Elsewhere in Kyoto is another shinise company that isn’t nearly as old as Tsuen Tea, but much larger: the video game company Nintendo. It’s known across the globe for the way it revolutionised at-home entertainment with its electronic gaming system back in 1985.

But most people don’t know that the company predates its massive global commercial succe... See more

I’m a fan of companies that operate like studios with the awareness that they’ll create a series of seasonal hits and try to capture value along the way. The assumption of seasonality could be wrong (and one or more of these hits endures much longer), but that ends up being a good problem to have.