"Sogo-shosha"
in
The eighth annual meeting of the Business History Society of Japan was
held at the
the eighteenth and nineteenth of November, 1972. Following the fourteen
reports on free topics on the first day, the six papers on "Sogo-shosha"
were read on the second day.
Professor Mataji Miyamoto of the
one of the organizers of this common topic session, pointed out that the
over-all development of Sogo-shosha was due to the economic circumstances
in the post World War II Japan and the dominant role in the foreign
trade before World War II was played rather by the merchants who were
specialized respectively in the import and export of textiles, drugs, raw
cottons, cotton yarns, irons and sometimes in Mexican dollars. But the
professor Miyamoto seemed to deny neither the importance of the
forerunners of Sogo-shosha such as the Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and
lwai trading companies nor the fact that some of the warehousemen in
varied items of the goods mentioned above.
Professor Yasuo Mishima
of the
development of the Mitsubishi Trading Co. First, he emphasized that the
trading activity of the Mitsubishi Combine started in the selling of the
coal and copper produced within themselves and it was not until 1920s
that the Mitsubishi Trading
in the import of raw cotton and wool and in the export of raw silk and
cotton yarn. But since the turn of the century the Trading Department
of the Mitsubishi Co. had become active in exporting paper, glass, beer
and other products of their manufacturing departments and subsidiaries
and before the World War I they had already established the world-wide
trading network. Professor Mishima also described in details the role of
Mitsubishi Trading Co. in introducing the newest industrial technologies
from
countries.
Professor Yosio Togai
of the
Mitsui Trading
agreed with Professor Mishima in that the Mitsuibishi was much behind
the Mitsui in general trading activities and pointed out that the trading
activities of Mitsubishi had been most active in purchasing abroad the
machines, equipments and raw material for the heavy industrial produc-
tion within Mitsubishi combines themselves, whereas the Mitsui Trading
independent producers.
Professor Yoshio Katsura of the
elaborated on the Suzuki Co. that was once the second largest trading
company in
with the camphor, sugar and other products in
windfall profit accumulated during the boom of World War I they
were aggressively diversified into manufacturing activities and became to
control 74 subsidiary firms. Professor Katsura pointed out that such a
expansion of industrial activities was highly depended on the information
which the Suzuki Co. gathered through their world-wide trading network
and the company could thus become a pioneer in the rayon and synthetic
anmonium industries in
Professor Yotaro Sakudo
of the
development of lwai
side with the Suzuki Co. as one of the industrial organizers in
World War II. lwai
who traded goods imported through the
Restoration. They gradually diversified the items of their dealing with
foreign merchants in the settlements and at the end of the nineteenth
century ventured into the direct import from a
beginning of this century they set up and controlled the several firms
in the celluloid, soda, paint, iron plate, wool-spinning and other industries
and as a trading firm they came to share with other four firms the
products of the Yawata Iron and Steel Works, the largest government
mill in
the lwai
rationally restricted, controlling less than 10 industrial firms.
Professor Katsutoshi Uchida of the
an economist on foreign trade stood on the view-point that the Sogo-shosha
was entirely the product of the post-World-War-ll
history of Sogo-shosha into two phases. On the first stage since 1955
they developed as the marketing channels for the heavy industrial products
and on the second stage when the Japanese economy turned to dis-heavy-
industrialization they tried to find their outlet in the new functions such
as system-organizers, developers, etc. Professor Uchida also emphasized
that we should reconsider the role of Sogo-shosha as a creator of the
inter-firm credit that has been one of the unique and important features
of business finance in post-World-War-ll Japan.
The final speaker, Professor Kozo Yamanura gave the audiance a
theoretical interpretation of the Sogo-shosha. He analysed the meaning of
the economic functions of Sogo-shosha, emphasizing and combinining the
three functions of reducing transaction cost, economies of scale and saving
of social cost. Applying such theoretical frame work, Professor Yamamura
shillfully explained why the trading organization such as Sogo-shosha
developed only in Japan and why the late-comer Sogo-shosha who started
during the boom of World War I got into bankrupt. Professor Yamamura
sucessfully elucidated the emergence of Sogo-shosha by taking into his
theoretical frame-work the subsidiary functions of Sogo-shosha such as
shipping, marine insurance and foreign exchange businesses.
(Editor in Chief, Keiichiro Nakagawa)
FORMATION OF OPERATING ORGANIZATION
IN ENGLISH RAILWAY
Fukushima University
Takeshi Yuzawa
It is possible to consider the growing process of the formation of the
operating organization in English railway in the following two aspects.
The first is the process brought forth by the running of railway carriages,
which made it necessary to form some primitive organization. This
organisation gradually developed with the subdivision of the existing
functions and the creation of the new functions, and with precise definition
of the workers' duty.
The second is the process enforced by the through-traffic, which neces
sarily led to the establishment of the Railway Clearing House and to the
decision on the standard gauge. Through this process the operating
organization became more unified and standardized in major railway com-
panies except G. W. R. which adopted the broad gauge.
The size and scope of the operating organization was limited at first.
