Presenting Food as a Cultural Experience

The Shiseido Parlour flagship store is in the Tokyo Ginza Shiseido Building, which sits next to the Shiseido Cosmetics flagship store (separated by Hanatsubaki-dori) on Chuo-dori, Ginza’s famous shopping street. A tall, elegant building with a warm red façade, the Tokyo Ginza Shiseido Building commands attention. This establishment embraced the wave of Westernization that swept through Japan following the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Presenting food as a cultural expression, Shiseido Parlour became an early pioneer in the exploration and promotion of Western cuisine. Its offerings have become increasingly refined over more than a century, to the satisfaction of even the most discerning diners in this up-market shopping district.

The Birth of Shiseido

Arinobu Fukuhara (1848-1924), Shiseido’s founder, was born during the turmoil of the late Edo period in what is now Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture. He studied Western pharmacy at the Shogunate Medical School and, after the start of the Meiji era, worked at the University East School (Daigaku Tōkō, also sometimes called the “Tokyo School of Medicine” in Western documents), the forerunner of today’s University of Tokyo Medical School. Fukuhara also worked in the Pharmacy Department of the Naval Hospital in Tsukiji. Now known for its famous fish market, Tsukiji at that time was Tokyo’s foreign concession, an important gateway for the importation of Western culture into Tokyo. In 1872, at the age of just 24, Fukuhara opened his own dispensing pharmacy in nearby Ginza, marking the beginning of Shiseido as we know it today. The introduction of the lotion “Eudermine” in 1897 put Shiseido well and truly on the map as a  cosmetics business. His vision for the business was greatly shaped by an overseas trip in 1900, during which he visited the Paris World Expo and returned to Japan via the United States. From 1907 to 1909, he served as the third president of the Japan Pharmaceutical Association.

Japan’s First Ice Cream Parlour and Soda Store

Not content to limit himself to cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, Fukuhara also ventured into the world of food and beverages. In 1902, he set up a simple dining space – a soda fountain – in a corner of his pharmacy. Here, Fukuhara successfully commercialized soda water, a novelty at the time in Japan, gaining attention by offering geisha from nearby Shimbashi a free bottle of Eudermine lotion with every glass of soda water when they visited the store. From this, soda water became a Ginza specialty, attracting crowds of customers to the store daily. Fukuhara’s customers were also able to try ice cream at his store for the first time, another novelty in turn-of-the-century Japan. This hugely popular venture grew into what was later to become Shiseido Parlour.

Popular with Literary Elite

Soda water was still largely unknown to most people in Japan, but was given a boost from recommendations by famous men such as writer Junichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965) and the Surgeon General of the Imperial Japanese Army Ōgai Mori (1862-1922). Tanizaki shared his favourable impression of the drink, describing it as “a cold, exhilarating liquid that seems to penetrate and refresh the chest”. Ōgai Mori, a renowned physician and authority on hygiene as well as being an influential novelist, poet and translator, frequently visited the store with his children. Mori was concerned about the state of sanitation at the time and his daughter, famed novelist Mari Mori (1903-1987), later recounted that he would only allow his children to eat ice cream from this establishment, saying anything other than Shiseido’s products was unsafe.

Founder’s Quest for New Values System

When it came to soda water production, Fukuhara insisted on importing not only the machinery, but also the glasses, spoons, and even the syrup, all the way from the United States. It was an attention to detail that reflected an unwavering commitment to authenticity. This desire for quality and authenticity would go on to shape Shiseido Parlour’s guiding principles, and they remain at its core to this day.

Renaissance in the Wake of the Great Kanto Earthquake

In September 1923, the area of Greater Tokyo was devastated by the Great Kanto Earthquake and Shiseido’s stores and manufacturing facilities were completely destroyed. Two months later, operations were resumed in premises that, although temporary, were nonetheless designed with great care. No effort was spared – from the exterior colour scheme to the intricate interior details – to enhance the dining experience. Shiseido even enlisted the services of Ryoichiro Kawashima (1886-1971), a Western-style painter active in Paris, to oversee the design, ensuring attention to detail both inside and out. This commitment to creating unique spaces continued to grow as the stores expanded in size. With each renovation and expansion, the design was entrusted to leading designers of the era.

