SHOPPING might be the most capitalist of all activities. Little wonder, then, that where we shop reflects capitalism back to us, capturing the zeitgeist of an era or a country: Think Walmart’s ascension as a metaphor for the unbridled consumption of post-Cold War US.

Nowhere is this truer than Japan’s department stores – once a staple of travel-guide tropes about elevator girls, white-gloved assistants and incomparable service.

Indeed, their history traces capitalism’s trajectory in the country, right from when Echigoya, a predecessor of today’s Mitsukoshi that traces its roots back to 1673, became the first place to sell goods at fixed prices instead of haggling.