Shoukei Shimomura (1688`1748)
 Shoukei Shimomura is a founder of Daimaru-ya (present Daimaru) , dry-goods dealer which has a head store in Kyoto and expanded the business after the middle of the Edo era.
At the age of nineteen, he succeeded to the peddling business of used-clothing which his grandfather started. After many hardships, he opened dry-goods shop at Fushimi in Kyoto in 1717. Then he opened branches in all parts of Japan. In 1736, he built a new building for Daimaru head store at Funaya-cho, Higashinotoin, Kyoto. In 1738, he opened a branch in Edo (present Tokyo). He was influenced by Jugaku - Chinese philosophy. His business motto was "First moral obligations, then profits." He wrote this motto in hanging scrolls and distributed it to every branches. A character, is a combination of two characters , which means first and l which means man. A trade mark of Daimaru is a combination of this and which represents the universe. It is said that this trade mark represents Shoukei's decision to be the best dealer in the world. In the "Ikunshoroku" which collect the words of Shoukei, you can find his philosophies such as you should use the title of honor for a customer even behind his or her back, you should not sell the goods which are not benefit for customers, and you should not rank the customers. "Daimaru-hansei-ki" which is a success story of Shoukei was often told by storytellers from the end of the Edo era to the beginning of the Taisho era. It also became a book.
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