HOW SAMURAI FAMILIES ADAPTED TO A CHANGING WORLD

七転び八起き

Fall seven times get up eight -- Japanese proverb  

Japanese culture and ways of thinking can not be adequately addressed in a short space, but this Japanese proverb reflects an important and shared ideal: "Nana korobi ya oki" (literally: seven falls, eight getting up) means fall down seven times and get up eight. This speaks to the Japanese concept of resilience.

Yataro Iwasaki 岩崎 弥太郎

1834-1855

Yataro's family came from a long line of samurai, but as he came of age, that heritage was in transition. Instead he pivoted to Japan's industrial future becoming the founder of Mitsubishi which began as a shipping firm to later evolve 3 branches: Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Ind-ustries and Mitsubishi Bank. 

After World War II the Mitsubishi companies contributed to Japan's unprecedented growth to become the world's 3rd largest economies.

The Kobayakawa Families