Poster for Mitsukoshi Department Store (三越呉服店 本店西館修築落成・新宿分店新築落成)

This poster was designed by Sugiura Hisui to celebrate the reconstruction and reopening of the Mitsukoshi Department Store’s main building in Nihonbashi, as well as the newly built Shinjuku branch in 1925. Following the devastating Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, this reopening served as a powerful symbol of urban recovery, resilience, and the dawn of a new modern era in Tokyo. 

The composition beautifully demonstrates Sugiura’s ability to harmonize Japanese tradition with Western modernism. In the foreground stands a sophisticated woman dressed in a classic black kimono, and next to her is a young girl in Western pink clothing. The iconic, newly rebuilt Renaissance-style Mitsukoshi tower creates a layered narrative of cultural transition.

Additionally, the lettering for "Mitsukoshi Department Store" on the right and the announcement of the opening on the top-left are not merely informational text, but custom, hand-drawn typography heavily influenced by the European Art Deco movement. As a pioneer of Japanese commercial art, Sugiura did more than just advertise a department store. Through this single image, he offered a vision of a modern, sophisticated lifestyle to a society recovering from the earthquake.