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The building of the Starbucks Chongching Store (星巴克重慶門市) was once the Tsujiri Tea Shop (辻利茶舖). It is now displays the “The Store in Hengyang Road” Exhibition simultaneously with the “Traveling in Time”(時空旅行) Special Exhibition. Having collected five special issue stamps, you can purchase two Starbucks beverages for the price of one (both drinks must be identical in size and flavor) while both exhibits are ongoing.
The old Tea Shop in the Sakaichō district
Gion Tsujiri x Starbucks x Academia Sinica
One hundred years ago, the Tsujiri Tea Shop (辻利茶舖), stood on the corner of Hengyang Road (衡陽路) and Chongching South Road (重慶南路), had a wide selection of Oolong, black, signature, and its very own blend of special teas for sale. It claimed that its top quality teas not only held royal distinctions, but also received various awards and top honors from fairs and expositions.
The Tsujiri Tea Shop was located in the Sakaichō district (榮町). This district housed various top-ranked retailers of that era and was also known as “Taipei Ginza”(台北銀座). For instance, Kikumoto (菊元百貨店) intentionally chose to start its business here. In 1932, Kikumoto became the first department store to open in Taiwan. Being seven stories high, it had the first running commercial elevator, which gave the store its nickname, “ the Seventh Heaven”(七重天).
Tokusaburou Miyoshi (三好 德三郎/1875-1939), the owner of Tsujiri Tea Shop, had made profound contributions to Oolong tea research and to the development of tea culture in Taiwan ever since entering the trade in 1899. In addition, Miyoshi was actively engaged in politics and once served as director of a local post office (Taihoku-fu Front Street Branch /臺北府前街) and also as a member of Taihoku Prefecture Council (臺北州州協議會). The exclusive guests reception room, located on the 2nd floor of the Tsujiri tea shop, was where he hosted important meetings. Because of Miyoshi’s social position and political influence in Taiwan society at that time, he was also referred as “Folk Governor-General” (民間總督). Taiwan was under Japanese rule for about 50 years, whilst Miyoshi spent 40 years of his life before passing away at the age of 64 on this island.
After the Second World War, Miyoshi’s family returned to their hometown of Kyoto, Japan. Miyoshi’s son, Masao Miyoshi (三好 正雄/1901-1970), reopened the Tsujiri Tea Shop and renamed it Gion Tsujiri (祇園辻利). Miyoshi’s grandson, Michihiro Miyoshi (三好 通弘/1934-), inherited the business in 1970.
In 2012, Michihiro Miyoshi donated his grandfather’s personal and business items to the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica. These valuable items include private and business manuscripts, photographs, and letters. Michihiro Miyoshi once returned to Taiwan to look for the site of the Tsujiri tea shop in his late 70s. By touching the old Tsujiri building with his eyes closed, memories of the Sakaichō district scene, with its old stores, felt as if they were transported back to life again.
“Old Trademarks on Hengyan Road” Special Exhibition
- Date: August 29 – December 25, 2013
- Time: 07:30-20:00
- Location: 3F, The Starbucks ChongChing Store, 104 Chongqing S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei
- Organizer: The Archives of Institution of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica
The Exhibition is on the 3rd floor of Starbucks Chongching Store
Introduction to Miyoshi Tokusaburou (三好德 三郎) section
Historical buildings in the Sakaichō zone (榮町) Photos from left to right: Taiwan Daily Newspaper (臺灣日日新報社), Taipei Hall(臺北公會堂), Taiwan Bank(臺灣銀行), Taipei Telephone Exchange(台北電話交換局)
Taipei tour map for “Taiwan Expo of Dominion for Forty Years since Inauguration”(1935)
(始政四十周年臺灣博覽會紀念臺北遊覽案內圖)
The historical building of Starbucks Chongching Store, on the corner of Henyang Road and Chongching South Road, was where the Tsujiri Tea Shop once stood.
The passport can either be obtained at the “Traveling in Time” Exhibition at Academia Sinica or at Starbucks Chongching Store
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