
KYOTO -- Kyoto is home to a number of high-tech companies that have created global markets with their unique technologies. One of the oldest is Shimadzu, founded in 1875 by Genzo Shimadzu. Some of Japan's leading entrepreneurs, including Horiba's late Masao Horiba and Kazuo Inamori of Kyocera, laid the foundations for their future growth here. But why did these companies spring up in Kyoto?