Architects of Affluence: The Tsutsumi Family and the Seibu Enterprises in Twentieth-Century Japan (Harvard East Asian Monographs) - Hardcover

Havens, Thomas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067404360X ISBN 13: 9780674043602

Publisher: Harvard University Asia Center, 1994

Synopsis

The interrelated Seibu and Saison enterprise groups have shaped Japanese consumer culture and made the Tsutsumi family fabulously rich. Beginning with the colorful founder, Yasujiro Tsutsumi, Thomas Havens traces the family's fortunes through the rise of its various companies. He examines the strategic thinking, management styles, and marketing techniques of Yasujiro and his sons; explains how the companies have prospered outside Japan's zaibatsu and keiretsu business establishments; and demonstrates how the Seibu enterprises have shifted Japanese culture from a frugal, hardworking society to a New Breed that takes affluence for granted.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas R. H. Havens teaches history and East Asian languages at the University of California, Berkeley, where he directs the East Asian Library.

Review

Little has been written in English on the service sector in twentieth-century Japan, and this volume is a major contribution to our knowledge of a highly significant area of business development. It is a work of meticulous scholarship of the kind that we have come to expect from Professor Havens, and will provide a valuable source for those wishing to explore more fully the Japanese service sector. (Janet Hunter Asian Affairs)

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Asia Center
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 067404360X
• ISBN 13: 9780674043602
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 340