1.Born as the First Son
Life is like a spinning gear, so they say.
Like meshing of gears, people come in contact with each other from different motives and in various circumstances. The meshing creates an instant bond and then evolves into energy, and energy often transforms into concord.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The never-ending rotation of the earth on its axis may be expressed as the meshing of earth with the cosmos. By the same token each nation and the globe, each individual person and society. People make their own history spinning around like gears. . .Like gears – a small one, a medium one, a large one, a spur gear, a bevel gear, a spiral gear, a worm gear, and so on.
Tomizo Kohara, the founder of Kohara Gear Industry Co., Ltd., passed away in peace on July 26, 1966 at the age of 59. In his later years he successively filled various important posts. He held twenty two such posts; The chief director of Kawaguchi Industrial Machinery Association, the director of Japan Gear Manufacturers Association, the vice-president of Kawaguchi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to name but a few.
Of 59 years of his life, he lived 46 years in the town of Kawaguchi. And he spent 32 years in the business world. He contributed to the advances in the gear manufacturing in Japan engaging himself in research and development of gears.
Tomizo was born as the first son of Shozo and Haru on October 4, 1906 at Shitaya-Kanasugi in Tokyo.
Tomizo’s father Shozo ran a mochi (rice cake) sweets store at Shitaya-kanasugi. Shozo started the store with help from his wife Haru’s rich farmer parents at Nishidai village, Itabashi (a suburb of Tokyo).
“A gem of a boy! “. Hearing the news that his son was born Shozo was really excited.
Becoming a father, and a sense of responsibility as father made him an eager beaver. His store was much talked about as a store serving delicious mochi sweets. Naturally things went well, the number of employees increased, and he was very busy.
2. Sudden Death of Mother
Lights are usually followed by shadows. A shadow fell and the movement of his gears changed when he dabbled in speculation egged by a chance acquaintance.
He was driven into a tight corner. He tried to withdraw from his failing speculation, but to no avail. Getting back onto the right track was so difficult for him. He got deeper and deeper into it, and the worst came. he went broke.
Then, another unbelievable thing happened to Shozo and Tomizo in 1910. Tomizo was then four years old.
In that year, a steady heavy rain struck Tokyo area. The rain started to fall in the early part of August. The rainfall continued for ten days. And on the tenth day the bank of the Rokugo River gave away.
Then the Tone River and the Arakawa River overflowed. The vast areas of downtown Tokyo – Honjyo, Fukagawa, Asakusa and Mukojima were all flooded. There remains an old document that says the river had risen by 8.4 meters. The Ayase River also burst at thirteen places turning Minami-Adachi-gun, Itabashi and Shimura areas into a muddy sea as far as the eye could see. The death toll rose to forty-five, of which eleven were female.
Unfortunately Tomizo’s mother’s name Haru was there among the eleven.
Shozo walked with slow heavy steps along the bank of the Arakawa River carrying the corpse of his wife to Haru’s parents’ home at Nishidai, Itabashi.
The sun was pouring down its full strength from the sky.For four-year-old Tomizo that event was an absolute nightmare. The misery haunted Tomizo’s mind all his life.
3. Separation from Father
By a strange twist of fate Tomizo lost his mother. The small child was cast out into a motherless quagmire. He was forced to endure the upcoming destiny.
The living apart from his father was his first predicament. Soon after his father Shozo went into bankruptcy he started Kamoji-ya (a store selling a tress of false hair) at Minami-Senjyu (downtown Tokyo), but the business was slow. Then he got a job as a caretaker of footgear at a hospital.
The job he got required irregular working hours including the late-night shift. Shozo asked his father-in-law Hikoichi Yamaguchi, or grandfather in-law of Tomizo, to take care of the infant boy as his new job precluded taking care of the small boy by himself.
As the saying goes, Nature was a good mother. Tomizo grew well, taken care by his grandpa and spent his days of 5- year-old and 6-year-old.
His father Shozo then boarded at his elder brother’s home at Shitaya, from where he commuted to the hospital. The chance of meeting his father was for Tomizo only several times a year. From Shitaya to Itabashi was such a remote location at that time when the transportation was limited.
Tomizo was embarrassed when he heard his rarely-appearing-father say “It’s me, your papa “. He was unable to answer “Papa ” like any other child. He used to sneak away from his father not knowing how to deal with him.
Soon he entered a school. He was doing very well at school, though he was a naughty boy. He was particularly good at arithmetic. This might be a burgeoning sign that he later invented by himself the Kohara system of bookkeeping and showed remarkable ability in running a business.
Though his grandfather Hikoichi was strict about manners, Tomizo used to play tricks behind the gradpa’s back.
There is an interesting story about him. It was about his tricks on a girl of the house next door.
The girl was around sixteen years of age, much older than Tomizo himself. He dared to do naughty things many times on her. On one occasion the girl got angry and hit him with a stick.
He moaned with pain. Out of frustration, late in that evening, he threw a fist-sized rock into the girl’s house through the front door. The light in the room flashed on followed by shrill voices “Who is it? ” “What’s happening? ” Soon detected was a small figure of Tomizo fleeing from behind something. The house was in an uproar.
He got a good scolding from his grandfather after the detection of mischief. You may easily imagine warped minds that Tomizo had at that time.
Had he a mother’s love, or were his father by his side he would not do such a mischievous thing. He probably saw his mother’s shadow in the girl next door.
He probably had desire deep in his mind to attract attention from people in his neighborhood.
