Guest Post by Brendon Baughn
The Ohio State University recently expanded its collection of shashi (社史, company histories) with the 2023 acquisition of three volumes from Meg Milk Snow Brand, Japan’s leading dairy producer. This addition brings the total number of Meg Milk–related shashi held by the University Libraries to seven and further strengthens OSU’s growing collection of materials related to agriculture, food production, and corporate development. The most recent volumes were donated during a campus visit by Meg Milk Snow Brand representatives, which included a tour of OSU’s main campus library, where the shashi are housed.
Images in the slider above show representatives from Meg Milk Snow Brand presenting the most recent volumes of their company’s history to The Ohio State University Libraries during a campus visit.
Entitled Yukijirushi Nyūgyō shi, the seven-volume Corporate History of Meg Milk Snow Brand chronicles the evolution of Japan’s modern dairy industry. Beyond tracing the company’s institutional history, these volumes document broader developments in milk processing technologies, as well as the establishment of legal and quality standards that shaped dairy production and consumption across Japan through the oil crisis of 1974.
As these volumes join other shashi and agricultural resources already held by the university, they enrich opportunities for comparative research on Japan’s industrial and agrarian sectors. For scholars, these materials offer valuable primary sources for examining how private enterprise, technological innovation, and regional identity intersect within Japan’s food production history, particularly within OSU’s East Asian Studies collections.
Ohio State University’s relationship with Meg Milk Snow Brand dates back to the 1920s, when the company’s founder, Mitsugi Satow, studied bacteriology and dairy science on campus. His academic training at OSU played a formative role in shaping his scientific approach and long-term vision for Japan’s dairy industry. Drawing on knowledge and practices encountered in the United States, Satow later applied these principles to advance milk sanitation, processing, and production in Japan, laying the foundation for what would become one of the country’s leading dairy companies.
Snow Brand’s donation of its shashi to the University Libraries reflects both respect for this shared history and a desire to strengthen ongoing academic and cultural ties. By contributing these materials, the company honors Mitsugi Satow’s legacy and underscores its continued engagement in international education and research. Nearly a century after Satow’s studies at OSU, Meg Milk Snow Brand remains active in fostering global collaboration in food science, safety, and nutrition. Having made these volumes available to readers at OSU and beyond, we are delighted to be part of this long tradition of international education and exchange.
Further Reading
Primary Sources on Satow at OSU:
“The Cream of the Crop” (an interest article about OSU alumnus Mitsugi Satow) in the Ohio State Monthly, October, 1981.
“Former Students Head Foreign Dairy Industry” in The Lantern student newspaper at The Ohio State University. January 25, 1937.
“Japanese Dairy Giant got his start as one of Ohio State’s first International Students” in The Carmen Collection: Untold Stores Through Time and Change.” The official sesquicentennial website by The Ohio State University Archives, 2020.
“Japanese Post-Graduate to Leave for Homeland” in The Lantern student newspaper at The Ohio State University, January 11, 1923.
Other Materials on Meg Milk and Shashi Resources
“Megmilk Snow Brand Company Ltd.” by Christina Stansell and Chris Herzog. in the International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 179 (2016).
Nippon Miruku Komyuniti shi by Yukijirushi Megumiruku Kabushiki Kaisha (2014).
“Chatper 5. The original green company: Snow Brand Dairy” by Robert Stolz in Bad Water : Nature, Pollution, and Politics in Japan, 1870-1950 (2014).
Shashin de miru Yukijirushi Nyūgyō gojūnen by Yukijirushi Nyūgyō Kabushiki Kaisha (1975).
Yukijirushi Nyūgyō shi (vols. 1-7) by Yukijirushi Nyūgyō Kabushiki Kaisha (1960).
About the author: Brendon Baughn is a Japanese Language Major who graduated in 2025 with academic and practical experience in Japan and translation. His interest in translation developed through the Japanese CLLC Practicum, shaping his goal of pursuing a long-term career in translation and language services.
