radition and Modernization
YoungWoo Jang (Faculty of Economics, 5th Year, Korea)
Nishiki Mark
On November 22, 2009, I interviewed Shonosuke Korenaga (Graduate of 1960, Faculty of Commerce), Secretary General of Kyoto Nishiki Market Shipping District Promotion Association with Marina Suga, Liu Cheng, and other staffs of the Doshisha Student.
When I first came to
Kyoto, I was absolutely
clueless. But as I began to
wander around the city, I
gradually found interesting
places such as the Nishiki
Market. I was used to seeing
small markets in Korea, but
there was something different
about the Nishiki Market.
The street was only three to
five meters wide, 400 meters
long, and I have never seen
anything like it before./
Not only is Nishiki Market
well known to locals but to
foreigners also. This arcade is definitely on the to-do list
for tourists who look forward
to experience Japanese
cuisine. The merchants must
have worked constantly to
receive the fame it holds
today. While having a history
of more than 400 years, it
kept up with the changing
times and continued to use
the traditional values as a
weapon to succeed in the
modern marketing.
Shonosuke Korenaga
During the interview, an
interesting incident caught
my attention. In 1967, there
was a prevention of
advancing large markets.
Rumors spread that a major
super market was planning
for construction near the
Nishiki Market. But before
you knew it, Nishiki Market
Shipping District Promotion
Association purchased the
land from the landowner to
stop the construction. By
changing customary ways
such as making price tags
instead of saying prices out
loud, securing walking
pathways, and creating an
arcaded street, it proposed
modernization to other
markets in Japan and
worldwide too.
Nishiki Market succeeded
to spread their name
throughout the world. It
created its own brand and
gathered people with a trust
that major super markets
donft have. At some time or
another, every business must
face the problems of tradition
and modernization. Through
this interview, it made me
realize the maintaining
tradition is the form of
modernization we aim for.
