90 Years of Fukuya History
1930s and 40s
Becoming a department store loved as an oasis for Hiroshima
1932 - Fukuya One-coin Store opened
On July 15, 1932, the "Fukuya One-coin Store" was opened in Horikawacho, which connects Hondori and Kinzagai. The store sold daily goods, food products, and other budget merchandise and became very popular; however, due to reasons including an increase in prices and difficulty in stocking budget merchandise, the store closed in 1937.
Advertisement for opening of the Kure Store listed in the March 31, 1935 edition of the Chugoku Shimbun
On April 1, 1935, the Fukuya Kure Store opened. At that time, Kure was undergoing big developments, having a naval port and shipyard said to be the best in the East. The population had also grown to 230,000 people. In November of the same year, the Kure train line also fully opened. For these reasons, the Kure Store was also very bustling.
Completion of the New Wing in Hatchobori, a grand Chalk Palace
July 10, 1937 - Article in the Osaka Mainichi Elementary School Students' Newspaper about shell fossils uncovered during construction work
1938 - Poster describing the opening of the New Wing
The poster giving notice of the opening of the Fukuya New Wing used Sanae Takasugi, a popular actress at the time, as a model. With these kinds of glamorous advertisements, the store interior and exterior were bustling with customers at the opening.
1938 - Fukuya (New Wing)
In March 1938, after a year and ten months of construction work, "Fukuya for everybody" was completed at its current location in Hatchobori. Affectionately called the "Chalk Palace", the particularly eye-catching Fukuya New Wing was a grand building with two basement floors and eight above-ground floors.
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima City
1945, Autumn - Fukuya one month after the atomic bombing (Old Wing in the front, New Wing in the back)
Photograph by: Kazuma Hayashi, Provided by: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
8:15 AM, August 6, 1945. A single new bomb exploded in the sky above Hiroshima, destroying the city of Hiroshima in an instant. Hiroshima was ravaged by the calamity of the atomic bomb. In the midst thereof, the Fukuya New Wing (rear in the photo) and Old Wing (foreground) narrowly managed to remain standing.
1945 - Kamiyacho as seen from Fukuya's rooftop
Photograph by: Kazuma Hayashi, Provided by: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
One month after the atomic bombing. The building to the top right is the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry building. To the top left, the building on the right is the Hiroshima Bank Head Office, the building on the left is Sumitomo Bank, and in the middle is the former Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall (Atomic Bomb Dome), and the building to the front is the Shoko Chukin Building.
Surviving the bombing, and moving towards revival - Reconstruction among the ruins
Front entrance restored after the war
After the bombing, Fukuya re-opened for business in February 1946, with only the first floor put in order. After that, restoration proceeded floor-by-floor, and in October 1950, the sales floor expanded to the first and second floors. In July 1951, restoration work on the fourth floor was completed, preparing the store for the sale of mid-summer gifts. Then, in October that year, the fifth floor was restored, returning the area of the sales floor to its prewar state.And finally, in December 1954, work on other floors was finished, marking Fukuya's full restoration.