Sep 19, 2012

8景 するがてふ View 8 Suruga-cho


駿河町は日本橋近くの町。
江戸時代この辺りはできるだけ富士山が見えるように都市計画がなされていて、特にこの辺りからの眺めは有名でした。町の名前も富士山のある駿河から取ってつけられたとか。

Suruga-cho was a town close to Nihonbashi.  
Streets in this area were planned so that they could have a good view of Mt. Fuji, and that's how it was named Suruga-cho, after Suruga in Shizuoka prefecture, where Mt. Fuji stands.
  

でもこの絵にあるほど大きな富士山が見えたとは思えませんね。
この広重の構図はみごとです。上半分は大きな富士山、たなびく雲の下には活気に満ちた駿河町です。

But I don't think they could actually see Mt. Fuji that big.  Hiroshige's design here is so wonderful, with the big Mt. Fuji above and the busy town below separated by soft clouds.

絵には江戸有数の呉服屋越後屋が描かれています。

The store in the picture is Echigo-ya, one of the biggest kimono shops in Edo.

越後屋の模型が江戸東京博物館にありましたよ。

You can see the model of this store at Edo-Tokyo Museum
駿河町に建っていた越後屋 Echigo-ya at Suruga-cho
にぎやかな店内の様子もわかります。
You can also see the inside of  the shop.  
創業者は三井高利(1622~1694)。
伊勢松坂の武家の生まれでしたが、父親の代に味噌や酒を商う商人となりました。1673年高利は江戸で着物商を始め、1683年に駿河町に移店。革新的な商売で大成長を遂げました。現金掛け値なし、訪問販売ではなく店頭販売、など今は当たり前のことですが、高利の始めたことだそうです。また両替商も始めました。
 
Ehigo-ya was founded by Mitsui Takatoshi (1622-1694).
He was from Matsuzaka, Ise.  His father was a Samurai, but gave it up and started selling Miso and Sake. In 1673, Takatoshi came to Edo and started his kimono shop.  In 1683, he moved to Suruga-cho.  His sales method was quite innovative.  His pricing was honest, but non-negotiable, and he only accepted cash payment.  He sold only at his store, not at the houses of customers.  Today, these sound nothing special, but it was all started by Takatoshi. 
He also started money-exchange business.

越後屋は大成功。江戸時代を通じて繁栄しました。
明治以降も呉服商は三越、両替商は三井銀行(今は合併により三井住友銀行)となり、今も私たちにとって身近な存在です。

His business was a big, big success!  It prospered all through Edo period, and after Meiji, his kimono shop became Mitsukoshi Department Store, his money-exchange business, Mitsui Bank. (Sumitomo Mitsui Bank now)

現在も通りの左側は三越本店です。

Today, the main store of Mitsukoshi stands on the left side of the street. 
三越本店 Mitsukoshi Department store
有名なライオン像 their famous lions
ルネッサンス式のこの建物は関東大震災後1935年に建てられました。
本当に風格のある建物です!

This Renaissance-style building was built in 1935 after the Great Kanto Earthquake. 
It is just so grand!
パイプオルガンもある中央ホール the main hall with a pipe organ 
エレベーターも趣満点 the antique looking elevator
 店内では写真を撮るのが憚られて撮れませんでしたが、建物を見ても、並んだ商品を見ても、素晴らしく、ちっとも飽きませんでした。
さすが、三越本店!本当に素敵でした❤

I didn't take many pictures inside, but really enjoyed looking at the beautiful details of the building and also beautiful things they had at the store.   I just loved the store! 

屋上には神社もありました。

By the way, do you know what I found on the rooftop terrace?
三囲神社 Mimeguri Jinja
for someone who love kitsune(^_^)
お稲荷さんもなんか高貴な感じが。
They look noble, don't they?

そして、通りの反対側(右側)には三井本館が建っています。

And Mitsui Main Buidling stands on the right side of the street.

三井本館 Mitsui Main Building
この建物も美しかったです。1929年に建てられて、国の重要文化財に指定されています。今も三井住友銀行日本橋支店として現役ですが7階には三井記念美術館もあるとか。
今度はぜひそこにも行ってみたいと思います。
今回はデパートの中で時間を使いすぎました。^_^;) 

This building is also beautiful.  It was built in 1929, and has been designated an Important Cultural Property by Japanese government.  It is still the Nihonbashi branch of their bank, and also, on the seventh floor, they have Mitsui Memorial Museum.
That's another place I want to go and see. 
(This time, I spent too long at the department store. ^_^;) 


さて広重の絵に戻りましょう。
広重のように、通りに立って南西の方向を見てみました。

Well, back to Hiroshige's picture. 
I stood on the street and looked toward south-west, like Hiroshige.


創業者三井高利がこの景色を見たらなんて思うでしょうか?
1683年に高利が始めたものが、今もこの通りの両側で頑張っていました。

What would Mitsui Takatoshi think if he saw this view?  
What he started in 1683 are still here, on both side of this street.

にほんブログ村 英語ブログ 国際交流へ

6 comments:

Rurousha said...

Kitsune! Thank you! (^0^) I never realized the public could visit that shrine too; I thought it was only for Mitsukoshi employees. Now I have a good excuse to go shopping!

Have you been to the original Mimeguri Jinja in Mukōjima? It has a Mitsukoshi lion on its premises and the most beautiful, graceful kitsune statues on the roof of the shrine.

I wish we could still see Fuji-san from Nihonbashi!

PS: What did you buy? :)

Merry Witch said...

The roof terrace is open to public. There, they have "Beer Garden" during summer. Also, they (annually) have a garden store and a pet shop. So, don't hesitate to go up there.(^_^)v

I haven't been to that original shrine, yet. I passed by it this spring, but at that time, I didn't know about it.(>_<)

At Mitsukoshi, I admired their beautiful furniture, artworks, and quality living wares. But I decided I could do without them. I just had lunch, a piece of quiche and beautiful cake, at "West." That's my recommendation for light meal.(^^)

Tall Gary said...

I think Mr. Mitsui would be thankful to the fates and proud of the succeeding generations of his family. What he worked so hard for was lost neither to geisha, gambling, fire, war, earthquake, depression, recession, deflation, nor passing changes in fashion. One might even cal it a miraculous survival.

If he came back would he have new ideas and suggestions for Mitsui’s and Mitsukoshi’s business practices today? Would he be too out of touch with the 21st century?

There are some nice advertising prints commissioned by Mitsui over a hundred years ago here. Be sure to check out “the whole series is here.”

Merry Witch said...

Yes, come to think about it, they must have had a lot of difficult times in these 300+ years. "A miraculous survival" is just the right word.(^_^)

Thank you very much for telling me about their advertising prints. Aren't they beautiful? I didn't know anything about Toshikata Mizuno. You know a lot about Japan!

Tall Gary said...

I was surprised to see that he was a student of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. I thought Yoshitoshi was the last of a line, but obviously not. (I see that he is referred to as the last “great” master of Ukiyo-e.) If you like Toshikata Mizuno, you might enjoy some of the the 美人画 of his student Kiyokata Kaburaki. One example is here. It makes me think a little of Akiko Yosano’s 乱れ髪。

Merry Witch said...

I know Kiyotaka Kaburaki. He is very famous. So, Toshikata Mizuno was his master! And Tsukioka Yoshitoshi was Mizuno's master!

When I was younger, I didn't care very much about Japanese art. Now, I'm getting more and more fond of it.