The history of Shiseido is not merely a story about products and services; it is a story of a company taking a broader perspective to also consider aspects of culture and lifestyle, and seeking always to create new value. This is the true history of Shiseido. Here we explore the path of achievement Shiseido has followed for over 140 years since its founding in 1872 as Japan’s first Western-style pharmacy.

Shiseido was born in Tokyo's Ginza district as Japan's first private Western-style pharmacy in 1872, a time when herbal medicine was the norm. The company's founder, Arinobu Fukuhara, had been a chief pharmacist in a navy hospital. He founded Shiseido because he was displeased with the inferior medicine on the market, and aspired to establish a system of separating medical and dispensary practice in Japan. Arinobu was 24 years old at the time.

The origin of the name Shiseido comes from a classic Chinese text, the “Yi Jing” (“Book of Changes”), which reads, “Praise the virtues of the great Earth, which nurtures new life and brings forth new values.” The company name expresses an “Oriental style, Western learning” way of thinking which includes the determination to create a new culture, building up a new business based on Western medicine, and a name inspired by Eastern philosophy.