Yoshii Department Store
The Yoshii Department Store, also known as Jijin Department Store or "Five-story one", was a department store located in Enteichō, Takao. Along with Hayashi Department Store in Tainan and Kikumoto Department Store in Taihoku, Yoshii was one of the three major department stores in Taiwan during its Japanese colonial period. It was the first department store in Kaohsiung.
History
Founded in 1938 by from Shiga, the store traced its business roots back to 1908 when Yoshii first arrived in Taiwan and started his business in Taihoku. Seeing opportunities in Takao, Yoshii moved to Kî-āu, Takao in the same year and started selling Western goods. Over time, Yoshii opened five branches in Takao and established the company's headquarters at Kotobukichō in 1921. Later, Yoshii commissioned Okuno Sutejiro to construct a five-story building at the headquarters, which became Yoshii Department Store later. It was the first department store in Takao.During the final stages of World War II, the Allies started bombing Takao due to its strategic importance to the Japanese southern expansion. While Yoshii Department Store was affected by the bombings, its main structure remained intact. Following the war, the department store was taken over by Huang Yao, a member of the Taiwan Representative Council, and continued its operation as "Kaohsiung Department Store" until opened nearby, leading to Yoshii's closure. The building was later sold to and demolished in 1994. According to Wu Yao-ting, founder of Ta Shing Department Store, his motivation to start the competing store stemmed from a negative experience at Yoshii. At the age of 17, Wu was insulted by the staff while shopping there, which inspired him to establish a department store with better customer service.