A New Store Designed by a Renowned Architect

In 1928, Shiseido embarked on a new beginning with the opening of its new permanent building on the same site. This new store, designed by renowned architect Kenjiro Maeda (1892-1975), was a two-storey timber building with a brick facade featuring a large show window on the first (ground) floor, and a striking two-metre diameter circular window on the second level. Inside, the airy, high-ceilinged atrium featured chandeliers, with orchestra boxes upstairs visible from the seating area below. At this point, the business was named “Shiseido Ice Cream Parlour,” intentionally including the word “ice cream” to attract even more attention. The ice cream was by then available for takeout and special containers had been developed so that it wouldn’t melt on the way home.

Signature Dishes – “Curry Rice” and “Omurice”

Around this time, the restaurant also began serving its own take on Western cuisine, which was still unfamiliar to most households. The most popular dishes were Japanese “curry rice” and “omurice” – fried rice wrapped in a thin omelet. A little later, the restaurant introduced its own creation, meat croquettes, which remain a staple on the menu today. The staff consisted of a head chef, a sous chef, ten cooks, and fifteen waiters, all of whom were men. The young waiters, fresh out of elementary school, wore white coats with standing collars and gold buttons, and all had closely cropped hair.

In addition to its cuisine, the restaurant also began producing confections such as Hanatsubaki- brand biscuits, cheesecakes, and chocolates, as well as ready-made foods like curry and soups, allowing people to enjoy restaurant-quality flavours at home. Along with Shiseido Parlour’s own range of wines, these became popular gifts unique to Ginza.

Origin of the Trademark Shiseido Logo

The camellia (hanatsubaki) design embossed on the Hanatsubaki-brand biscuits is now widely recognized as Shiseido’s trademark symbol. It was designed in 1915 in the Art Nouveau style, characterised by delicate, curving lines. In the current version, which is unchanged since 1921, the sinuous curves of the two flower stems perfectly embody the essence of Art Nouveau. The promotional magazine “Hanatsubaki” was also named after this motif when it was first published in 1937. As a monthly magazine, it had reached 813 issues by June 2016 and later relaunched as a quarterly publication available in both print and online formats, reaching issue 832 as of November 2024. Its content focuses not only on beauty and fashion for Shiseido’s cosmetic promotions but also covers a broad range of lifestyle topics, including food, art, travel, and daily living.

Completion of Shiseido Parlour Building

In 1962, the Shiseido Kaikan building was completed, standing 9 storeys above ground and 3 below. At   a height of 50 metres, this was the tallest building  in Ginza at the time. The architect was Yoshirō Taniguchi (1904-1979), known for works such as the National Museum of Modern Art and the Imperial Household Agency residence. Taniguchi’s signature style was the skillful fusion of traditional Japanese materials and design with contemporary architecture. In the Shiseido Kaikan building, the elevator doors featured a camellia pattern based on gold embroidered cloth from Kyoto’s Myōshin-ji temple, and the lighting fixtures on each floor were adorned with metalwork camellia motifs. In 1973, the building was overhauled and reborn as the “Shiseido Parlour Building.” It housed the French restaurant “L’Osier,” a bar of the same name and the “Salon de Café.” In 1991, the “Restaurant Bar a Table Shiseido” opened in the basement level. Six years later, in 1997, the Shiseido Parlour Building temporarily closed for renovations.

Starting Anew as a Hub For Food and Culture

The Shiseido Parlour building took on its current form in 2001. Designed by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, the building consists of 11 storeys above ground plus a roof-top penthouse and 2 basement levels. The building was renamed the Tokyo Ginza Shiseido Building and began a new chapter as a hub for food and culture, taking on the role of the “lighthouse of Ginza.” With its warm red colour referencing the red-brick buildings that once lined the streets of Ginza, or even (as some insist) the red sand dunes and traditional garments that Bofill saw in the Sahara, the building stands out in a street now lined with tall, glittering buildings. The first basement level houses the Shiseido Gallery; the ground floor is a shop selling Western-style confectionery, the third floor houses the “Salon de Cafe”; the restaurant occupies the open-concept 4th and 5th floors, the 9th floor is a multi-purpose hall; the 10th floor is home to the Italian restaurant “Faro”, and the top floor is “Bar S.”