Wako (retailer) - Misplaced Pages

Japanese high end retailer

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (January 2023) Click for important translation instructions.

Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|ja|和光 (商業施設)}} to the talk page.
For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Wako" retailer – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

Wako Co., Ltd.
Ginza Wako in october 2024
Native name	株式会社和光
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1881; 144 years ago (1881)
Founder	Kintarō Hattori
Headquarters	4-5-11 Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, Japan
Parent	Seiko Group Corporation
Website	www.wako.co.jp

Wako Co., Ltd. (株式会社和光, Kabushiki-gaisha Wakō) is a department store retailer in Japan, whose best known store (commonly known as the Ginza Wako) is at the heart of the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo. This store is famous for its watches, jewellery, chocolate, porcelain, dishware, and handbags, as well as upscale foreign goods. There is an art gallery, called Wako Hall, on the sixth floor.

History

Wako was founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori as a watch and jewelry shop called K. Hattori (now Seiko Group Corporation) in Ginza. In 1947, the retail division split off as Wako Co., Ltd.

From 1894 to 1921, the Hattori Clock Tower stood on the site that Wako occupies today. In 1921, the Hattori Clock Tower was demolished to rebuild a new one. The reconstruction was delayed due to the Great Kantō earthquake of September 1, 1923. The new tower was completed in 1932 as the K. Hattori Building. In homage to its predecessor, the new store was also fitted with a clock.

The 1932 building was designed by Jin Watanabe in art deco influenced neoclassical style. Its curved granite façade and clock tower form the central landmark for the district and one of the few buildings in the area left standing after World War II. The building functioned as the Tokyo PX store during the Allied Occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952. The clock tower plays the famous Westminster Chimes. The tower was destroyed by Godzilla in the 1954 film. Its destruction has thus been featured in further media of the franchise, including the 2016 film Shin Godzilla and 2023 film Godzilla Minus One.