About SEIKO HOUSE

Seiko’s predecessor, Kintaro Hattori opens a shop selling and repairing watches and clocks in Ginza 4-chome in 1894. At that time, the founder, Kintaro Hattori, insisted on installing a clock tower on the roof of the building as a service to the people of Ginza.
Later, as a symbol of Tokyo’s reconstruction after the Great Kanto Earthquake, a new building was completed on this site in 1932, and it, too, featured a clock tower. For almost a century it has stood through disasters both natural and man-made, and has become a familiar landmark in Ginza. Today, the Wako building, with its iconic clock tower, is perhaps the most easily recognizable symbol of this world-famous shopping district.

In 2022, to mark the 90th anniversary of this edifice, Seiko will launch a new project, building on the legacy of this historic location, the very origin of the company, to provide a platform dedicated to Japanese technology and craftsmanship. Here, at SEIKO HOUSE, we will focus not on the past, but on the future, looking at how cutting-edge technology and the eternal spirit of Japanese craftsmanship will create a more exciting and more sustainable world in the years to come.

In order to achieve this goal, we will redevelop the main Wako building in Ginza, which is owned by our company, rename it SEIKO HOUSE, and turn its upper floors into a base for promoting the legacy, appeal, and future possibilities of the Seiko brand.
In addition to better utilizing this historical site where one can sense the flow of Time, we will the top three floors with the latest equipment to take greater advantage of the facilities and space in this unique building.

History History of Seiko and the Clock Tower

1881

Kintaro Hattori

Founding of the Company

Kintaro Hattori establishes the K. Hattori Clock Store (now Seiko Holdings Corporation).

1894

Completion of the first clock tower

Completion of the first clock tower

In September, Kintaro Hattori purchases the Choya Shinbun newspaper office building on the corner of Ginza 4-chome intersection, and commissions Tamekichi Ito, who had studied architecture in the U.S., to expand and renovate the building. Construction is completed in December of the same year.

1895

In January, Kintaro moves his store to the new location in Ginza 4-chome and begins operations.

1920

With the economic boom in the Taisho era (1915 - 1926), the number of multi-story stone buildings begins to increase in the Marunouchi area, and plans are made to rebuild the company building. The company moves to a temporary sales office in Ginza 2-chome, Kyobashi-ku.

1921

First clock tower dismantled

First clock tower dismantled

The mechanical parts of the clock tower are later transferred to the newly built Osaka branch of K. Hattori & Co., Ltd., where they are rebuilt as a new clock tower. This edifice looks out over Japan’s second-largest city through many difficult times until it is finally destroyed in the war in 1945.

1923

In September, just as the foundation for the new building is being laid, the Great Kanto Earthquake strikes. The earthquake completely scraps the construction plan.

1930

Construction begins on the second clock tower, based on a new architectural plan by Jin Watanabe Construction Firm and built by Shimizu Gumi, Ltd. (now Shimizu Corporation).

1932

Completion of the second clock tower

Completion of the second clock tower

Now the head office of K. Hattori & Co., Ltd., the inauguration ceremony of the "second clock tower" is held on June 10, Japan’s Time Memorial Day. Two days later, on June 12, K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. opens its newly renovated store.
The imported Italian marble inside walls, decorative arabesque fittings, and wide store windows were revolutionary at the time.

1945

On January 27, a wave of B-29 bombers leveled Ginza and the surrounding area. Photos of the aftermath show block after block of rubble where buildings once stood. And yet, miraculously, the K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. head office at the Ginza 4-chome intersection survived almost unscathed. The building was still standing solidly; only three panels on the clock tower dial were damaged by the explosions.

In October of that year, GHQ confiscated the head office building and turned it into a military Post Exchange.

1947

In April, Wako Co., Ltd. is established in Ginza, the successor to the retail division of K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. The company begins operations in a temporary store.

1952

Wako display window

Wako display window

In April, GHQ relinquish use of the building. In December of that year, the K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. head office and Wako move into the still-intact building at the Ginza 4-chome intersection, and Wako officially opens a retail store there.
The display window at this time was the result of a competition between up-and-coming designers Hiromu Hara, Yusaku Kamekura, and Kenji Ito, and attracted a great deal of attention.

1954

Chimes in the clock tower

Beginning on June 10 (Time Memorial Day), the clock, which had previously only rung to mark the hours, begins to sound Westminster-style chimes on the quarter hour.

1966

The clock, which was powered by a weight-winding system, is converted to a Seiko quartz oscillation movement. In 1974, that first quartz movement is replaced with an even higher-precision quartz movement to ensure more accurate timekeeping.

2004

New GPS system is installed in the clock tower.

2008

The modern clock tower

The building undergoes a major renovation project that lasts almost a year.
While maintaining its historical image, the building is made safer and more comfortable by incorporating modern technology, strengthening its earthquake resistance, and making it barrier-free for those with disabilities.
As a result, the building is recognized by the Tokyo Fire Department for its excellence in fire safety, and in December of the same year, it is awarded a Certificate of Outstanding Fire Prevention (Superior Class).

2009

Recognized as a building representing Japan’s “Heritage of Industrial Modernization” by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

The Wako Main Building is recognized by METI as one of the 33 Heritage Constellations of Industrial Modernization in two categories:

Items that tell the history of the city's entertainment and consumer culture, which grew together with the development of modern society

Items that embody the history of urban development that laid the foundation of today's Tokyo

2011

SEIKO HOUSE

The Seiko logo is once again prominent on the clock tower.

2020

display windows

Part of the building is renovated

the display windows are made see-through to reveal the attractive retail space inside.

2022

SEIKO HOUSE

SEIKO HOUSE GINZA
opens

On June 10 (Time Memorial Day), the official name of the building is changed from Wako Main Building to SEIKO HOUSE GINZA.

Building Specifications

  • Height from ground to clock tower:

    39.39 m (Height to rooftop: 30.30 m, height of clock tower: 9.09 m)

  • Height of lightning rod on top of the clock tower:

    8m

  • Size of the Clock Dial:

    2.4 m in diameter

  • Length of Clock Hands:

    Minute hand: 1.17 m, hour hand: 0.75 m

  • Exterior finish:

    1F and 2F: Mannari-ishi stone from Okayama Prefecture with a polished finish,
    3F and above: Mikage-ishi granite from the Korean peninsula with tapped stone finish