→ Japan's 1,300 Year Old Business
Fritz Schumann made an excellent video about Japan's 1300 year old business.
Houshi Ryokan was founded around 1,300 years ago and it has always been managed by the same family since then.
It is the oldest still running family business in the world.
This ryokan (a traditional Japanese style hotel) was built over a natural hot spring in Awazu in central Japan in the year 718. Until 2011, it held the record for being the oldest hotel in the world.
Why was it the oldest until 2011? That kind of doesn't make sense. Wikipedia has us covered:
Founded in 718, it was once thought to be the oldest operating hotel in the world until the realization that another Japanese hotel, Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, in Yamanashi, Japan, had claim to this title: it was founded in 705
So that answers that. Because an even older hotel was discovered. Which is also in Japan.
Houshi Ryokan has been visited by the Japanese Imperial Family and countless great artists over the centuries. Its buildings were destroyed by natural disasters many times, but the family has always rebuilt. The garden as well as some parts of the hotel are over 400 years old.
Houshi (法師) means Buddhist priest. It is the name of the family as well as of the hotel.
A business that's been around 1300 years... boggles the mind. Watch the movie and enjoy.
Houshi (english) from Fritz Schumann on Vimeo.
Link Blog
Back when I had my own website, I used to post a few random links everyday or every few days, in the style of http://kottke.org or http://daringfireball.net. Readers seemed to enjoy seeing them.
To signify a link post, I'll put an arrow (→) at the beginning of the title to show you guys it is a link post and that you can skip it if such things don't interest you.
 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. More? |
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