It was obliged to depend upon the contracting System in doing such work
as maintenance of permanent way, loading and unloading goods, and
repair of carriages. But with the increased capacity of management the
company, being confronted with the difficult problem of ensuring safety
at limited expenses, began to exercise direct control over work as men-
tioned above.
BARGAINING PROCESS BETWEEN JERSEY
STANDARD AND LG.FARBEN, 1920-1930.
Tohoku University
Eisuke Daito
In 1925, with the intention of joining hands in marketing of synthetic
gasoline, B. A. S.F. began to approach Jersey Standard. Though Jersey
held a different view on immediate commercial value of coal hydrogenation
process, Jersey appreciated its great potential and decided to buy the
patent right of this process.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the inter-action of these two
companies with the aid of the theory of bargaining. Whole process can
be divided into several stages. The further the negociation proceeded,
the more subjects were taken up for discussion. As time passed by, each
party percieved the other party's aims more accurately.
In those days, new petro-chemical industry were emerging between chemi
cal and oil industry. Having rather limited interests in this new fields,
Jersey admitted the prefered position of 1. G. Farben in chemical industry.
And at last, they concluded a series of contracts which contained many
provisions for co-operation in braod commercial and technical fields.
THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PIOPLE'S CHINA
Asia University
Tien-yi Yang
In any economic system not in a state of complete stagnation, there
must be somebody exercising the abilities to see new economic possibilities,
the foresight to develop them, and the courage to take the necessary risks-
-the talents of the entrepreneur. Mao Tse-tung has always emphasized the
importance of entreneurship. This is often obscured for the Western
reader only by the fact that in the West people think of entrepreneurship
as a characteristic of free market economies, and they do not even attempt
to study entrepreneurship in socialist countries.
Mao's entrepreneur, however, is not the individual per se, but the col-
lective, or more precisely individuals operating in collective economies.
In many examples of good Maoist-type enterprises, there is almost always
one named individual, or a small group of individuals, who have taken
the initiative in a new development, worked out the idea, embraced the
effective forethought, and persuaded the collective to adopt it. The aim
is not of course the maximization of individual nrofit but the maximiza-
tion of collective production. These are the qualities of the heroic leaders
of the Taching Oilfield, the Tachai Production Brigade, and of a thousand
other economic enterprises, industrial and agricultural, which have been
presented as models of Maoist organization.
Mao sees the education of peasants as the fundamental problem of the
Chinese economy, and considers that economic growth as well as revolution
must depend on the masses of the people and on everybody going into
action, not depending on a few people issuing orders. Therefore, his
strategy of developent is to bring peasants and local initiative more into
play and, under the unified planning of the central government, let the
localities do more. Given the one basic assumption that China's problems
can only be radically solved by collective enterprise, there leaves no doubt
that entrepreneurship within the collective organization is the keystone of
Mao's hopes of rapid development, and a major object of educating peasants,
sons into modern producers. Surely, maximizing these qualities within
that system is one of Mao's greatest and most constant preocupation in
the economic field.
NEEDS FOR EDUCATION IN COMMERCE
IN THE LATER MEIJI PERIOD:
THE ROLE OF TAMEYUKI AMANO
Kazuo Sugiyama
The author tried to elucidate the points of criticism by the Japanese
businessmen on the contemporary education in commerce, taking up the
case of Tameyuki Amano, a famous Meiji economist, teacher and publisher.
Amano emphasized the practcalization of school education in Japan throngh
his writing and promotive activities. He was afraid that the business
activities in Japan had been obstructed by the shortage of able young
managerial talents, and emphasized the urgent needs for education massive
would be salalied managers. Especially he expected that the high schools,
colleges and universities in Japan should bring up a large number of middle
management and young clerical staffs.
RETAIL TRADING IN THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION IN ENGLAND
Hiroki Kakimoto
It is often said that the modernization of distribution system would
usually lag behind industrialization. However, in British economic history,
there are two contradictory views of the problem: whether or not the
Industrial Revolution in England was accompanied by a retail revolution.
In examining this debate, we must consider the retailing of this period
from the side of consumers who intervened into the distribution system.
For example, the Rochdale Pioneers established the base from which the
true modernization of distribution system started.
MANAGEMENT IN THE DECLINING
SILK-SPOOLING INDUSTRY:
THE CASES OF THE KATAKURA
AND THE GUNZE COMPANIES
Mitsuo Fujii
The silk-spooling industry was one of the important traditional industries
in Japan, developed since before the Meiji Restoration. Before World War
II it developed in many localities as a key export industry and accerelated
the overall development of capitalistic production in Japan by earning
handsome foreign exchange. However, after World War II, the conditions
of the industry changed conspicuously. The new synthetic fibres, especially
"nylon" took the place of raw silk as a raw material of the U.S. full-
fashioned hosiery industry. On the other hand, the rapid economic growth,
especially the development of heavy and chemical industries, pulled apart
laboreres from the toilsome manual labor in the silk-spooling industry.
Many silk-spooling firms have closed their factories and diversified their
investment into many other industries. Some of them have been going
forward to invest in foreign countries, such asBrasilandParaguary. The
Katakura and the Gunze have taken the lead in such new development.