When I travel to Tohoku, I often stop at a gas station, so I often see Kamei’s mark (red flag on the sea).  When I visited Shiogama Shrine and walked along the long back path, Kamei’s villa suddenly appeared and I was surprised why it was in such a place.  So I learned that Kamei was a company that originated from Shiogama City and lasted over 100 years.
There are many companies in the world that have been in business for more than 100 years, but according to a survey by Nikkei BP, Japan was twice as many as the United States, which was second in the number of companies in the world.  In Japan, the ratio of these companies was high in the manufacturing, retail, wholesale, and lodging/restaurant industry, but low in the service industry.  Prolonged life is proud, but I think it’s because of the conservative constitution of business practices and it leads to conservative job hunting for students who are only looking at large companies.  Amazon is taking over the Japanese market in the retail industry with ICT as a weapon.  I hope that a new venture that will bring innovation will be created.  I think Japan must learn more about the reincarnation of Buddhism.
Returning to Kamei, many companies that have continued for over 100 years are transforming themselves.  General Electric(GE) was also a company that manufactured and sold Edison’s inventions, but it is now a major player in the energy and aviation industries while changing industries.  Kamei also focused on new energy oil at that time and established a sales route in Tohoku based at Shiogama Port.  It was explained that the contractor at that time was the current ENEOS, energy supplier, and the design of the bat of the company emblem was incorporated into this villa.  Perhaps it could be the story when the president of Kamei received the contract customer at this villa. Nowadays it is surrounded by commercial areas, but it is imagined that the view of Shiogama Port and Matsushima Bay would have been good because it was located on a hill. It’s a great place to take a break on a hot day. It’s free.
Gallery(click photos)
