In March 1990, a small office in a Tokyo apartment building became the birthplace of Creek & River Co., a professional agency initially focused on supporting creative professionals. Founded by Jun Kurosaki, who was then a freelance video director, the company’s origins were rooted in a desire to address a gap in the Japanese creative landscape.
Kurosaki established Creek & River during the beginning of the collapse of Japan’s bubble economy. He observed a disparity between the support systems available to freelance creatives in Japan compared to those in the United States, having participated in a US-Japan co-production. This experience exposed him to the existence of unions and agencies that advocated for creators, a structure largely absent in Japan at the time. The company’s name, according to Kurosaki, is derived from an experience during a documentary shoot in an African village, where he felt a stronger pull to address immediate needs than to pursue long-term, impactful filmmaking.
Initially concentrating on TV documentaries, Creek & River quickly expanded its scope. Today, the company, now part of the C&R Group, represents professionals in 50 different fields, extending beyond the original focus on TV, games, and web content. This expansion includes professionals in medicine, law, accounting, fashion, food, agriculture, and executive leadership roles. The C&R Group consists of 32 companies operating across 18 domestic and 4 international locations.
Creek & River’s evolution reflects a commitment to maximizing the “lifetime value” of the professionals it represents, going beyond simply securing individual projects. The company aims to facilitate long-term career development and provide support for its partners. In 2000, Creek & River became the first company listed on the NASDAQ Japan exchange.
The company recently launched a branding site, “Head Beyond the Limit,” to articulate its core vision and commitment to challenging boundaries in the professional services sector. C&R Group continues to pursue business creation by combining the expertise of professionals across various disciplines.