This food manufacturer was well known in the Kansai region as a top manufacturer of cooking oil. Jiro Yoshihara was born as the heir to this company. From a young age, Yoshihara aspired to become an artist going to France to study, which was the dream of every young Western-style painter at the time. However, his father, who was worried that he would not be able to take over the business, forbade him to go abroad. To make up for this, he bought a large number of foreign books and magazines to acquire information about foreign countries from printed materials. In the process, he came to recognize the importance of keeping records in printed form, and this led to the later publication of specific bulletins.
Later, merged with Ajinomoto and other companies Yoshihara Oil Refining now exists as J Oil Mills.