Cover photo: National Diet Library "Portraits of Modern Japanese People" / National Diet Library ／ Copyright protection period expired. The image size has been adjusted for display purposes.
Asako Hirooka | Businessman who supported Kajimaya's business restructuring and girls' education
A 3-page feature based on public historical records
A distinguished family name alone cannot carry a business through changing times.
Keeping the family business doesn't necessarily mean continuing with your old job. If the premise of work changes, the form of business must change in order to protect it. Asako Hirooka's journey begins with that difficult relationship.
The company history of Daido Life describes the process by which Kajimaya, whose management declined due to the Meiji Restoration, moved on to coal mining, banking, insurance, etc. In this process, not only Asako but also her husband Shingoro Hirooka, brother-in-law Hirooka Kyuemon Masaaki, and her parents, the Mitsui family, were involved. The rebuilding was not a work that was accomplished by one person's courage alone.[2]
The National Diet Library's biography lists Asako's involvement in coal mine management in 1884, the Kashima Bank in 1888, and the establishment of Daido Life Insurance in 1902 as Asako's business footprint.[1] Not only the subject matter of business, but also the required specialization and relationship with the other party were different.
If you dismiss this move simply as having had foresight, you will not be able to see the burden of judgment. Coal mining requires equipment and on-site knowledge, and banks and insurance require a system to keep funds and keep promises for a long time. Moving to a new field wasn't about running away from old problems; it was also about taking on new responsibilities.
Also, Asako was in a position where she could access the funds and connections of famous families. It is not accurate to hide this condition and say that anyone can do the same thing through individual effort alone. I would like to evaluate a person's work by looking at both the fact that they had the resources they could use and the decisions they made to rearrange them.
伝Interpreting YAMATO DENSHI
Understand your responsibilities before transforming the business.
Listing not only the attractiveness of new markets, but also the necessary expertise, talent, funding and long-term commitment. Even if your goal is to protect the family business, your responsibilities will change when you move. We need to specifically assess the resources we have and the power we lack.