Kanban and Hikifuda: Meiji Period Marketing as Seen in Signs and Flyers

For this meetup, we will check out an exhibition about Japanese advertisement in the Meiji era.

"This exhibition introduces the world of commerce in the Meiji period by shining a spotlight on kanban and hikifuda.

As the face of a store, kanban are designed in a manner suiting the characteristics of different industries and their locations. In addition to the museum’s collection of kanban related to tobacco and smoking accessories, signs from a variety of industries from the collection of the Museum of Japanese Business History (housed at the National Institute of Japanese Literature) gathered by Shibusawa Keizo and others, as well as from the collection of the Showa Neon Takamura Kanban Museum, will be on display, and alongside original paintings of storefronts, the exhibition will also reveal storefront scenes from the Meiji period.
Meanwhile, hikifuda are single-sheet advertisements that are distributed to customers. In addition to hikifuda advertising shop openings and sales, as well as New Year’s hikifuda with multicolored prints of auspicious motifs in the museum’s collection, hikifuda made by fiction writers from the collection of advertising company manager Nishigaki Takeichi (housed at the Waseda University Library) will also be on display." [from the museum site]

Location
The Tobacco and Salt Museum
(https://www.tabashio.jp/en/visit/access/index.html)

Exhibition to see
Kanban and Hikifuda: Meiji Period Marketing as Seen in Signs and Flyers

Meeting Time
03:00 PM (15:00)

Meeting Spot
At the entrance hall of the museum

Admission Fee
¥300

Description of the exhibition
https://www.tabashio.jp/en/exhibition/2026/2604apr/index.html

Chat session after the show
As usual, let's have a chat session at the end of the event. When we meet up before the exhibition, let's decide where we go after the show.