The Occupational Philosophy of Oyabun Tekiya, Resonating in the North Kanto Market, circa 1985-1986

The Occupational Philosophy of Oyabun Tekiya, Resonating in the North Kanto Market, circa 1985-1986
On a winter morning when the reception at Hachiman Shrine was underway, Oyabun's narrative, with its conspicuous presence, was as powerful as if the market itself were speaking to him. First, he sharply indicated the difference between Hondoba and Gari in figures. The sales of Hondoba and Gari are many times, or even dozens of times, different," he said. Hondoba, in the center of the approach and in front of the torii gate, is where the flow of customers is concentrated, and it determines not just one day's but a whole year's earnings. However, it is not uncommon for sales at the periphery, called gari, to be only a fraction of that amount. Even though the city's spaces may appear to be lined up equally on the outside, the economic terrain is one of highs and lows, and it is clear that the master reads this map more vividly than anyone else.
He continues, "The garden is a lifeline. If it is raided, I will defend it to the death with all my might. The garden is the area that the family manages and is responsible for the arrangement and order of the stalls, but it is not just a place, it is the foundation of life that integrates trust with the community, the livelihood of the stalls, and the foundation of the festival culture. In the mid-1980s, before the Anti-Riot Law, the safety of fairs and fairs was maintained by this network of backstage operators. The weight of this responsibility supports the words "lifeline" and "defend to the death" behind them.
Even more impressive is the story of girigake. He said, "If I had to attend five weddings and funerals a month, I'd be bored out of my skull, but I can't stop," he said. But I can't stop. Girigake was the custom of always bringing a package to weddings, funerals, and family events, and was a substantial currency of trust that supported relationships. From a rational point of view, the expense was heavy. Still, if one lacked girigake, the invisible web of support would be untied, such as the flexibility of the shoba, help in times of need, and participation in distant fairs. Giri-gake was both an insurance policy for one's livelihood and an investment in maintaining the local network.
While Japan's consumer society accelerated around 1985-1986, with the rise of big-box stores and the decline of old shopping arcades, fairs and first markets were marking their own time as face to face economic spheres. In this world centered on cash business and relationships, numbers and emotions, space and tradition overlapped, and an elaborate economic philosophy was at work that could not be seen from the outside. In Oyabun's narrative, the logic and emotion of this world flowed at once, and one can read how multi-layered, humanistic, and cultural the foundation supporting the city was.
This narrative is considered the highlight of the book not just because of its interesting backstory, but because it brings to life in vivid terms the work ethic, aesthetic sense, and economic outlook that have preserved the city as a place to work.