Hoshi Business School
In 1921, Hoshi Pharmaceuticals established the Hoshi Pharmaceuticals Business School (Hoshi seiyaku shōgyō gakkō). Schools, of course, are spaces of exception for the explicit purpose of disciplining hearts, bodies, and minds. The Business School offered two courses of study: a two-week crash course to familiarize franchise store managers and clerks with basic knowledge in pharmacology, medicine, and business practices, and a more comprehensive six-week course intended for students to gain basic qualifications in handling medicines as licensed pharmacists. The company's goal was to provide every seller with the necessary knowledge in medicine, pharmacology, and business to help him perform his job. Thus, it served an instrumental, disciplinary purpose, even as it conformed to the company's declared, enlightened principles that emphasized cooperation between management and labor as well self-cultivation, based on the principles of science. Indeed, one of the textbooks for the Business School was titled Principles of Scientific Management (Kagakuteki keieihō no shintei), which was loosely based on Frederick Taylor's famous work of the same name. The School remains today as Hoshi University (Hoshi yakka daigaku), which kindly allowed me access to their archive.
