MESSAGE

Message From CEO

"We Exist for Our Customers"

I am Masamune Sato, who was appointed as the fifth-generation CEO in 2023.

Since our founding in 1916 (Taisho 5) by my great-grandfather Akira Sato, we have been able to continue our business to this day thanks to the support of our customers, business partners, employees, and countless others. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for this.

The primary reason for a company's existence is "to perpetuate." This is because a company's longevity means that it continues to be needed by customers regardless of the era.

Since our founding, our company has upheld the philosophy that "the store exists for the customer." Here, "store" refers to us. As a store, we have a mission to be of service to our customers and to live up to the trust they place in us.

The reason we use the more familiar term "customer" (お客) rather than the more formal "customer" (お客様) is that we aim to be neither condescending nor overly deferential, but to always maintain the same eye level and become a "partner" to our customers.

Our commitment to being a company that is supported by as many people as possible and trusted with their business remains an unchanging philosophy.

We will cherish this philosophy and continue to take on new challenges for our perpetuity.

Let us continue to accumulate tireless efforts, maintain an honest attitude, and create a wonderful industry together.

Representative image

Kanesa Fujiwaraya Co., Ltd.
CEO: Masamune Sato

Representative sign image

Kanesa Fujiwaraya Co., Ltd.
CEO: Masamune Sato

Representative sign image
Background

BLOG

CEO's Blog: Leading a 100-Year Legacy

Blog Image

On the “Heretic” Within

Rather late to the party, I have been watching the anime “Orb: On the Movements of the Earth.” It is a contrary streak of mine, but I don’t much like jumping on whatever is popular.One of my quiet pleasures is to enjoy yesterday’s trends in private, once the world has cooled on them. Of course I knew about “Orb.”With Sakanaction’s theme song adding to the buzz, I imagine a great many people were watching it in real time when it aired. It seems the wave that came late has finally reached me (laughs). I started a few days ago and am only around episode five, but it is already very good.There was a rumor that watching it makes you smarter, and I can see why. The story is set in fifteenth-century Europe. Heliocentrism — the idea, now known to everyone, that the Earth turns — was rejected on religious grounds in favor of a geocentric universe.Anyone who advocated or tried to study heliocentrism was branded a “heretic” and, for defying God, put to death. It is the story of people who risked their lives to prove that the Earth moves. I won’t say more for fear of spoilers, but the

2026.08.25

CEO Blog

Leader's Bookshelf

Blog Image

A Single Rose Blooming at the Winery

This fiscal year, we entered into an equity partnership with Bulichella, a winery in Suvereto, Tuscany. The connection goes back to the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and Korea, when my father helped bring the Italian national football team to Sendai for its training camp. That led to my younger brother studying in Italy, and the relationship we kept up with a company in Turin ever since is what made this partnership possible. I hope to tell you more about it another time, but there is something I noticed while visiting many wineries since last year. At the entrance to the vineyards, there are beautiful roses in bloom. At first I assumed it was just an Italian touch of style. It was nothing of the sort.Roses, it turns out, wither quickly unless the soil around them is kept in clean, healthy condition. So a winery with roses in full bloom is sending a hidden message:“the soil in our vineyards is clean.” Isn’t there something quietly profound about that? This partnership is not simply a matter of our company buying wine from overseas and selling it. Rather than one-way imports, we want in time to bring products rooted in Tohoku’s

2026.07.17

CEO Blog

Producer Visits

Blog Image

Keep Stepping Up to the Plate

Standing still is falling behind. This is something I tell our employees often. If we settle for the present and stop sincerely working to be useful to our customers, our company has no bright future. This year too, taking these words as our motto, we will work hard together as a group.   Thanks to all of you, in April 2026 we were able to mark our 110th year since founding. This milestone is entirely thanks to everyone who has always supported us, and I am sincerely grateful. We humbly ask for your continued support of the Kanesa Group going forward.   At our company, we set a slogan each year as a milestone toward realizing our management philosophy. This year’s slogan is, “UPDATE — Hotter than anywhere, expanding the possibilities.” is what we have decided. As a company that supports our region, it goes without saying that we will keep taking on challenges — keep stepping up to the plate. To do that, the most important thing is first to know ourselves and to update who we were yesterday. Or — the attitude of constant improvement — that is what feels essential to me. What are we good at?

2026.04.14

CEO Blog