https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/business/japan-old-companies.html
"KYOTO, Japan — Naomi Hasegawa’s family sells toasted mochi out of a
small, cedar-timbered shop next to a rambling old shrine in Kyoto. The
family started the business to provide refreshments to weary travelers
coming from across Japan to pray for pandemic relief — in the year 1000.
Now, more than a millennium later, a new disease has devastated the
economy in the ancient capital, as its once reliable stream of tourists
has evaporated. But Ms. Hasegawa is not concerned about her enterprise’s
finances.
Like many businesses in Japan, her family’s shop, Ichiwa, takes the long
view — albeit longer than most. By putting tradition and stability over
profit and growth, Ichiwa has weathered wars, plagues, natural
disasters, and the rise and fall of empires. Through it all, its rice
flour cakes have remained the same."
Via Peter Evjan at Cogent.co.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
