2024.06.27
The Legend of the Vintage Store, Hanjiro: Former Product Planning Manager Toru Takayama Reveals the Untold Story
One of the unforgettable stores from our youth is Hanjiro.
Originating in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, Hanjiro exploded in popularity after expanding to Harajuku, Tokyo. Many people in their 30s and 40s who are not well-versed in vintage clothing would still recognize its name.
Due to its unique national expansion, many people visited it as their first vintage store.
The 90s street fashion scene was generally fond of vintage items, but Hanjiro was a bit different.
Rather than stocking rare items featured in men's street fashion magazines, it offered many affordable, uniquely designed items. For this reason, it became popular not only with men but also with women and was frequently featured in blue-letter magazines like "Zipper."
Hanjiro was so popular it was synonymous with youth-oriented vintage stores but suddenly closed in 2015, disappearing from our lives.
Hanjiro vanished with the Heisei Era. So, what kind of store was Hanjiro? To unravel our almost mirage-like memories, former Hanjiro Product Planning Manager Toru Takayama discusses Hanjiro.
PROFILE
Toru Takayama
Retro Boutique Kotori Vintage Store Manager
Former Hanjiro Product Planning Manager
The Origin of Hanjiro in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, the Era of "Deplacement," and the Name's Origin
People who encountered Hanjiro in Tokyo probably remember the now-defunct Harajuku Parle-France. However, surprisingly, Hanjiro started in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture.What was the early Hanjiro like?
"Originally, Hanjiro was run by a company called Hikarin Shoko, mainly managing gas utilities and bowling alleys.
"Hanjiro's name came from the first president, Hanjiro Nakamura. The business as a vintage store was expanded by his son, Kazutoyo Nakamura.
"Initially, it operated under the name 'Life' beginning in 1985. Gradually expanding its scale, the business was renamed 'Factory' in 1992, and operated from a company-owned building called 'With Morioka'.
"The Factory mainly dealt in European and military surplus vintage items, imported from overseas."
After that, the store expanded further and in 1995, the name was changed to "Deplacement" (pronounced in the French way, "déplacement") In conjunction, the Factory was moved from the fourth floor to the second floor of the company-owned building, converting the entire floor area into a vintage store.
"From the Deplacement era, we operated large stores.
"While it's now more common in Harajuku, we were pioneers in the large vintage store style, where customers use shopping baskets like in supermarkets to choose vintage items."
Additionally, Hanjiro was the world's first vintage store to implement a POS system. It was avant-garde in every way.
And we also remember Hanjiro's unique greeting well.
"Welcome, hello! Thank you very much! Please come again!" Some readers might recall this cheerful greeting, which was a tradition from the Deplacement era.
When one staff member shouted the greeting loudly, everyone would join in — a Hanjiro custom from the Deplacement days.
"I think the president and higher-ups wanted to completely change the image of vintage stores. Conversations between staff, breaks, and even parties were all in formal language (laughs)."
The cult popularity of Deplacement among Tohoku kids became quite the talk, leading to its expansion to Harajuku in Tokyo as "Deplacement Tokyo."
Against such a backdrop, Deplacement Tokyo's popularity surged even more. Finally, in April 1999, it was reborn as "Hanjiro Central."
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