Oct 21, 2013 - 1 min read

Old Shop Sign Collection, Shinbanba

Showa Neon Kanban Takamura Goro Museum

By Allan Murphy

Community writer

Liquor store signs

Showa Neon's sign in front of the building doesn't suggest what can be found inside

This is better...

... and this is best: View on entering the museum

Stationery store; mokekanban; when literacy increased in the middle of the Edo period there was a large demand for writing implements. Customers could request from a range of animals which to be used fur for their brushes.

Yoshi toko; Yoshi's barbershop

Left, drugstore; right, drugstore for women, specializing in irregular period treatment

Center, shamoyi-ya, rice "scoop" shop, Matsuki Shoten, specializing in Kaneshin scoops

The company holding the sign collection was originally established in 1922 as Takamura Kamban-ten, but it later changed its name to Showa Neon Kogyō-sho. While today the company deals with modern sign boards, especially neon signs, there is this incredible collection of old shop signs, which have been collected since the late-Edo period. Have a look at my related article to find out more.

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Allan Murphy

By Allan Murphy

Community writer

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Jihad Mahmoud

Jihad Mahmoud 9 years ago

Nice Collection.

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