After years of hard work, Kokichi Mikimoto manages to grow a beautiful hemispherical pearl. It is an epochal event: it is the first pearl that has ever been cultivated by a human being. In 1899 he opened the Mikimoto pearl shop. The first Mikimoto pearl boutique opens its doors in Tokyo, in the elegant Ginza shopping district, where the latest trends in Western fashion can be admired. Kokichi Mikimoto quickly strengthens its position in luxury jewelry retail. Continuing his tireless pursuit, Kokichi Mikimoto manages to cultivate a perfectly round pearl. A short time later she met Emperor Meiji at Ise Shrine and revealed: "I want to enhance the décolleté of all women in the world with pearls".