EITARO 200TH ANNIVERSARY｜榮太樓總本鋪

"It' s not long to Edo now."
In 1818, Hosoda Tokubei, who had run
a confectionery business in
Hanno, Saitama, traveled to Edo with his
two grandchildren.
He opened Izutsuya in Kudanzaka,
which would form the foundation of
the
confectionery business
that continues to this day. As time passed,
his great-grandson, Hosoda Yasubei,
the 3rd generation owner of the business,
and who was called Eitaro in his childhood,
opened a stand at the foot of
Nihonbashi bridge.

The Kintsuba which Eitaro baked
gained a reputation among
the fish market
merchants and carriers as being
large, sweet and delicious,
and word spread
around Edo.
Eitaro was a dutiful son who supported his family,
and was generous.
These qualities also
endeared him to people.
Before long, in 1857, he established his own
store in Nishigashi-cho,
Nihonbashi,
the old name of the current location of
Eitaro Building, and called
it Eitaro,
his childhood name. With this,
Eitaro's history began.

Creation of Umeboshi Ame,
the current leading product,
during 1855-1860,
Amananatto, the predecessor of the
highly popular Amanatto,
during 1861-1864,
and Tamadare and Kuro Ame in the
Meiji period (1868-1912).

The naming of Umeboshi Ame
"Crimson candy, cut with scissors,
formed
into a triangle shape by hand so as not to cut
the inside of the mouth."

The name was given by the people of Edo,
who enjoyed wordplay,
as the shape resembled umeboshi,
or pickled plums.
There is an anecdote from the
Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) periods,
which
tells how geisha and maiko of the Kansai region
requested the candy as a
souvenir from Tokyo.
When they applied Umeboshi Ame
to
their lips before lipstick,
it kept the lips smooth and glossy.

In the prewar era, the store was regularly ranked
highest in the
Tokyo confectionery store listing,
and it was recognized
as the number one
flourishing store in the capital.

Amananatto was awarded the honor prize
at the
1st National Industrial Exhibition.
Participated and exhibited at the International
Inventions
Exhibition
held in South Kensington, London, UK.

The Nihonbashi store and factory
were destroyed in the air raids of Tokyo.
Along with the workers,
the owner was filled with despair,
standing on the burnt ground
where the store once stood.

However, with the strong desire to
rebuild the business,
he gathered workers who had
been demobilized,
and started working to restore the store soon
after the war.

A tearoom was established in the newly rebuilt
Nihonbashi Honten,
as a place for people to take a rest in Nihonbashi.
In 1951, we worked to establish Tokyu Toyoko Norengai,
Japan's first arcade of
well-known food stores
and the origin of today's department store
food basements.
In order to expand production, we completed the
Chofu factory in 1956. Then, in 1962,
we completed the Eitaro Building in Nihonbashi,
at the site of our establishment.
In the post-war years,
our business achieved a remarkable recovery,
and kept on expanding even further.

Established a tearoom
in
Nihonbashi Honten
Toyoko Norengai established,
first shop
opened in the
department store market
Matcha Ame released
Kocha Ame released
Eitaro Building completed
in Nihonbashi

As arcades of well-known
food stores in department stores and
station buildings
spread, we opened shops around the country
from Hokkaido to
Okinawa, and Eitaro candy became a
representative souvenir from Tokyo.

We also productized the taste of
Mitsumame and Anmitsu,
which is served in our
Honten tearoom.
With the aim of popularizing its tastiness,
we started by developing a special can,
and made the products widely
used in the home
as an innovative sweetness
which is
fresh and juicy and can be stored
for a long time.

From 1974, Mitsumame, which had become a
leading summer product,
along with mizu-yokan soft bean jelly,
appeared in a TV commercial.
The jingle and logo "Ha-i eitaro desu" spread,
and it became one of Eitaro's
symbolic products.

Made the movie "Wagashi".
It won 9 awards in Japan and overseas.
Mizu-yokan released
Mitsumame TV
commercial
first broadcast
Canned Anmitsu released

As we entered the
Heisei period (1989-) we released
Kuromitsu Ame and Shoga
Hachimitsu Nodo Ame
into the mass retailer market.
The products were made available widely
at supermarkets and
convenience stores
around the country.

In 2007, Eitaro's second brand
"Ameya Eitaro" was born.
This line features innovative candies
which resemble cosmetics and jewels.

Also, we added nodo ame (throat lozenges),
the first new product in the
Eitaro Ame series in fifty years,
and with the spread of the Internet,
in 2009,
we opened online shops on
Rakuten and Shinisetsuhan.net and other sites.
In accordance with the changing times,
we altered our distribution channels,
and we pursued innovative product development
which defies the conventional
common wisdom of candy.

In 2010, we succeeded in
separately packaging
Eitaro's famous Kintsuba confectionery,
keeping its hand-baked quality
while improving its shelf life.
In 2013, we transferred to a
new production facility in Hachioji,
and further strengthened our production system.

In the same year, we released five types of a
new fruit candy made from
domestically grown fruit.
With no artificial flavorings or coloring,
this product was the first of its kind.
We are expanding Eitaro's candy lineup
with the mission to create
the world's highest quality candy.

In accordance with people's changing lifestyles,
in 2015,
we started the Nihonbashieitaro line,
in which customers can choose a variety of
Japanese sweets a little at a time, and in 2017,
we launched our Karadanieitaro brand,
which is low in sugar and is easy on the body.
We also reissued TOKYO PEASEN,
the nostalgic Tokyo souvenir.
The Nihonbashi area has attracted attention from
visitors
from overseas,
and it is from here that we continue to deliver
authentic tastes with fastidious
dedication.

As we mark our 200th anniversary, we aim for new developments as a
confectionery store which represents Nihonbashi, Tokyo,
based on the aspirations which remain unchanged since the time of Edo.

Release of individually wrapped
Kintsuba,
and Nodo Ame throat lozenges
Kaju Ame (fruit juice
candy)
goes on sale
TOKYO PEASEN
released
Karadanieitaro is born

As we mark our 200th anniversary,
we aim for new developments
as a confectionery store which represents Nihonbashi,
Tokyo, based on the aspirations which remain
unchanged since the time of Edo.

As we mark our 200th anniversary, we aim for new developments as a confectionery store which represents Nihonbashi, Tokyo, based on the aspirations which remain unchanged since the time of Edo.

As we mark our 200th anniversary,
we aim for new developments
as a confectionery store which represents Nihonbashi,
Tokyo, based on the aspirations which remain
unchanged since the time of Edo.