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Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

bbc.com

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Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#21

Post by ip26 »

bane wrote: post #18

It's interesting about growing older. I don't know if this is a function of aging or a change in how humanity recons time. When I was younger, a century seemed like forever. Now it's just 1920 and we have film, music, audio, books and so on from that time period readily available. In many ways 1920 doesn't really seem all that far away to me while 1860, 1870, 1880 (a century from when I was a child) seemed to be fore…

When you were in middle school, 1920 was 8 or so lifetimes ago. Now it's closer to only 2-3 lifetimes ago.

I'd also reckon you can more easily relate to people who lived with older technology, having lived pre-internet yourself. When you are young, everything just is, and it's hard to relate with living differently.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#22

Post by austhrow743 »

swampthing wrote: post #16
austhrow743 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure but you would't then advertise it as having been in the family for a thousand years.

The article is about century+ old businesses in general, of which family-run ones are a subset.

The article doesn't mention temples being burned down at all.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#23

Post by drewmate »

bane wrote: post #18

It's interesting about growing older. I don't know if this is a function of aging or a change in how humanity recons time. When I was younger, a century seemed like forever. Now it's just 1920 and we have film, music, audio, books and so on from that time period readily available. In many ways 1920 doesn't really seem all that far away to me while 1860, 1870, 1880 (a century from when I was a child) seemed to be fore…

I think in terms of change, not all centuries are created equal. All things considered, I think the century from 1870-1970 saw more rapid change than any other in history (including 1920-2020). Planet money did a piece the other week about this idea and how economic growth seems to have slowed down never to return to its 20th century levels.

If this idea is true, those in the 1920s share more with us (familiarity with cars, mass media, urbanization) than those just 50 years prior.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#25

Post by droithomme »

swampthing wrote: post #11
Danieru wrote: post #6

Do you remember Ship of Theseus? The thought experiment about if a ship which has been fully rebuilt bit by bit is it still the same thing? Japan appears consistent in saying, yes, rebuilding or swapping out components keeps the identity. You see this attitude in "Japan's oldest temple, burned to the ground and rebuilt every 20 years". In the west we might argue that burning a building and rebuilding, would count as…

But in the West, even if you just gave your business away to another person who continued to run it, we would still consider that the same business.

Even in the West we consider adoption to be legitimate.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#26

Post by droithomme »

Danieru wrote: post #19
swampthing wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But in the West, even if you just gave your business away to another person who continued to run it, we would still consider that the same business.

Indeed, the business would continue. The issue is that in the west business owners would not see the merit in just giving a business away for the sake of the age ticking up. In the west the business would get sold and merged. Only in Japan does the adoption make it a family or lineage thing.

> Only in Japan does the adoption make it a family or lineage thing.

No. Every culture worldwide accepts adoption. A child, grandchild, nephew, etc, continuing a business keeps the business in the family. Whether the child is adopted or not, and regardless of the age of adoption.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#28

Post by [deleted] »

Danieru wrote: post #19
swampthing wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But in the West, even if you just gave your business away to another person who continued to run it, we would still consider that the same business.

Indeed, the business would continue. The issue is that in the west business owners would not see the merit in just giving a business away for the sake of the age ticking up. In the west the business would get sold and merged. Only in Japan does the adoption make it a family or lineage thing.

[deleted]

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#29

Post by dba7dba »

cyberferret wrote: post #2

Wow - that tea house has been operating for 900 years? I thought the previous record was a Japanese temple building company that was around for 400+ years before having to close during the global financial crisis a decade ago?! There is that old adage in multi generational businesses that goes - "The first generation kicks off the business, the second generation builds upon what the first generation did, and the thir…

There is an old Korean saying which is roughly translated this way:

No family stays poor for three generations. And no family stays rich for three generations.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#30

Post by irq11 »

droithomme wrote: post #26
Danieru wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, the business would continue. The issue is that in the west business owners would not see the merit in just giving a business away for the sake of the age ticking up. In the west the business would get sold and merged. Only in Japan does the adoption make it a family or lineage thing.

> Only in Japan does the adoption make it a family or lineage thing. No. Every culture worldwide accepts adoption. A child, grandchild, nephew, etc, continuing a business keeps the business in the family. Whether the child is adopted or not, and regardless of the age of adoption.

You’re not understanding the difference: in most of the world, businesses are carried on because there’s some financial value derived from it, not for the thing itself. Family businesses do exist, and do get passed down, but if the owners of the business don’t have any natural heirs, they’ll wrap it up or sell it. That’s normal.

In Japan, the longevity of the thing has a value of its own, so much so that they’ve invented adult “adoptions”, simply to keep an old business going. The business could be mediocre and barely profitable, but if it’s 300 years old, they’ll find a way to keep that line going.

Maybe they exist, but I’m not aware of any other culture that has taken up the practice of adopting adult males to ensure that a family business remains “family”.

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