Motoharu Nakashima: Promoting Regional Charm Through Local Specialties

Nakashima Shoten, which is also my family home, is a wholesaler of sugar, flour, and confectionery ingredients. It was founded in 1909 and marks its 108th year this year. The era when you could simply move goods from right to left is long gone. I felt we had to make a new move, so instead of just being an order-taker, I started incorporating my own ideas into the distribution process. Our customers include confectionery, bakery, seasoning manufacturers, and the restaurant industry. I thought that by not just wholesaling raw materials but also proposing product plans like, "Why not try making this kind of product with these materials?" we could develop new business opportunities.

Ever since I was in Tokyo, people would often say to me, "Bring back a souvenir when you visit home. Momiji Manju is fine." While Momiji Manju is indeed a Hiroshima souvenir, Hiroshima City and Fukuyama City are 100 kilometers apart, and the Aki Province of Hiroshima is completely different from the Bingo Province of Fukuyama. Fukuyama had many souvenirs, but in reality, many of them had short shelf lives. So, I decided to develop a souvenir that would last longer.

In October 2004, while drinking with a Keio senior in my hometown, I saw a local sake called "Homeishu" at the shop, which has a history of about 350 years. I thought, "Can I do something with this?"

Homeishu is a medicinal health liquor and, being a liqueur, it can be used in both Western and Japanese sweets. It was the sake served by the Shogunate at the reception for Commodore Perry when he arrived at the end of the Edo period. Furthermore, Yukichi Fukuzawa, who was close to the Lord of the Fukuyama Domain, brought this sake as a gift to Yae Ogata, the wife of his mentor Koan Ogata. I thought we could create souvenirs from a sake with such historical and narrative significance, so I created five items using Homeishu: taiyaki, candy, gelato, ice pops, and jelly.

My aim was to create a dedicated section centered around Homeishu. If it were just candy, it would get buried in the confectionery section, and if it were just gelato or ice pops, it would get lost among all the other ice creams. However, if we created a new category called "Homeishu Sweets," a dedicated section could be established. Even the Homeishu itself could be given a special section rather than just being in the liquor aisle.

With that in mind, I had Nakashima Shoten's customers manufacture the products. At the time, Homeishu was only sold as a health liquor, so they thought it was an interesting project. Based on the idea of "let's both take a risk; if it goes well, it's a win-win," we continued product development.

Once we started selling them, the local media picked it up, and not only local residents but also tourists visiting Fukuyama began buying them to take home.

We launched the Homeishu sweets in April 2005. One month later, I saw an article in the Nikkei Shimbun stating that descendants of Commodore Perry would be attending the 150th-anniversary ceremony of the opening of Shimoda Port. I immediately called the Shimoda City Hall. I told them, "Actually, the sake that Commodore Perry drank 150 years ago is in Fukuyama." It turned out the person in charge at Shimoda City was also looking for a way to serve reception food to welcome the descendants and was searching for the Homeishu mentioned in the dinner menu from the end of the Edo period.

So, I told them, "Homeishu is made in a place called Tomonoura in Fukuyama, so I will go to present it after 150 years." At a dinner for about 60 dignitaries, including the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Homeishu was served as an aperitif.

I improvised an English explanatory note and had it placed on the tables along with the glasses of Homeishu. I thought if they just drank it, they would forget it.

Afterward, there was a meal for the descendants at Ryosen-ji Temple, where the supplementary treaty to the Treaty of Peace and Amity between the United States and Japan (the Treaty of Shimoda) was signed. They enjoyed the five products developed using Homeishu along with the sake itself.

From the time that was featured on NHK's national broadcast, awareness of Homeishu gradually rose, and sales of the sake itself increased. Since it is a liqueur, the tax rate is higher than that of beer or quasi-beer. Therefore, it is fully returned to the region as tax revenue. Because various historical figures are involved, it also serves as a promotion for Fukuyama City.

I established the Bingo Specialty Product Research Group, a research group for creating products using regional resources, and we generate plans centered there. Since Homeishu is locally produced, we use it as a raw material to make products locally, have them sold at local souvenir shops, and the profits stay there. Also, in the process of making the products, we have people at vocational aid facilities apply the label stickers so that money goes to them as well.

Additionally, for the people who buy or receive the products, there is a QR code on the package that, when scanned, provides tourist information for Fukuyama City and regional information. No matter where in the world you take this souvenir, you can get tourist information for Fukuyama City on the spot. Just by having someone buy one souvenir, various things expand.

Primary industry is currently suffering from a serious shortage of successors. Our "Kuwai Potage Soup," which uses arrowhead (kuwai) for which we have the highest production in Japan, cannot start unless farmers supply the arrowhead. The juice using "Numakuma Grapes" is also well-received nationwide, but this couldn't be made without grape farmers.

Therefore, I want to develop products with added value, such as "This is the arrowhead with the highest production in Japan" or "This was made with Numakuma Grapes," and have the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries cooperate to create new value.

If sales grow, we can buy raw materials at a higher price. In other words, farmers and fishermen can be paid properly. That leads back to mutual benefit. Money is necessary, of course, but it is also important that the feelings of the people involved match, and it starts with sitting down and talking carefully with the farmers.

Agriculture and fishing involve living things, so it is truly hard work all year round, whether it's cold or hot. If the income is just a pittance, no one will want to take over. I hope that by having coordinators like us intervene to ensure an outlet for the products, producers can earn a proper income and continue their work.

