As goes the Sogo department store, so goes Japan

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.