The Analysis of Financial Statements of the Central Office of the House of Mitusi and Search for Relation between Accounting policies and Financial Changes, 1710-1892

18世纪早期，三井家族创建了一个分区的行政结构，有一个被称为Omotokata的中央办公室（O的意思是伟大或一般，motokata的意思是控制器），以控制许多经营商店。三井的部门结构包括两个主要的业务部门，纺织织物部门和银行部门。Omotokata是由创始人后代的九个家族的族长组成的普通合伙企业。它不负责实际运营，而是持有运营商店的投资。本研究的目的是分析Omotokata的财务报表，以明确其从1710年到1892年的盈利能力和财务结构，并检查会计政策的变化与盈利能力和财务结构的转变之间的关系。从1710年Omotokata成立到1740年，其资本存量一直在以有利的速度增长。营业部门的利润的90%每3年转移到Omotokata。Omotokata设立了多种准备金，如坏账准备金、商人的退休津贴、一家之主的疾病准备金等，以保留丰厚的收益。名义上，直到1774年，Omotokata的股本一直在稳步增长，但经营部门的盈利能力却在下降，Omotokata的坏账也在增加。1774年，为了勾销坏账，Omotokata拆分了由家族首领直接拥有的经营部门。1797年，Omotokata再次持有这些部门的投资，但每三年停止一次定居。在此之后，Omotokata的资本存量在名义上增加，但其坏账再次增加。

Early in the 18th century the House of Mitsui created a divisionalized administrative structure with a central office known as Omotokata (O means great or general and motokata means cotroller) in order to control many operating shops. Mitsui's divisional structure consisted of two major operating divisions, the textile fabric division and the banking division. Omotokata was a general partnership composed of heads of nine families of the founder's descendants. It was not in charge of actual operations but held the investments in operating shops.The objective of this research is to analyze the financial statements of Omotokata in order to make clear of its profitability and financial structure from 1710 through 1892, and to examine the relation between the changes of Accounting policies and the transition of profitability and financial structure.Up to 1740 from the foundation of Omotokata in 1710, its capital stock was increasing at a favorable pace. The ninety percent of profit of the operating divisions was transferred to Omotokata every three years. Omotokata settled many kinds of reserves, such as reserves for bad debts, mongers' retirement allowance, reserve for illness of family-heads and so on, to retain the great earnings. Nominally, Omotokata's capital stock was increasing at a steady pace up to 1774, but profitabity of the operating divisions decreased and bad debts Omotokata increased. In 1774, writing off bad debts, Omotokata splits off the operating divisions, which the groups of family heads directly owns. In 1797, Omotokata held investments of the divisions again but ceased every three year setllement. After this Omotokata's capital stock was rominally increasing but its bad debts was increasing again.