Shiro Oikawa founded the company when he was one year junior to Kenji Miyazawa at the Higher School of Agriculture and Forestry. He was so impressed by Kenji's work that he decided to publish "The Restaurant of Many Orders," a collection of children's stories. Kenji passed away in 1933 at the age of 37, and this was the only collection of his children's stories that was published before his death. It is said that the book sold very few copies when it was first published.
Later, the company began to produce and sell ironware and lacquerware, and it became a social gathering place for people like Yanagi Soetsu, a founder of the mingei (folk craft) movement, dyer Serizawa Keisuke, and printmaker Munakata Shiko. Gradually, the business changed from a publishing company to a select store selling folk crafts from all over the country.
The "Kogensya Main Store" currently sells Kogensya's original lacquerware, ceramics from all over Japan, glass, and Iwate homespun products, among other things. There are several buildings on the premises, including "Majieru-kan," which houses the first edition of "The Restaurant of Many Orders" and materials related to Kenji, "Campanella," which sells foreign goods, and "Coffee-kan," a cafe, and "Morio," which sells ironware, baskets, and other products across from the main store.
