Before explaining the social contributions that the Konishi clan made, I will give you some historical background that has facilitated the establishment of our corporate philosophy.

During the Edo Era:

In some parts of the world, people consider that drinking causes serious social problems. However, in Japan, 'sake' has been deeply connected with the lives of people since ancient times, more than 2000 years ago. Over many centuries, people have celebrated rice harvest with 'sake.' Just like bread and wine in the Christian world, rice and 'sake' have been given high values in Japan. During the feudal period, people paid taxes by rice as in the same manner that people in Europe paid them by wheat. Whenever the country enjoyed an abundant rice crop, the military government gave some people licenses to temporarily make 'sake' to prevent the market price of rice from sharply dropping. Those sake producers had to pay taxes for the income gained through producing sake, thus it was one of the important sources of national revenue. Indeed, the market price of rice and the sake production were closely connected with national life in those days.

With such a great influence on daily life, rice and 'sake' naturally became integral parts of the economy and politics in local communities. Itami, where the Konishi clan has been engaged in the 'sake' business, together with eleven neighboring vill ages were under the domain of the Konoe family, a court noble. It was not under the direct control of the central military government, nor was it part of the feudal domain of a daimyo (lord). Under the domain of court nobles, the fourth heir of the Konishi was appointed as a local administrator to govern judicial and administrative affairs (the so-called 'Soshukuro' system in Japanese). That was in 1697.

Along with the appointment, the privilege of wearing a sword was given, that was otherwise only allowed to samurai (warriors). A townsman wearing a sword attested to the importance of the position. After that, successive masters of the Konishi took their seats. As a local administrator, the master of the Konishi felt responsible to keep peace and order in the community, too. He requested permission from the Konoe family to create a private fencing school in the neighborhood to provide drills for masterless samurai and those who wanted to practice fencing. It was created out of the necessity for the self-defense of the village, and greatly contributed to the stabilization of order in the community. This led to the opening of the 'Shubukan' fencing school in 1786, one of the three major fencing schools which to date still remain in Japan.

During the Meiji Era:

Then, the Government of Edo was overthrown in the Meiji Revolution, leading to the corruption of the long-surviving feudal system. The new Meiji government actively encouraged the modernization of the country learning from the western countries. In the course of the rapid modernization, many people who were respected as masters of fencing started to lose their jobs with the government's decree to abolish the wearing of swords in 1871. Knowing the plight of these people, the then 11th master of the Konishi invited them to the fencing school as instructors for the purpose of upholding and developing the sound spirit of Japan and to educate children from ordinary families.

According to family records, the school had instructors not only of fencing, but also of judo, halberd, lance, and horse-riding, as well as scholars of Chinese classics. Thus, the family invited many outstanding instructors and teachers from around the country, and hosted them at the 'Yakkai Nagaya' ("troublesome row houses" ) standing on the premises of the Konishi.

Meanwhile, the copying of western practices prevailed in Japan in the early Meiji era due to the enthusiastic encouragement of Europeanization by the government. In such times, some local governments even issued acts to ban martial arts, where as the Konishi in Itami was openly promoting drills of martial arts.

To Meet the Needs in the Society:

Regarding the educational contribution, the ninth heir of the Konishi persuaded the Konoe family to give permission to establish a private school called 'Meirindo' in 1838 when Japan was in the last part of the Edo era. Considering the importance of having educational facilities in the community, the ninth master created the school with the resources solely funded by the family. In 1873 in the early Meiji era, the tenth heir of the family funded the construction of the first private elementary school in Itami. For ten years until the management was taken over by the local government, the private school always suffered a financial loss, and the Konishi kept supporting it. Also, the tenth master of the Konishi built the first hospital in the community, contributing to the development of the public medical service.

The eleventh master, who was keen to encourage the martial arts, was one of the founders of a railway company, and participated in the building of a modern transport system to promote the development of the community. He was not the only one who participated in the transport business among successive masters of Konishi. Going back 200 years from his time, the family also operated a shipping business in order to improve the effectiveness of distribution of our 'sake' to Edo (the former name of Tokyo), the largest market. Shipping not only 'sake' in barrels but also cargo of a variety of daily commodities, the boat commuted between Osaka and Edo. It was called 'Tarukaisen' (barrel barge).

During the time of 'Gyomo,' the eleventh master of the Konishi, Japan was in confusion after the Meiji Revolution. Until then, the country under the feudal system with samurai at the top had totally closed its door to other countries for several centuries. The sudden opening of the door gave a strong stimulus to Japan. Japan concentrated on catching up to the powers in the west, while hastily introducing western technologies and practices, and abandoning the orders and values long maintained under the samurai society. It greatly disturbed people's minds and lives, resulting in the instability of the country.

With great concern over the situation of the country, the eleventh master 'Gyomo' was urged to be committed to the restoration of the stability and the prosperity of the community. Besides the above mentioned, he also participated in the banking business. When the twelfth master took over the position, he willingly offered a huge piece of land of 100,498 square meters under the possession of the family to the governmental project to construct the present Itami Airport at a very low cost.