News/Blog

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

Introducing “Fujiro,” the Kanesa Group’s Official Character!

We are pleased to announce the birth of the Kanesa Group’s official character, “Fujiro.” Guided by its management philosophy, “We Exist for Our Customers,” Kanesa Fujiwaraya Co., Ltd. marked the 110th anniversary of its founding in 2026. Over those 110 years, what we have held dear has never been only the delivery of drinks.It is supporting the time people spend over a drink, the encounters between people, and the smiles and connections that grow from them. We believe that is one of the reasons we exist in this community. To take on new initiatives that serve restaurants and the wider community even better, we felt we needed a friendly, approachable way to convey our values and what makes the Kanesa Group what it is. And so the Kanesa Group’s official character was born. The character is modeled on an owl — fukurō in Japanese. It embodies our stance as “a liquor merchant you can turn to for advice,” along with two wishes for everyone connected to us, both drawn from the sound of the word: “fuku ga kuru” (may good fortune come) and “fu-kurō” (may you be spared hardship). The nickname “Fujiro” was chosen through a group-wide call for ideas

2026.08.21

News

Ligare Sendai Kids’ Volleyball Clinic — Event Report

On July 29, a kids’ volleyball clinic was held at Paprika Nursery School in Miyagino Ward, led by Ligare Sendai player Kaede Noge together with Maya Ito, Yui Uchiyama, and Miyuu Okabe — Ligare Sendai players who are also employees of our company. Kanesa Fujiwaraya has taken part in this program since this fiscal year, and we will work alongside the players to make it even livelier. [About the Traveling Kids’ Volleyball Clinic] The clinic is a free volleyball program for preschool children in Sendai, launched in fiscal year 2024 through a partnership between Ligare Sendai, Miyagi Consumers’ Co-operative Society, and Nissenren Life Service Co. Last fiscal year it visited 18 kindergartens, nursery schools, and certified childcare centers across Sendai’s Izumi, Aoba, and Wakabayashi wards. This fiscal year Miyagino Ward has been added. The program addresses a local challenge — improving children’s physical abilities — and aims to support the healthy development of young people. Ligare Sendai official website Kanesa Fujiwaraya is actively engaged in community contribution, including activities through sport. Guided by our wish to “energize Tohoku,” we will continue a wide range of activities to bring smiles and energy to the community.

2026.08.18

News

Riko Fujii Leaves Ligare Sendai, Heads to Portugal in September

As part of its community contribution activities, Kanesa Fujiwaraya Co., Ltd. has held an employment sponsorship agreement with Ligare Sendai, a women’s volleyball team in SV.LEAGUE GROWTH, since last fiscal year. Under that arrangement, Riko Fujii, who has worked at our company while playing for Ligare Sendai since last fiscal year, is leaving the team and, with it, our company. She has announced that she will take on the challenge of an overseas league from September, taking her next step in Portugal. Fujii shared the following message with us. Thank you so much for this past year. I am proud to have had the invaluable experience — a first in my volleyball career — of working and playing at the same time, and to have had it here with everyone at Fujiwaraya. Thank you truly for all the support you gave me during my time here. Thanks to everyone who came to the arena and offered warm words of encouragement, I was able to pick myself up time and time again. I will draw on what I experienced here, play my own way in Portugal, and do my best to bring energy and courage to everyone who supports me. And

2026.08.18

News

New Employees Present the Results of the Company Brochure Project

The Kanesa Group welcomed five new employees in fiscal year 2026 — one assigned to Michinoku Sake Journey and four to the Delivery Section of Gyohai. After just under a month of new-employee training, they have started work at their assignments and are growing every day as working adults. The Human Resources Section runs new-employee training on an ongoing basis, and since June it has held a weekly “Company Brochure Project” designed to deepen understanding of the company. The intended readers of the brochure are high school students — the juniors of the future — and their parents. To convey the appeal of Kanesa Fujiwaraya and its affiliate Gyohai in an accessible way, the new employees included descriptions of the work and interviews with staff, and produced it as a printed booklet. The brochure’s slogan is “Smiles and Energy for Our ‘Okyaku’ (Customers).” The slogan strongly reflects our management philosophy, “We Exist for Our Customers,” and expresses our mission to be useful to the shops we serve and to live up to the trust placed in us. The reason it uses “Okyaku” rather than the more formal “Okyaku-sama” is the same as in the philosophy itself: we aim to be

2026.08.07

Event

CPR Tsushin, First Glass — Italian Wine Tasting Held

Our General Affairs Department’s CPR Promotion Section has published the first issue of its internal newsletter, “CPR Tsushin.” The CPR Promotion Section is a team that aims for “Culture Public Relations” — promoting culture — sharing the culture not only of the Kanesa Group but of Miyagi, Tohoku, and Japan as a whole. Its work centers on communicating with people inside and outside the company, planning events, and building the Kanesa Group brand. As of 2026, it is also running a project to export and import sake and other beverages overseas. “CPR Tsushin” introduces the Kanesa Group’s activities and, fittingly for Fujiwaraya as a purveyor of drinks, its issues are numbered as “glasses” (◯杯目). This first, commemorative glass covers the Italian wine tasting we held on July 26, 2026. We welcomed Emilio Fidora, fourth-generation owner of Wild Nature, from Italy, and heard about the winery’s philosophy while tasting its wines. We also held an advance tasting of wines from Bulichella and Valpanera, which we will begin selling this autumn. Please see the newsletter itself for the participants’ impressions.

2026.07.23

News

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

Stepping into New Challenges at Our 110th Anniversary — We Held the 2026 Kanesa Group New Year Kickoff Meeting!

On April 5, 2026, the Kanesa Group held its New Year Kickoff Meeting at Sendai International Hotel. The Kickoff Meeting is held every year and brings together all employees of the Kanesa Group. It consists of a “Ceremony” portion, where the year’s policies and slogan are announced, and a “Banquet” portion, where everyone deepens connections over food and various activities. With many manufacturers and partners joining us, this year’s meeting became an occasion for everyone to share, as one team, our resolve to take on challenges and grow toward the next era. Below, we introduce some highlights from the meeting. A Company’s Growth Is Proportional to the Sum of Its Employees’ Challenges The Ceremony opened with an address from Kanesa Fujiwaraya President Masamune Sato. [President Masamune Sato] Despite the sluggish market across Tohoku, last fiscal year ended with truly excellent results. This is entirely thanks to everyone who has supported us, and I am sincerely grateful. Centered on the Sales Department, the spirit of taking on challenges — the keyword of last year’s slogan — was visible everywhere. I felt this was a year in which new shoots of change took root within the Fujiwaraya Group. Our

2026.04.23

News

On the “Heretic” Within

Introducing “Fujiro,” the Kanesa Group’s Official Character!

Ligare Sendai Kids’ Volleyball Clinic — Event Report

Riko Fujii Leaves Ligare Sendai, Heads to Portugal in September

New Employees Present the Results of the Company Brochure Project

CPR Tsushin, First Glass — Italian Wine Tasting Held

A Single Rose Blooming at the Winery

Stepping into New Challenges at Our 110th Anniversary — We Held the 2026 Kanesa Group New Year Kickoff Meeting!

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