Ichibanya

Ichibanya (株式会社一番屋) is a Yamataian multinational fast food company, founded in 1899 by Kanehana Mizuki. The company's flagship chain of Ichibanya restaurants specialises in gyudon (beef bowl), and it is the largest such chain in Yamatai with over 1,530 stores. In addition, the company also owns several other restaurants including curry, tonkatsu, sushi, and Chanhan restaurants.

Name
The company's name literally translated to "the best restaurant". Due to the term being highly generic, there are numerous unaffiliated family restaurants that hold the same name, though Ichibanya Co. maintains various trademarks over other aspects of its corporate branding, such as the iconic orange colouring on store signage.

History
According to the official company history, the first Ichibanya was opened by founder Kanehana Mizuki in 1899 at the Negiji fish market in Heian. A second outlet was later opened by Kanehana's son at Hinobashi, Heian in 1926, which was later taken over by the company's first franchisee after Kanehana Mizuki's death in 1931, marking the start of a rapid expansion throughout Yamatai. An outlet was even opened in Wanshu, which was at the time under Yamataian occupation.

The chain opened its first 24-hour store in 1952. [Citation needed]

In 2000, Ichibanya and several Yamataian competitors became involved in the "Rice Bowl Wars" against Gyunghwan chain Bao Hwangje, which was attempting to enter the Yamataian market. The "war" began when a price war was intentionally triggered by Morishita Don'ya and Ichibanya, reducing prices to 300 En to severely undercut Bao Hwangje's prices, eventually forcing the government to enact the "Gyudon Standard" competition law. Ichibanya was later sued by Bao Hwangje for carrying out a defamation campaign within Yamatai, but the case was thrown out by the Yamataian Supreme Court due to lack of evidence. During this period, Yamataian companies also attempted to appeal to Yamataian nationalism through advertising and campaigns, and many Yamataians began to boycott Bao Hwangje and even other Gyunghwan businesses due to nationalist sentiments. [Citation needed]