HISTORY

The Dosho-machi area of Osaka becomes a center for druggists from the mid-Edo period onward due to the authorization of local drug brokers to form a commercial guild that enjoys preferential purchasing rights for medicines. The Dosho-machi of the period is a vibrant area, an unparalleled place for young people with visions of the future.

1914. Outbreak of World War I, which engulfs Europe. Japanese fragrance companies are no longer able to import fragrances from the United Kingdom or Germany. The European trade is revived with the end of the war in 1919. Overseas products start to enter the Japanese market.

With the death of Emperor Taisho in 1926, Japan’s era name changes from Taisho to Showa. In 1929, the worldwide economic crisis of the Great Depression originates in the United States, impacting significantly on the Japanese economy. Meanwhile, in Osaka, Japan’s first full-scale terminal department store, Hankyu Hyakkaten, opens for business. Japanese dress shifts from Japanese clothing to modern Western-style clothing. 1939 marks the start of an agonizing era with the outbreak of World War II.

World War II ends in 1945. Shiono Koryo employees join their countrymen in the aim of reconstruction and resume normal business. In 1947, trade between Japan and Taiwan is re-established, and Shiono Koryo resumes exports to Taiwan.

The San Francisco Peace Treaty comes into force in 1952, ending the state of war between Japan and many of the Allied countries. Import restrictions in Japan are lifted, and large quantities of high-quality fragrances flood into the Japanese market from overseas. In the mid-1960s, Japanese industries all experience a period of high economic growth. Shiono Koryo’s business continues to expand further.

Shino Koryo is computerized in 1982 and a business management system forming an online connection between head office with the Osaka factory is built. In 1990, the International Garden and Greenery Exposition (EXPO ’90) is held in Osaka’s Tsurumi-Ryokuchi, creating a festive mood.
Shino Koryo is computerized in 1982 and a business management system forming an online connection between head office with the Osaka factory is built.

In 2008, Shiono Koryo celebrates the 200th anniversary of its founding. The following year, with the aim of strengthening its high-efficiency and high-profit structure, the company implements SPI-160, a movement aiming at minimization under the banner of “Muda–Muri–Mura.” The company is approaching the next 100 years with its gaze firmly fixed on the future lying beyond its 200th anniversary.