Until last week, I thought there were basically three types of factories: oily old clunkers where maybe the beaten-down workers go on strike and a gritty hero emerges who is played by Jeff Bridges in the made-for-television movie; gleaming, robot-dominated technological wonders; and grim Third World sweatshops.
But here in Japan there is another breed -- the family factory, which enjoys an almost century-long history. There are about 5,000 active factories in Tokyo's time-warp Sumida Ward, and some 90 percent of them are family factories. Often staffed by as few as three people, these mom-and-pop operations continue to turn out everything from toys to textiles to disc brakes.
Four years ago, Sumida resident Taka'aki Soga inherited the 80-year-old family business, a 100-sq.-meter, high-ceilinged rubber factory. With no interest in producing floppy white boots, the art history graduate gutted the building and opened one of Tokyo's most unique showcases for avant-garde culture -- the Contemporary Art Factory.