Founder: Chozo Morooka
The birth of the founder and the origins of the YONEYA
The founder, Chozo Morooka, was born in January 1879 (Meiji 12) as the eldest son of the 1th generation of the Morooka family, with one son and three daughters, to his father Keizo and mother Natsu, whose family had run a rice store that sold rice and miscellaneous goods for generations.
Natsu, the mother, consulted with Chozo, and using the No. 5 adzuki beans that had been stored in a XNUMXL bottle for family celebrations and sugar that had been given as a condolence gift to her father, inspired by the vegetarian cuisine "yokan" of Naritasan Shinshoji Temple, they made chestnut yokan in the kitchen using chestnuts from the Shimousa Plateau and tried to sell it. This was the first chestnut yokan invented in Japan.
Founder: Chozo Morooka
Morooka Business Law, which aims to create management and business practices that "make people happy" Chozo was 20 years old and had just been married when his mother Natsu put him in charge of sales. At the time, there were 15 to 16 yokan manufacturing and sales businesses in front of the gates of Naritasan, and they were selling inferior products at a fierce price, selling on credit, selling on the street, and offering free gifts. However, Chozo stuck to his belief of "no discounts at all" and "no haggling", and came up with a policy that was the exact opposite of traditional business methods, practicing fixed price. By eliminating intermediate fees, interest rates, and all other unnecessary expenses, he created chestnut yokan with low profit margins and high sales, focusing on quality, with no room for discounting, and setting the fixed price at the very limit of the cost price, rather than "selling" it, and his business method of having customers buy it gradually gained the trust of customers, and it remains a famous product of the Naritasan approach to the temple today, loved by many people.
Chozo's personality
He lived a simple and honest life, and with the belief that "help others and save yourself," he continued to donate his surplus wealth to public welfare throughout his life. He was particularly involved in road repairs, working from the age of 33 until the end of his life, repairing over 100 roads in the city, totaling 7234 meters, with his own labor, and donated large sums to many other public welfare projects.
Chozo, who was especially deeply sympathetic to the research of Dr. Chikuro Hiroike, provided financial support for the study of Moralogy (the highest morality) for over 20 years. He provided not only research and publication expenses, but also living expenses, medical expenses, and other basic miscellaneous expenses. This generous support, both publicly and privately, led Dr. Hiroike to call himself the "mother of Moralogy."
In addition, with the approval of the Minister of Education at the time, he established a public interest foundation called the Morooka Hoonkai (initial fund of 10 yen) with his own money in 1940 (Showa 15), which mainly provides scholarships and continues to operate to this day.
Chozo takes the initiative in volunteering 
Raku ware handwritten by Dr. Hiroike (Application form for establishing the Morooka Gratitude Society)
For details, see Soseki Yamamoto
"The Life of Chozo Morooka, a Merchant Who Was Thin on Himself and Thorough with Others"
(Publisher: Rippushobo Co., Ltd.)
[For inquiries]
NAGOMI-YONEYA Narita Yokan Museum
(TEL:0476-22-2266）
Fudo Myo-o and the Peaceful YONEYA
The first specialty of our shop: chestnut yokan
