solacekames:

In case anyone wonders why there are so many small family crafting businesses in Japan that can say “we’ve been making X thing for 500 years” when most family businesses in old countries in Europe never stay in business anywhere near so long, there’s a very simple explanation. And it’s not because Japanese have some sort of genetically enhanced mystical respect for tradition.

Japanese society is patrilineal, just like most European societies, but in a much more pragmatic way. In any generation, if a family business had no children, they’d do an adult adoption of a grown man (and sometimes even adopt a married couple, or a single woman) who was interested in marrying into the business and competent at whatever the business was. You can read more about that here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_adult_adoption. 

So let’s say a Murano glass maker in Renaissance Italy has a bunch of kids to carry on the family business but all the sons who aren’t incompetent die from plague or war or whatever. They’d have a social obligation to marry off their daughters and then shut down or merge their business. But the corresponding business in 16th century Japan simply strikes a deal with a promising young apprentice artisan from the next town over, who moves in and takes the family name and ensures continuity.