Shiseido was founded by Arinobu Fauuhara as a Western-style pharmacy in Tokyo's fashion and cultural Ginza district in 1872. Initially the company acted primarily as a retail outlet for high-quality pharmaceuticals when low-grade herbal medicines were used by most people. Increasingly however, the company focussed on developing its own products with a particular emphasis on high-quality cosmetics that combines Japanese style with western science and technology. This makes it unique among the world’s significant cosmetics houses that otherwise all have a US/European origin. Shiseido's culture reflects this east-meets-west approach and can be seen in different ways in their product ingredients, packaging ideas and even in the artistic approaches in their advertising and brand imagery.