Shoshaman ------ 商社マン Economics from a Novel Winter 2003
The Cast: Part I • The opening scene: announcing promotions to the company – Ebisawa Shiro, President, Nissei Corp. – Yamabe Seiji, head of personnel – Ojima, the beserker – Nakasato Michio, the protagonist / Ojima's "classmate"
interpretation • What is role of company? "god? " • Presumption that Ojima "gone" • Training camp: what is of ultimate value? – Success in company. – How do Nakasato & Ojima differ? • One's a winner, one's a (big) loser • Family an appendage to career • Training camp: varied on entry, socialized into a similar pattern • Literary problem: – will Nakasato become like a successful Ojima? • Can work and life coexist?
The Cast: Part II • New York: an inspection visit • American Gourmet Company proposal – Yoshida Shizuo, Nissei America – Tobita Tokihiko, Pres. , Nissei America – Kano Taichiro, classmate of Nakasato at NA • Nakasato Rieko, the "missus"
NY • What is a "trading company" (shosha)? – Old role: intermediary, here in int'l trade • Buy low, sell high, using superior information – Also special skills in finance and paperwork / logistics • How handle a bet gone wrong? – Hide – Face – Shift to others – Shosha "winter" • J companies better informed, bigger, more skills, handle directly: Honda isn't just a rural motorcycle maker • Information cheaper in general • Core goods are stagnant markets
• Context – will Nakasato be sidetracked to NY? • Generational issues – Younger more "open" – Older do quite OK if Nissei merely "gets by" – Contrast of son & father during tennis game
Others • Key figures in Century Stores interlude – Hozumi Masako, her alter ego and a reluctant entrepreneur. – Hatakeyama Shinsaku, Pres. , Century Stores
Hozumi • Company mentality: – Nakasato vs Hozumi • She can break away from mold • Can't succeed within, so penalty from exit is low • Relationship – Initial: seeking information, wanting to set up own business – Supermarket story • Masako as foil: imaginative as to location • Nakasato: handled operational detail / store layout – Pulled store layout from visits to factories – Implicit that early to mid-1970 s
And more • Normal people – Inuzuka Keigoro, former boss of Nakasato during Century Stores joint venture. Japanese dance as his passion. – Nukaya Kiichiro, head of Kijima Co. food wholesaler that went bust. A manager without subordinates. – Natsukawa Tetsuji, a normal "jerk" (Food Dept) – Hoshino – Hozui Michio, a fatherless child – Robert Hancock, a passionate restauranteer
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