Even though risk management can be very technical, the question I am asked most often at work has nothing to do with that technology. The most frequently asked question is this: “What does Kamakura mean?” This post explains.
The city of Kamakura is one of the most beautiful cities in Japan. It’s an ancient seaside town about 1 hour by train from central Tokyo. Many people call Kamakura “little Kyoto” because of its centuries of history, but that name doesn’t do it justice. My favorite guide to Kamakura is by noted British historian (and my Honolulu neighbor) Michael Cooper. It’s available on www.amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Kamakura-Guide-Curious-Traveler/dp/0834801442/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249044849&sr=1-1
Wikipedia has this introduction to the city of Kamakura:
Kamakura is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called Renpu (short for Kamakura Bakufu’). Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is sometimes considered a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the Kamakura Period. (In reality its independence from Kyoto was never complete)
According to The Institute for Research on World-Systems, Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 AD, with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto by 1200 AD.
As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 173,588 and a density of 4,380 inhabitants per square kilometer (11,300 /sq mi). The total area is 39.60 square kilometers (15.29 sq mi).
Kamakura has a beach which, in combination with the temples and the proximity to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination. Kamakura's bay has a surf break off of the headland point, albeit an inconsistent one, which makes it at least a second-tier destination for surfers. It is also noted for its senbei, which are crisp rice cakes grilled and sold fresh along the main shopping street. These are very popular with tourists.
Why is Kamakura Corporation named after the city of Kamakura? It’s a long story. When I was working at Lehman Brothers’ Tokyo investment banking department, I spent a lot of time on the weekends in Kamakura, both for its culture and its great beach. After a year or so, I was making plans for a long term stay in Japan and I approached one of my Lehman friends who lived in Kamakura. I told him that I wanted to buy a house in Kamakura. After he asked me how much I was prepared to spend, he agreed that I had a chance to buy something in Kamakura and introduced me to a young surfer who worked as a real estate agent when the surf was no good.
The first place he took me to see in Kamakura was inland from the beach, next to a beautiful creek and across from a heavily wooded hillside on the far side of the creek. The house was very small but I liked it. From the second story window, I could barely see a concrete structure embedded in the hillside on the other side of the creek, covered by trees. “What’s that,” I asked. “Part of the sewage treatment plant,” he answered. That ended my interest in the house. “Let’s go see another place” I said, but he replied that this house was the only house in the city of Kamakura I could afford. I ended up in the great beach town of Chigasaki, about 10 km down the road, but I always dreamed that someday I’d live in Kamakura.
Once I decided to found my own company, the name of the company was very important. Most Japanese companies have very specific names that explained exactly what they did early in their history. They tended to outgrow those names but left them in place. I didn’t want to make that mistake. Many other firms had the ubiquitous three initials, like IBM, ABC, XYZ, and so on. A third class of names was variations on the same theme: names that described how smart the founders were. I thought that was pretty presumptuous. Finally, another category of companies was named after their owner. Outside of Amsterdam or Johannesburg, however, that wasn’t going to work for me. So I decided to name the company after a place.
“Chigasaki” wasn’t the right name, because it conjured up an image of 20 year old surf bunnies and surfer dudes to the average resident of Tokyo. The next town over, Hiratsuka, was another beach town but it had a manufacturing image and I didn’t want a company with “rat” in the name. On the other side of Chigasaki was Fujisawa, a name already used by a huge listed firm in Japan. Then “Kamakura” became the obvious choice, but I was sure it was already registered. Much to my surprise, it was available and, as they, say, the rest is history!
Now Kamakura is headquartered in Honolulu with clients in 32 countries, so the name has been very thoroughly “internationalized” thanks to our clients. Every day at work, though, I remember the beauty of the city of Kamakura and it inspires me still.
Donald R. van Deventer
Kamakura Corporation
July 31, 2009