Kannai/Kannai Area Revitalization Council/Arai Seitaro Shoten Co., Ltd. Mr. Eisuke Arai

We spoke with Eisuke Arai, chairman of the Kannai and Kannai Area Revitalization Council and representative director of Arai Seitaro Shoten Co., Ltd.

Yokohama was successful because it was open, even though there were many regulations after the port opened.

--Please tell us about the origins and history of Yokohama, Kannai, and Kannai.

This is the place where trade first began in Japan. During the transitional period of the Meiji era, former samurai started businesses one after another in order to earn a living. I think Yokohama started from that era. At that time, they were doing their best to take care of themselves, and the neighborhood association was not as difficult as it is now. Of course, records say that everyone cooperated with each other, but it is said that it was around the latter half of the Meiji era that things started to become more harmonious after forming an association.
Kannai and Kangai literally mean the inside and outside of a checkpoint, with Japanese companies on the outside and overseas companies on the inside. Various companies started up after the port opened, but at that time it still felt like they could not fit into the capitalist society. There are a lot of regulations.
Despite all this, our founder did not know anything about business, but instead learned about the world of trade at a German or French trading company before setting out on his own. At that time, the main trade was ceramics and textiles, but for some reason the founder became interested in lily bulbs. When I looked into it later, I learned that the subspecies of lily bulbs came from Japan, and that's what I found out that he had his eye on. Since then, in addition to lily roots, we have been among the first to introduce and export traditional gardening products that symbolize Japan, such as bonsai and plants, to Europe, and have spread Japanese culture around the world. The founder was also a former samurai from Chiba Prefecture, but I think we were successful because we were founded in Yokohama, an open place where even people from unfamiliar places were accepted.

A city that I have dreamed of since I was young. I want to unite Yokohama like that.

--What are the charms of Yokohama, and what are its challenges?

Yokohama is a city that is full of exotic culture and is at the forefront of trends, and I have always admired it since I was young. When I actually came to Yokohama, everyone was open and cheerful, and I felt that it was a wonderful city, just as I had expected.
I love music, so I used to form a music band and perform at US military clubs after work and on holidays. I think it was only in Yokohama that I was able to experience something like that.

The problem is that each district is divided into blocks, and there are some gaps.
This is not to say that there is no interaction between shopping districts in each region, but I think it would be great if they could come together as one with the same purpose. We are currently looking into what is necessary and what can be done, by conducting surveys among people in the shopping district and having everyone gather together to discuss the situation.

We hope that it will be revitalized with new winds.

--Do you have any expectations or advice for start-up companies or people starting their own businesses in Yokohama?

I have formed a council and have had more opportunities to talk with various people. I think we can form relationships with young people from start-up companies in the same industries as our company, so I think it's great to have a breath of fresh air.
If I could give you one piece of advice, it would be to always think about where your job is as a business owner.
At first, our company mainly exported our products, but we realized that we could not compete with the capital of overseas companies that were rapidly expanding their business, so we switched to importing and started selling domestically. It is important to be flexible and change things as the situation arises, rather than continuing to do what you initially decided on forever. However, I think it is important to never force yourself to do things, and instead take on challenges in a natural way.

Yokohama is a growing city with still room for reform.

――What kind of activities do you plan to do in the future as the Kannai/Kannai Area Revitalization Council?

As I mentioned earlier, the first thing to do is to unite Yokohama as one, regardless of the area.
In order to achieve this, we believe that we must guide the flow of people, so we will create places that people want to visit at our bases, develop underground passages, and create ropeways, articulated buses, and other ways to improve the movement of people around the city. New and enjoyable transportation services are being developed, and we are thinking of many ideas for expanding these services even more. However, there are many issues that need to be addressed in order to be able to actually implement this plan, so we would like to proceed in consultation with the local community and the city. I believe that there is still room for reform and that this is a city that can grow, so I would like to do my best to achieve that goal.