The Mitsui Company In The 17th And 18th Century

Superior Essays
The growth of the Mitsui company in the 17th and 18th centuries was fascinating. Under the guidance of Hachirobei, the company evolved from a struggling brewery and pawnshop to handling the Japanese government’s accounting in 1707. Hachirobei incorporated many innovative ideas and practices to propel his company to unprecedented success. He came from very humble beginnings and is the embodiment of what capitalism can do for a person. Hachirobei’s humbling upbringing gave him values that would translate to a fortune for him and the Mitsui family. Despite being the youngest son, Hachirobei was far ahead of his years and was subsequently sent to Edo as an apprentice at fourteen. As Hachirobei grew more experienced, he began to adopt “pioneer industrial capitalist” (Roberts 16) values that …show more content…
Much of the growth of the Mitsui should be attributed to the entrepreneurial capitalist practices that Hachirobei deployed. Capitalism is an economic system in which private owners operate for profit and not for the state. Capitalism is important in the study of Hachirobei because it is what facilitated his growth for success and is the basis of modern-day Japanese global corporations. Mitsui’s success under the leadership of Hachirobei can be attributed to his capitalist approaches to business such as market research, advertising, and specialization. One capitalist approach that Hachirobei took towards growing his company was market research. When Hachirobei had his store systems in place and things were going smoothly, he was able to travel and study business conditions. Through traveling, observation, and eavesdropping,

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