mami Nagai, the elder sister of the current president of the company, who is the ninth owner counting from the founder. She told me that until the third-generation owner, the owner\u2019s family had also lived under the same roof.
\nThe logo depicting the character \u201c\u69ae\u201d comes from a Chinese proverb that the third-generation owner was introduced to by an old customer. The current president also refers to the proverb in his message posted on their website.
\n\u201c\u4ee5\u529b\u52dd\u8005\u5bb6\u4e0d\u4e45\u3000\u4ee5\u5fb3\u52dd\u8005\u5bb6\u4e45\u6804\u201d
\n(The families of those who win by power do not prosper for a long time. The families of those who win by virtue will prosper for generations.)
\nInspired by the proverb, which encourages people to prioritize virtue against power, the third owner used the character \u201c\u6804\u201d in the store logo, which has been redesigned little by little over the times. According to Mami-san, the current sophisticated logo was designed by the seventh-generation owner, who had studied the natural sciences as a student and had a particular interest in design.
\nThe store still preserves the \u201cEchigoya Store Regulations\u201d which had been used from the Taisho period to the early Showa period. I was particularly impressed by a table that described the job rank and salary of employees from their first year of employment.
\nThe table starts with \u201cFirst year Grade 15 apprentice\/no salary.\u201d An employee\u2019s job rank advanced every year, but they would only receive a salary of one yen in their fifth year (Grade 11), after which their salary increased yearly – to one and a half yen, two yen, and the three yen..
\nThe table ends with the 21st year, or Grade 1, so it is likely that employees started as \u201cdecchi\u201d (apprentice) and became a full-fledged employee after twenty years of employment.\n<\/div>\n
\nI interviewed Ms. Mami Nagai, the elder sister of the current president of the company, who is the ninth owner counting from the founder. She told me that until the third-generation owner, the owner\u2019s family had also lived under the same roof.
\nThe logo depicting the character \u201c\u69ae\u201d comes from a Chinese proverb that the third-generation owner was introduced to by an old customer. The current president also refers to the proverb in his message posted on their website.
\n\u201c\u4ee5\u529b\u52dd\u8005\u5bb6\u4e0d\u4e45\u3000\u4ee5\u5fb3\u52dd\u8005\u5bb6\u4e45\u6804\u201d
\n(The families of those who win by power do not prosper for a long time. The families of those who win by virtue will prosper for generations.)
\nInspired by the proverb, which encourages people to prioritize virtue against power, the third owner used the character \u201c\u6804\u201d in the store logo, which has been redesigned little by little over the times. According to Mami-san, the current sophisticated logo was designed by the seventh-generation owner, who had studied the natural sciences as a student and had a particular interest in design.
\nThe store still preserves the \u201cEchigoya Store Regulations\u201d which had been used from the Taisho period to the early Showa period. I was particularly impressed by a table that described the job rank and salary of employees from their first year of employment.
\nThe table starts with \u201cFirst year Grade 15 apprentice\/no salary.\u201d An employee\u2019s job rank advanced every year, but they would only receive a salary of one yen in their fifth year (Grade 11), after which their salary increased yearly – to one and a half yen, two yen, and the three yen..
\nThe table ends with the 21st year, or Grade 1, so it is likely that employees started as \u201cdecchi\u201d (apprentice) and became a full-fledged employee after twenty years of employment.\n<\/div>\n
\n![\"\u300c\u8d8a\u5f8c\u5c4b\u5546\u5e97\u5e97\u5247\u300d\u3088\u308a\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Column_21_02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nfrom \u201cEchigoya Store Regulations\u201d <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe store changed substantially after being burnt down in the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1917 (Taisho 12). Echigoya ran their business in a shack for a few years until they built a seven-story building in 1931 (Showa 6). Buildings with roofed towers were the trend in the early Showa period, as also seen in the Asakusa (Kaminarimon) subway station building. In a direct mail sent out soon after the store reopened in the new building (February 1932), they advertised, \u201cWe have opened a Western clothes department,\u201d perhaps competing against Matsuya, which had opened across the street on Ginza-dori in Ginza 3-chome in 1925. Old maps from then still say \u201cMatsuya Gofuku-ten,\u201d but it was already a department store as we know it, carrying not only kimono but also Western clothing and running a cafeteria. The opening of not only Matsuya but also Matsuzakaya and Mitsukoshi after the earthquake must have been quite a threat to a local kimono store like Echigoya. Although the names of the tenants are not clear, the new building welcomed several restaurants. (A Chinese restaurant called \u201cChuka Daiichi-ro\u201d was on the basement floor during the years before the building closed.)
