It is generally accepted that the oldest business in the world,

公眾認可世界上最古老的企業，

the oldest that's still operating, anyway,

目前仍營運中最老的事業，

is the Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan.

是西山溫泉慶雲館。

Which is this hot-springs hotel, about three hours west of Tokyo.

就是這家溫泉旅館，位於東京以西約三小時車程。

For one thousand three hundred years,

一千三百年來，

people have been coming here for the natural, crystal-clear hot water baths,

旅客絡繹不絕，前來尋求天然、清澈的溫泉。

and until recently, the owners have 52 generations of the same family.

而直到最近，此事業已在家族中傳承 52 代。

This hot spring was discovered, and opened to the public, in 705 AD.

此溫泉是公元 705 年間被發掘並開放的。

A man named Mahito Fujiwara was hunting in the mountains,

藤原真人於山里打獵途中，

and he found a natural spring with hot water.

發現了一個天然溫泉泉水。

And he thought, why not make this into hot-spring baths?

並想，為何不把這變成溫泉呢？

That's when and how our history started.

這便是一切的開端。

There are other people staying here tonight, by the way,

順便說一句，今晚還有其他人住在這，

it's just we're not filming them for obvious privacy reasons.

只是顯然的，由於隱私原因，我們沒有拍攝他們。

The hotel's not empty.

旅館不是空的。

Anyway, I assumed that I'd be staying in something like a living museum here,

總之，我以為我會住在像博物館的地方，

because that's what I've come to expect from the sort of historical attractions you'll find in Britain.

因為這就是我對英國歷史景點的期望。

That's what tends to happen to anything centuries old where I'm from:

在英國，具有數百年歷史的事物往往是這樣的：

a kind of preservation

保存舊址，

that means that everything must be held at a certain point in time,

一切都保持得與過去相同，

funded by tourists who want to visit the old thing and see history.

並由那些想參觀舊址和看遊覽歷史的旅客資助。

Which is great if you're running a museum,

對博物館來說這樣當然很好，

but for a hotel business that needs to survive in the 21st century:

但對一個需要在 21 世紀生存的旅館來說，

well, customers will change with the times.

客戶需求會隨時代改變。

There are four original hot-water springs, located in small caves.

有四個原始的溫泉點，坐落於小山洞中。

That's the original location of Keiunkan.

那是慶雲館的原址。

It was simple wooden buildings, which were built and rebuilt over a long period of time.

由簡陋的木造結構構成，經過長時間修建與重建。

People here kept renovating and rebuilding the baths, while operating them.

人們在經營浴場同時，不斷翻新和重建。

I can't imagine what the buildings looked like hundreds of years ago.

我無法想像那裡幾百年前的樣子。

In the 17th and 18th centuries, people took a healing bath and cooked for themselves.

在 17 和 18 世紀，人們會沐浴療傷並烹煮食物。

People simply took a bath in the hot spring itself.

人們會在溫泉源泉中沐浴。

There was no proper bathtub, but it was surrounded by natural rocks.

當時沒有浴缸，周邊只有天然岩石環繞。

The earliest proper buildings were constructed in the late 19th century.

最早能被稱為建築的房屋興建於 19 世紀後期。

In 1997, all the buildings were converted into a half-board, tourist ryokan business.

至 1997 年，所有建築都改建為半食宿旅館了。

There's still tradition here. It's not a Western-style hotel.

這裡仍有傳統氣息，並非西式飯店。

You sleep on futons, dinner is served at a low Japanese-style table.

旅客睡在被褥上，晚餐也是在低矮的日式餐桌上享用。

But this place has been updated, again and again and again,

但此處已被一次又一次翻新，

this building is only a few decades old,

這座建築只有幾十年歷史，

the exact location has moved around this area many times over the years.

旅館確切位置多年來也在此區域內移動了多次。

It's only been a hotel in the English sense for a few decades.

此地成為西方意義上的「旅館」只有數十年時間，

Before, that it was just a place to stay and take the waters.

在這之前，這只是個留宿沐浴的地方。

Now, there's very fast wifi and, of course, a gift shop.

現在，這裡有非常快的 WIFI，當然還有禮品店。

They excavated new hot springs in 2005,

他們在 2005 年挖了新的溫泉，

which gave them five times as much hot water,

讓他們能提供比以往熱五倍溫泉，

and there are modern pumps and systems to check water temperature and quality.

並附有現代泵和供水系統來檢查水溫和水質。

The water's drinkable, by the way.

順代一題，這邊水是可以喝的。

It's a hot spring after all, it's mineral water.

畢竟這是溫泉，是礦泉水。

From historical documents, we know that Tokugawa Ieyasu and Takeda Shingen stayed here, centuries ago.

歷史文獻顯示，幾世紀前，德川家康和武田信玄曾留宿此處。

The current Emperor of Japan has stayed here too,

日本現任天皇也曾住在這，

in 1987, back when he was the Crown Prince.

1987 年，他還是太子時。

He had a hundred people accompanying him.

當時有百人陪同。

The previous owner didn't want to publicise that visit, though!

不過前代當家不想公開那次來訪！

Hot springs can have a problem with "over-tourism",

溫泉會有「旅遊超限」的問題，

and he didn't want visitors who just followed trends.

