The first purpose of this article is to analyze the business development of the Japanese department stores in the postwar restoration era when the first regulation on procurement of the department stores was legistrated in 1954. And, the second is to argue the process to the consignment system, the largest problem of today's department store management.<BR>The conclusion of this article can be summarized as follows.<BR>The factor which enabled the growth of Japanese department stores in the period was the positive business environments, particulary westernization of fashion life. In order to capture business chances, department stores leveraged their vertical relationship with suppliers such as this return policy (henpin) and dispatched salespersons (haken-tenin), because of shortage of human and financial resources. However, as this return policy in the postwar restoration era was different from the ruled system (in other words mutualy-agreed system) in the prewar era, suppliers had to owe all the risk of return goods. The regulation in 1954 was made to solve these problems, but it urged department stores adopt consignment system to avoid the occurance of return goods.<BR>Adoptation of the consignment system by department stores was also beneficial to the suppliers in two ways. First, suppliers felt urgency to establish the rule of transaction with department stores to prevent opportunism came out from unruled return system. Second, sift from usual procurement to consignment sytem widened the margin of the suppliers.<BR>Plainly speaking, the consignment sytem became established due to mutual rationality between retailers and suppliers. In my prospect, it may safely be said that other types of Japan's trade practices came onstage in the same context.