\n\u201cGinza\u201d by Tenmin Matsuzaki (1927) is a collection of photos of Ginza\u2019s townscape in the early Showa period and describes \u201cGinbura\u201d trends in Ginza 1-chome and 2-chome in those days.
\n\u201cThe eastern side of 1-chome is busy but 2-chome is more prosperous on the western side, where store windows are worth a look. Passing by Playguide, Echigoya and Meijiya brightened up a boring afternoon. Ginbura strollers without any money in their pockets can go window shopping to feel entertained and catch the spirit of the times.\u201d
\nThis area was popular for window shopping. The Playguide, along with the ticket corner in Kyukyodo, was still Ginza\u2019s ticket booth in the 1970s, when I was a student. I remember coming to search for tickets for concerts by foreign stars (Chicago and other rock bands).
\nThe old ads printed by Echigoya were quite well-worded. For example, a direct mail ad printed in December 1945 (Showa 20), the year WWII ended, starts like this:
\n\u201cEverything has been burnt down, but our hearts will not burn out. As the phoenix arises out of burning fire with a new life, we shine in the joy of rebirth.
\nDuring the period from before the war through the 1940s, after WWII, much of the direct mail advertised local sales events held at public facilities and traditional inns in Yokosuka, Chiba, Toganecho, etc. The copy \u201crare items and Ginza-style new patterns\u201d implies that Echigoya was an urban kimono brand that everyone dreamt of adding to their wardrobe.\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cGinza\u201d by Tenmin Matsuzaki (1927) is a collection of photos of Ginza\u2019s townscape in the early Showa period and describes \u201cGinbura\u201d trends in Ginza 1-chome and 2-chome in those days.
\n\u201cThe eastern side of 1-chome is busy but 2-chome is more prosperous on the western side, where store windows are worth a look. Passing by Playguide, Echigoya and Meijiya brightened up a boring afternoon. Ginbura strollers without any money in their pockets can go window shopping to feel entertained and catch the spirit of the times.\u201d
\nThis area was popular for window shopping. The Playguide, along with the ticket corner in Kyukyodo, was still Ginza\u2019s ticket booth in the 1970s, when I was a student. I remember coming to search for tickets for concerts by foreign stars (Chicago and other rock bands).
\nThe old ads printed by Echigoya were quite well-worded. For example, a direct mail ad printed in December 1945 (Showa 20), the year WWII ended, starts like this:
\n\u201cEverything has been burnt down, but our hearts will not burn out. As the phoenix arises out of burning fire with a new life, we shine in the joy of rebirth.
\nDuring the period from before the war through the 1940s, after WWII, much of the direct mail advertised local sales events held at public facilities and traditional inns in Yokosuka, Chiba, Toganecho, etc. The copy \u201crare items and Ginza-style new patterns\u201d implies that Echigoya was an urban kimono brand that everyone dreamt of adding to their wardrobe.\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n![\"\u6a2a\u9808\u8cc0\u3067\u306e\u50ac\u4e8b\u306e\u6848\u5185\u72b6\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Column_21_03.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nAn invitation to an event in Yokosuka <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\nOn the day of the interview, I looked into the store windows facing Ginza Lamp street and found summer kimono fabric displayed in the windows. The fabric ranged from traditional Arimatsu shibori from the Nagoya area to very casual patterns depicting cats. These modern patterns were evidence that yukata has become popular among young people.\n<\/div>\n
\n![\"\u732b\u306e\u6d74\u8863\u5730\u3092\u624b\u306b\u3001\u300c\u50d5\u306f\u72ac\u6d3e\u306a\u3093\u3060\u3051\u3069\u300d\u3002\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Column_21_04.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nWith a roll of cat-patterned fabric in hand, \u201cI prefer dogs.\u201d <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\nThe \u201cYukata de Ginbura\u201d event held in August (this year, on August 3) in Ginza-dori and the school yard of Taeimi Elementary School has become an annual summer festival in Ginza.\n<\/div>\n
\n![\"\u4eca\u3064\u304f\u308c\u3070\u300c\u3086\u304b\u305f\u3067\u9280\u3076\u3089\u300d\u306b\u9593\u306b\u5408\u3044\u307e\u3059\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Column_21_05.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nIf you order now, you will have a new yukata in time for \u201cYukata de Ginbura,\u201d <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ginza is home to several long-established stores that have been in business since the Edo period, but few have … Continue reading