而前當家不想接代追隨潮流的旅客。

So that was going to be the story.

本來故事就到這了。

This is the world's oldest business because it changes with the times.

這是世上最古老的商業機構，它與時俱進。

Problem one with that:

這方面有問題一：

the modern English-language concept of "business"

現代英語中的「商業」概念

doesn't quite map correctly onto Japanese culture from more than a millennium ago, obviously.

顯然無法正確反映一千多年前的日本文化。

There is a school of flower arrangement in Kyoto called Ikenobō,

京都有個插花流派，叫池坊，

that was founded a couple of centuries before this.

創立與此前幾個世紀。

But that school probably counts as an "organisation" in English, rather than "business",

但是池坊在英文里大概算是「機構」，而非「企業」

as best as I can tell from translations and my local team here.

就我從翻譯和我在這裡的團隊瞭解到的情況而言是如此。

If you do count that school,

如果算上池坊，

you kind of have count much older like the Catholic Church as well!

可能連更古老的天主教會也得算進去！

This has always been a definite business.

而此處一直確定是營業場所。

So problem two:

接著，問題二：

this has only been the oldest business in the world since 2006,

此處是從 2006 年才成為世上最古老企業的，

when the former record holder, a construction company called Kongo Gumi, fell on hard times.

此前的紀錄保持者，金剛組建築公司當時陷入了困境。

But Kongo Gumi didn't close or go bankrupt,

但金剛組並沒有倒閉或破產，

it was bought by a bigger construction company.

而是被更大的建築公司收購了。

It had been a family business for nearly 1500 years,

作為一個家族企業它已有近 1500 年歷史，

but now it's just a subsidiary of a modern company,

但現在，它只是一家現代公司的子公司。

still operating, but arguably just a name on an organisation chart.

仍在營運，但可說只是組織圖上的一個名字了。

Should Kongu Gumi still count? I don't think so, but...

該將金剛組算進去嗎？我不這麼認為，但…

if it doesn't count,

如果金剛組不算，

that brings me to problem three with this story,

這就牽扯到了第三個問題，

which all the English-speaking sources I found seem to have missed.

我看過的所有英語資料似乎都沒有提到這一點。

When I took over running the business,

我接管這家公司時，

my predecessor was more than 80 years old.

前當家已經 80 多歲了。

But none of his relatives were interested in running a ryokan business in the mountains.

但他的親戚中，沒有一個對經營深山中的旅館感興趣。

There was no-one to take over.

沒有人可以繼承這份家業。

I'd worked closely with the former president, since I was 25 years old.

我從 25 歲起就一直跟在前當家身邊工作。

And I've not said this to many people,

這件事我不太與人提起，

but I was scolded and shouted at almost every day!

但我幾乎每天都被罵！

I never thought I might become company president.

我從沒想過自己會成為社長。

One day about almost five years ago, he calls me and says,

大約五年前的某一天，他叫我過去說：

"Kawano, you should be the next president."

「河野，你當下任社長吧。」

I said, "What?! Me?"

我回：「什麼？！我？」

He said, "I don't want to pass on this ryokan, which has survived for 1,300 years,

他又說：「我不想讓這家 1300 年歷史的旅館流入別人手中，

to someone I don't know."

來路不明的外人。」

But I'm not related to him, so I can't legally inherit a family company like this.

但我和他沒有血緣關係，所以我不能合法繼承這樣的家族企業。

So I founded Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan Limited, and as presidentof that company,

於是我創立了西山溫泉慶雲有限公司，並作為該公司的總裁，

took over the shares of the original company.

接管了原公司的股份。

There was no practical change to what was happening here,

這裡其實沒有任何實質上的變化，

that seems more like a restructure than a takeover?

這似乎更像重組，而非收購，是吧？

The new owner is the old general manager,

新社長是老總經理，

so while it's not in the family, there is continuity.

雖然他不是家族中的人，也還是有延續性。

And I hate to say "I'm not sure",

我不想說「我不確定是不是有」

but if there's been one theme through this channel over the years I've been making videos,

但我多年來製作影片這段期間，如果說這個頻道有個主題，

it's that the world is complicated

那就是這世界很複雜，

and it doesn't fit in neat little categories.

不是所有事都能被歸類。

If you've got a list like "oldest businesses" that's a millennium and a half old...

如果有個「最古老企業」列表，一千五百年的歷史長河中…

of course it's going to have a few asterisks on it.

當然會有些不完美的地方。

As for me...

至於我…

I'm just going to go and take the waters.

現在要去泡溫泉了。

When I became president of the business, as the first outsider,

我成為公司社長時，作為第一個外人掌管者，

my predecessor said to me:

前當家這麼對我說：

"Be the master of the ryokan, only."

「做旅館的主人，僅此而已。」

"This is your job; do not be distracted."

「心無旁騖的經營是你的職責。」

It's not quite a family motto, but the word have been passed down through generations.

這不算是家族格言，但這些話代代相傳。

We have come this far because we've focused on just one thing,

專心致志是我們能走到今日的原因，

only the ryokan business.

全心全意，只有溫泉。

I believe that's one of the main reasons why it's continued for 1,300 years.

我相信這就是這份事業能經營 1300 年的主要原因。