An archive of long-form series on Japanese business, history, and culture.
Series Vol. 24 | A Prehistory of Jodo Buddhism, Part 3
Part 3 of a prehistory of Jodo Buddhism: Ennin's pilgrimage to China, the origins of Other Power, and the roots of the faith later held by the Ohmi Shonin.
Series Vol. 23 | A Prehistory of Jodo Buddhism, Part 2
Saicho brought Tendai doctrine to Japan and Kukai brought esoteric Buddhism. Their study in Tang, their falling-out, and why Mount Hiei became the seedbed of Jodo, Zen and Nichiren Buddhism alike.
Series Vol. 22 | A Prehistory of Jodo Buddhism, Part 1
Vol. 22 of The Jodo Ethic and the Spirit of the Ohmi Shonin traces Buddhism's arrival in Japan, Prince Shotoku's letter to Sui China, and the Nanto Rokushu — the six schools that first took root in Nara.
Series Vol. 21 | The Beginnings of Buddhism
The Jodo Ethic and the Spirit of the Ohmi Shonin, Vol. 21: the story of how Gotama Siddhattha became the Buddha, and what his life — and death — reveal about how to live.
Series Vol. 20 | The Shonin’s Wife and Women’s Education in Ohmi
Ohmi Shonin wives managed finances, staff and succession at the honke. This volume traces Sato Tsukamoto, who founded a school in Gokasho to educate merchants' wives.
Series Vol. 19 | Joint-stock trading
How the Ohmi Shonin pooled capital: joint-stock trading, the Nakai family's Sendai shop, unlimited liability, and why brewing demanded heavy investment.
Series Vol. 18 | Demise and edamise Part 3
How the Ohmi Shonin turned homecoming into promotion. Vol. 18 examines the zaisho-nobori system, the career ladder inside demise and edamise, and the arbitrage across regions that the branch network made possible.
Series Vol. 17 | Demise and edamise Part 2
Part two on demise and edamise: the ranks within a merchant house, why the Ohmi Shonin staffed them only with men from Ohmi, and the roots of Takashimaya.
Series Vol. 16 | demise and edamise Part 1
The Ohmi Shonin covered Japan with demise and edamise, branch shops that clustered in the east. The author explains why, drawing on the Battle of Sekigahara and the shogunate's daimyo hierarchy.
Series Vol. 15 | The Trading Associations the Ohmi Shonin Formed
The Ohmi Shonin didn't peddle alone. Vol. 15 looks at the peddling associations — from the Ryohama-gumi to the Hino Daitoban Nakama — that powered their trade networks.