Business customs

I remember reading in college something about sweeping the front area of the business entrance to ensure success and ward off evil spirits. Does anyone know anything about this?

I'm a Japanese native and have been working for over 20 years, I've never heard of such a custom.
Some old and traditional restaurants follow some beliefs (such as putting a small mound of salt at the entrance to prevent the evil) but what you've mentioned is not something common in ordinary business scene.

Leo,

It is very common for shops and small businesses to sweep and wash down the area in front every morning before the start of the business day. I didn't know it was to ward off evil sprits, but that could be the origin.

Could be the origin, but again modern times and these days you have to think about practicality. Owners want to keep their business neat and tidy.

It's not just business.

Traditionally, the Japanese believe that your entrance should be kept clean because that is where all the "ki" (spirit, meaning not "ghosts" but "energy") comes in.

But it's practical to try to keep the entrance clean since that is the first place your guest looks at. It's like the face of your place. Also, while the other rooms at a home is naturally kept cleaner since you take off your shoes, the entrance tends to be left behind unless you take extra care.

Also for those living or working there, if you see a clean entrance every time you leave or enter the place, you might feel nicer, more energetic, therefore achieving more success with your high spirits.

So just as an European shopkeeper might polish his window, or just as an Australian lawyer might polish his name plate on the door, the Japanese might try to keep the entrance hall clean, at their homes, offices and shops.

But for most modern people, it's more like "Any person should keep your place tidy, and if good energy comes in, then we're lucky."

Japanese TV performer Kazuyo Matsui is famous for cleaning everybody's entrance halls and finishing it by wiping it with salt. She likes to clean up places and believes that cleaning brings in good energy and success.

Btw, a lot of small and conservative offices still have a "kamidana" Shinto altar in the room. Polititians draw an eye on a daruma doll when their wish is granted on election day. It is the norm for every building, small or huge, to hold a simple "muneageshiki" ceremony when the ridge beam is raised. A top-selling manga magazine's editing section had themselves purified at a shrine on the company's expence, since so many bad things were happening in the worker's private lives. Spiritualism exists even today in our everyday lives, just as Americans would put their right hand on the bible when speaking at court or becoming a President. It's all like a huge good luck charm.