I often see companies that are celebrating their “100th anniversary”, but I rarely see companies that are celebrating their “200th” or “300th anniversary”. The company I would like to introduce this time, Castella Honke Fukusaya, will celebrate its 400th anniversary in 2024.
In 1624, the year of the company’s foundation, the Tokugawa Shogunate banned the arrival of Spanish ships and broke off diplomatic relations with Spain. That was a long time ago.
At the time of its foundation, the company was dealing in sugar and rice, but it started making castella and other Nanban confectionery, which was handed down from the Portuguese. At present, it mainly sells castella cake.
The other day I bought a lovely castella cake called ‘Fukusaya Cube’. The small cube-shaped box contains two slices of castella cake and is just the right size to eat up in one sitting. The box pattern is seasonally adapted to match the season, making it a limited edition seasonal product.
According to my research, these castella cakes are made from start to finish by a one baker and are additive-free. The taste is elegantly sweet and it is ideal for giving away individually.
Since the 12th generation of Seitaro in the Meiji era, the company has held an annual ‘egg memorial service’ in May every year to thank the eggs and make an offering to them, as well as to teach them to treat things with care and to pray for the health of their employees and the development of the company’s business. I felt that the company has continued to be a long-established business for 400 years because it has always maintained this kind of sincere attitude.
(Time)
Registered trademark: フクサヤキューブ＼FUKUSAYACUBE
Japanese Registration number: No. 5385297
Date of registration: 21 January 2011
Right Holder: Castella Honke Fukusaya Co.
(J-PlatPat)
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1801/TR/JP-2010-051409/40/en