Yoshinoya HD, which just celebrated 120 years since its founding, operates major restaurant chains, with the most prominent being Yoshinoya, the original inventor of gyudon (beef bowl) and a name that has become nearly pronominal for “gyudon restaurant”. It has the fifth largest sales out of the 95 publicly listed restaurant companies. The company began conducting M&A in the late 1990s and now operates a wide variety of restaurants, including fast food restaurants that specialize in gyudon and udon noodles, as well as sushi and ramen restaurants. Its major brands include Yoshinoya, Hanamaru Udon, Kyotaru, Kaisen Misakiko, Setaga-ya, and Bariuma.