131003-0013-OS - Kimono Shop

Textile retailer Matsuzakaya at Ueno’s Hirokoji in Edo (current Tokyo), 1856 (Ansei 3).

Matsuzakaya was established in 1611 (Keicho 16) as a wholesaler and manufacturer of silk kimono and Japanese lacquerware in Nagoya. The company began retail sales of cotton and linen kimonos in 1736 (Kyoho 21).

In 1910 (Meiji 43), Matsuzakaya became a western-style department store. The company’s Ginza branch in 1924 (Taisho 13) became the first department store in Japan where customers could keep their shoes on.

The company still exists and is now one of the oldest department stores in the world.

This woodblock print is image 13 in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (名所江戸百景, Meisho Edo Hyakkei), a series created by ukiyoe artist Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重, 1797–1858).

It is one of 42 spring scenes in the series.

Title: Shitaya Hirokōji (下谷広小路)

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