On the other hand, we also take responsibility for product planning, development, and sales. In that sense, we are on equal footing with the producers, and it is also necessary for us to say, "Please produce high-quality raw materials."

Sixth-sector industrialization is often said to have a great sense of speed because it is 1 x 2 x 3. However, it is quite difficult to have people in the primary industry, who do hard work every day, participate with a sense of speed. So, in my case, I think of it as 1 + 2 + 3. I want to create a system where the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries collaborate on equal footing, and as they fulfill their roles, a flow is created and everyone gradually becomes profitable.

In sixth-sector industrialization, the input is just as important as the output; even if you want to make processed goods, nothing starts without raw materials. You have to properly explain to the producers why those raw materials are needed and get them to understand. That kind of coordinating role is what the world needs now, and I want to further enhance those skills.

Since they are farmers, some may find it hard to accept ideas from an outsider. You have to convey your thoughts with a sincere attitude. And thoughts alone aren't enough. In the end, you have to actually try it. You have to show it in a tangible form, saying, "I'm sorry, but please let me use the grapes you produce; I will take responsibility and make processed goods.". It's no good to just say, "Grow vegetables or fruit because I want to sell them."

I had been swimming since I was little, and in my first year of high school, I participated in the Akagi National Sports Festival in Gunma Prefecture. At that time, someone from the Juku's Athletic Association Swimming Club happened to be there and asked, "Why don't you come?" and told me about the recommendation system for designated schools.

I was still in my first year of high school, and of course, there was the family business, and I also wanted to become a school teacher, but the moment I heard that, I decided to aim for it. At the time, you could get an internal unofficial offer for the designated school recommendation in June of your third year, so you could do the swimming you liked during summer vacation. I worked hard aiming for that and was fortunately accepted.

I think my academic grades were reasonably good. I also continued swimming, not in the Athletic Association, but in a club. My high school teacher told me, "You are being evaluated for having sent us a good student." I wondered if that was true (laughs).

Nakashima: My wife, my younger brother, my father-in-law, and my eldest son has been enrolled since this year. Hiroshima Prefecture has many Keio graduates. More Keio than Waseda. Especially in eastern Hiroshima, Fukuyama has a very large number of Keio graduates. The Mita-kai always gathers 40 to 50 people every year. Everyone has a great deal of school spirit.

During the 150th anniversary of the Juku, members of the Wandervogel Club walked from Nakatsu to Mita, and I also walked several kilometers with them in eastern Hiroshima.

I am one of three brothers, so any of us could have taken over the family business, and I wanted to go to Tokyo. So I joined Itochu Corporation, and after that, during President Torii's tenure, I was hired as a mid-career staff member at Keio. There were also peers from different industries, and I was hired in April 1992 because they wanted to "bring in an outside breeze to the university administration."

At Itochu Corporation, I worked in the Sugar and Coffee Department, so I thought my overseas experience and language skills could be utilized in my work at Keio.

I was first assigned to the International Center, then to the Records and Archives Division (at the time), and after that to the Academic Affairs Section, where I was in charge of the Faculty of Business and Commerce and the Faculty of Law. Learning about academic regulations and the basics of university administration was truly educational.

Due to family circumstances, I only worked at Keio for about five years before returning to Fukuyama, but I am still interested in university administration. Since I have the experience, I hope to contribute something to the local universities.

At the trading company, I learned the basics of importing and exporting food raw materials from scratch. However, at that time, Keio University was about to proceed with university reforms, and I was interested in the fact that people from different industries could play an active role. Not to mention it was my alma mater. Also, at the time, the staff had a lot of time off (laughs).

It would have to be being involved in the basics and objectives of university entrance exams and university administration. I learned what it means to hire people. It's natural to hire excellent students, and on top of that, my boss at the time said we should hire students who will contribute to the future sustainability and development of Keio University and who can also make social contributions. At the same time, I learned that human resources are the cornerstone of an organization.

Looking at your hometown from the outside gives you a different perspective. It's not limited to Fukuyama, but regional areas tend to be closed off, and it's taken for granted that things happen internally. Once you step outside and look back in, you can see areas that need reform. There's no need to change everything at once; you change things gradually and with balance. I'm glad I was able to acquire those skills.

I think I was truly blessed to have lived among the diverse people of a global company like Itochu, a global university like Keio University, and Tokyo before returning to Fukuyama.

Exactly. When you are in your hometown, good things are taken for granted, and you become like the proverb "it's darkest under the lamp post." Once you go out and come back, you realize, "This might be something amazing." You understand that it has history, it's delicious, and it can be successful even outside the prefecture. I was able to develop that kind of eye.

Of course, globalization efforts are important, but I think it's also important to steadily increase fans on a local basis within Japan. The ideal is to enhance the charm of the local area and ourselves so that people overseas see it and think, "Keio is a wonderful university."

Regarding information dissemination, superficial information can be obtained anywhere on the internet. I think it's necessary to re-convey the essence of Yukichi Fukuzawa's teachings and the Keio Gijuku Shachu.

I am thinking of developing the same kind of cycle we had with Homeishu for Fukuyama specialties like apricots and arrowhead, for which we have the highest production in Japan.

I want to continue this business model and convey what I am trying to do not only to my employees but also to the young people in the region. Regional contribution must not just benefit oneself; the profits must fall to the entire region. If that happens, I am helped, and the other party is helped.

Even in regional areas, competition between regions will eventually become prominent. In that environment, I strongly hope that younger Juku members from the local area will return and walk with us toward the revitalization of the region.