Dentsu Advertising Museum

November 21, 2003 3:21 AM

Dentsu Advertising Museum. Japanese advertising 1603-1926.
'The Edo Era (1603—1867), during which a full-fledged feudal system was established by the Tokugawa shogunate, was also an era in which the culture of townspeople flourished. That Japan had already developed distinctive advertising techniques of its own as early as the Edo Era might come as a surprise to you. But ample evidence of these remain for us today to follow a historical trail, in the form of nishiki-e (a multicolored woodblock print), hikifuda (handbills) and signboards. A witness of the times, as well as a chronicle of advertising creative work in Japan, these relics represent a valuable record of both the evolution of corporations and the history of common people's lives.'
'Dentsu Advertising Museum presents selected advertising artifacts and works of art from the Yoshida Hideo Memorial Foundation collection, in order to give you a taste of the historical background to Japanese advertising techniques.'
posted by plep (6 comments total)

Thanks, Plep! It's a fascinating resource, especially (for me at least) the section on department stores. I was particularly tickled to see on one of the postcards "Mitsukoshi Dept. Store, Established 1673".
posted by dmo at 5:27 AM on November 21, 2003

Very interesting stuff. Thanks, plep!
posted by .kobayashi. at 8:52 AM on November 21, 2003

Lovely site, plep. Maybe a little off-topic, but I also like this celebratory list of Japanese-English advertising slogans from Grafica Obscura (which explains that "In typical application, words are combined with photographic material to create a visual and textual hybrid."). I would really like to see them within the context of the images, though.
posted by taz at 8:57 AM on November 21, 2003

Great site, plep. Many thanks.
posted by hama7 at 4:17 PM on November 21, 2003

Another classic "Plep" - Does anyone ever criticize or challenge a plep post?
posted by troutfishing at 9:48 PM on November 21, 2003

troutfishing :- I like the cut of your jib!
posted by plep at 8:32 AM on November 22, 2003