The present study about corporations from one the one of biggest world-wide economy is justified in a world without borders in which we live today and where cultural differences affect any business relations. This article aims to make clear how commercial and other traditional Japanese corporations have achieved great longevity. The role fulfilled by kakun in these corporations was highlighted, in other words, the role fulfilled by an internal set of precepts and rules that, having appeared in the 17th and 18th centuries, has firmly survived up to the current days. The method chosen for the study was the historiography, that aims for the redemption of the events and the human activities along the time. We come to the conclusion that a great deal of what kakun was advocating is present in studies on organizations and management and that kakun, associated with ethical issues, has been in great part responsible for the longevity of the Japanese enterprises.
longevity; code of conduct; business ethic; long-term vision