The Hoshi Ryokan is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest hotel still in operation (ryokan is Japanese for traditional inn). Located in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture, the hotel began as a spa on an underground hot spring which was built by the Hoshi family because, according to legend, the god of Mount Hakusan ordered it. Today, the Hoshi Ryokan has 100 rooms and can accommodate 450 people.
A few years back, I provided private lessons to a self-made entrepreneur who had watched his family’s clothing store business crumble because of poor management and ultimately no successors. His failed business led him, much to his wife’s dismay, to hit the books and develop the skills and obtain the licenses necessary to help small family businesses nationwide to survive and even thrive once again. He is doing quite well these days and is in high demand.
In a society with a birthrate declining and a strong pull for younger generations to head to the city for the plum jobs, the idea that a successor must be a son is fading as fast as cherry blossoms in the spring.
From sushi shops to lacquer ware to pottery, the consultant field to preserve the sublime and widely-admired traditions that make Japan special may well fall on foreigners willing to learn the culture, the language, and assimilate. Give it a thought. Some such foreigners are mentioned in the Artisans section of the SIJ Directory.
Further reading on this subject HERE or HERE)
