How To Make Your Business Thrive In A Rural Japanese Way
A secret item and dozens of chicken eggs ensure big success in your business!
Happy New Year of Dragon! I just started my business yesterday, so my new year’s resolution is related to it. I hope my new business as an anthropology consultant survives and thrives in its first year!
Our fellow freelancers might have similar resolutions or wishes for the new year. In this article, I will tell you a secret way to make your business thrive in a rural Japanese way. Sorry, it’s not about investment in bit coin nor about web marketing strategies for affiliate programs, but it’s proven by ancient traditions of the Oki Islands, a cluster of small islands approximately 40 km north of Shimane Peninsula.
When I set foot on the Islands for the first time in 2009, I stayed at a local Bed & Breakfast (aka minshuku in Japanese) in the community of Tsudo, Okinoshima Town. The place was run by an old couple, a typical setting for minshuku in rural Japan. Mr. Fujikawa took pride in serving for the local post office for 40 years, while Mrs. Fujikawa recollected her memories of life in this coastal community including Nori seaweed gathering trips during the winter time.
When we were having a conversation at the dining table, something drew my attention. There was a dried snake skin, put in a frame and hung close to the ceiling (See below). A wooden tray next to the snakeskin suggested that the old couple had made offerings to it, thus treating it as an object of worship.
“What is the use of this snakeskin here?” I asked. Mr. Fujikawa smiled and said he was born in the year of Dragon, whereas his wife belongs to the year of Snake. They said that they felt some connection with nagamono, which means elongated creatures including snakes and dragons. In Japan, dragons are supposed to have more sneaky forms. It should look like Haku in Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, not like Smaug in the Hobbit movies!
“Maybe this mii-san (snake spirit) has been blessing us. We are very lucky to be able to continue our business to this day.” Then, Mr. Fujikawa went on to say that his relatives in Isikawa Prefecture also believed in the snake spirit’s power to bring good luck in business and money-making. He saw a big snakeskin when he visited them.
Mr. Ishikawa’s relatives operated a hotel there, and he was keen to learn about their tips on running a hotel business. After he came back to the Oki Islands, he found a fresh snake skin in his field. Since then, Mr. and Mrs. Fujikawa have kept the snake skin and made the offerings of chicken eggs.
During the 1970s, the Oki Islands experienced a tourism boom in which so-called “Crab Tribe” (i.e. backpackers) stampeded remote islands in various parts of Japan. It was a time of economic development, and young people looked for alternative tourism destinations. In 2009, I arrived at the Oki Islands with a 60-liter backpack with a sleeping bag and tent, reminiscent of those “Crab Tribe” people. Elders who saw me occasionally made a passing comment about the past days of the tourism boom when I was there.
According to Mr. Fujikawa, people in this fishing community “make red faces” (sekimen-suru). In this context, he was referring to the competition-oriented temper of Japanese fishing communities. “Red faces” mean the kinds of flushed faces people make when they feel ashamed of themselves. Yes, there is a “shame culture” (following Ruth Benedict) where people are really concerned about how other people see them. Mr. Fujikawa’s neighbor, a fisherman, and wife, were always fighting with each other because the wife thought the husband didn’t catch more fish than others. Even the kids compete among themselves when they go for a seaweed gathering trip, he added.
Fujikawa family’s minshuku business began in the background of the competition-oriented temper of the fishing village and the past tourism boom of Japanese remote islands. Mr. Fujikawa was eager to excel in his business. Otherwise, people might look down on him. He was not just content with taking advantage of the tourism boom which brought so many people to the island, but he wanted to make sure that he kept winning. Mii-san, or the snake spirit, was a welcome addition to his business operation.
I hope you enjoyed the story of mii-san, which supposedly brought a successful business career to the Fujikawa family. Well, it’s all up to you to try and see if this method works for you! May this year of Dragon bless you with fun and exciting business opportunities.
This article was written as a contribution to January Writing Prompt of A-Culturated.
