A once-bustling shopping district in the city of Gifu in central Japan will see the closure of department store Takashimaya at the end of July. The Yanagase district has a 135-year history and was even the inspiration for a hit song. Despite the setback, individual store owners in the Yanagase arcade are determined to turn their fortunes around by using social media to remind people of the area’s historical charm while trying to attract a younger, more vibrant clientele.
“I’ve always come to Yanagase because Takashimaya was here. If the store closes, it will be gloomy all around,” says part-time building cleaner Akira Hayashi, 77, on one weekday afternoon in May while standing in the sparsely populated street of closed storefronts. Hayashi fondly recalls his days of drinking at thriving taverns along the shopping street as a young man.
About a 15-minute walk from Gifu’s main railway station, Yanagase began developing as a commercial and entertainment district towards the end of the 19th century and flourished between the 1950s and the 1970s. Driven by singer Kenichi Mikawa’s 1966 million-seller ballad “Yanagase Blues”, the district achieved nationwide fame and was so lively and packed at times that people would often be shoulder to shoulder while walking along the boulevard. At its peak, more than 1,000 stores lined the street and Yanagase was a central hub for the city’s inhabitants.
The Takashimaya Gifu store opened in 1977. In Japan, there are around 12,0.