4. Happy Days with Father
It was one evening in August, 1915. His mounting longing for family or yearning for living with his father came to the boil.
At the ticket gate at Shimoitabashi Station there was a figure of a boy, asking a ticket clipper, “Which platform does the train for Tokyo leave from? ” The ticket clipper asked the boy whether he had money to buy a ticket. He replied, “I have nine Sen. ” That very boy was Tomizo who followed his father left him a while ago. His grandfather Hikoichi, who noticed the disappearance of Tomizo, caught him at last and brought him back home.
Tomizo pleaded, “I want live with my daddy “, and cried all night. Hikoichi decided that it was no longer possible to keep him in his custody.
Tomizo’s wish came true. He was allowed to live with his father in his uncle’s house at Shitaya. He was then a third grader. Though his dream was realized, life was not easy for him. The room assigned to Tomizo and his father was very small (a three-tatami-mat room), and the circumstances did not allow to live off his uncle simply. His uncle ran both a rice store and a yakiimo-ya (a baked sweet potato store). As the profit from the stores was scarce, it was not much of a living that his family could make, let alone Tomizo and his father. The country’s economy was in a deep recession in those days.
After school Tomizo worked very hard as a delivery person for rice, washing the potatoes, or babysitting his cousin. He thought in his own way that he would be able to continue living with his father if he worked in earnest.
Tomizo’s cousin Kaneo Kohara (former managing director of Kohara Gear Industry Co., Ltd.) reminisced about those days saying:
“Tomizo-san worked like a beaver when he was with us. He just worked and worked.
He told me later that what he experienced – the separation from his mother by death and the living apart from his father – gave him ample food for thought. One of them was that money was important in life. The philosophy of life he acquired through his experience later helped him when he started a company and managed it. ”
So to speak, a small gear named Tomizo started to mesh with a giant gear called the world. Though his grade in class dipped slightly because of change of schools, his unyielding spirit and sense of justice remained the same. Here’s an interesting story about him:
There was a temple called Anrakuji in the neighborhood. A junior high school student, who was the son of Anrakuji priest, often made fun of Tomizo always strapping a baby on his back. One day the two got into a quarrel and then turned into a fistfight. Small and baby-carrying Tomizo was not a match for the priest’s son. He planned to get back at him after returning home crying. His strong sense of justice precluded him from yielding to unreasonable tormenting. He went to the temple that day when dusk was gathering, carrying a heavy stick, to ambush the priest’s son. Fortunately or unfortunately, fighting did not take place as the priest’s son did not come home that night as he was a boarder.
There is another story that exemplifies Tomizo’s unyielding spirit. Kaneo Kohara looked back the day when Tomizo was a schoolboy-rice-deliveryman:
“Tomizo-san once delivered a bag of rice that was as heavy as his own weight from Shitaya to Oji, ” said Kaneo, “following his uncle who was also carrying a bag of rice. Tomizo-san trudged such a long distance (about two miles). He needed help from his uncle when lifting the bag on his shoulder, as the bag was so heavy. ”
As a schoolboy Tomizo wanted to get a small pocket money to buy stationery. So he begged some pocket money from his father coming home late at night. Tomizo felt warmth of his dad when he was allowed small money.
5. An Apprenticeship at an Ironworks
In March,1919, Tomizo finished elementary school. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought he would go on to junior high school. He knew circumstances did not allow him to do so. The only way he should take was to go into service as an apprentice.
1919 was the year export to other countries, especially to Asian countries, began flourishing. The steel industry was active and production of fabrics, ships, machines increased rapidly.
Sensing the tendency of the times, Shozo thought Tomizo should acquire some kind of skill, rather than become a storekeeper. One day when finishing of school was close at hand, Shozo told his son, “Will you go to Kawaguchi to get some job? I know a person who runs an ironworks at Kawaguchi. ” And Shozo explained to him in detail why he recommended him to do so.
Tomizo replied “Yes I will. ” And that brief answer fell to his lot to live the major part of his life at Kawaguchi.
It was April 24, 1919 that Tomizo went through the gate of Kohara Ironworks, Kawaguchi. He was 12 years of age. In those days Kawaguchi was known as the town of foundries. And besides foundries, ironworks were noticeably increasing at the town around 1920.
Kohara Ironworks mainly handled processing of joints in the water pipes. It was also making gears.
6. Days as an Apprentice
What waited Tomizo, who took the first step forward, was apprenticeship system. In apprenticeship at that time, there was a hierarchy with a master (boss) at the top. Under the master there was the first pupil (apprentice), the second pupil, the third and so on. A new kid helped the work of the senior pupils. In the same way, for instance, a third pupil assisted the work of a second pupil. And by doing so they were trained and acquired skills.
When a red-hot steel block was hammered by a senior pupil, a new kid held tight the pincers. The senior pupil yelled “Damn you! ” when he missed hammering the block. He shook his fist at the new kid when the kid dilly-dallied. Especially for the new kids apprenticeship was ascetic practices. Not a few new kids ran back home saying “I can no longer bear this. ” Tomizo put up with apprenticeship. He, who once endured the rice-carrying, was not discouraged over such a thing.
The new kids had to wait for their turn to eat a meal and to take a bath as there was order to be observed. They always had cooled meal since they were the last to have a meal.
Kaneo Kohara reminisced about those days:
“Tomizo-san took days off twice each month. On that occasion he often visited us at Shitaya. Every time he came he gave me a notebook, a pencil, etc. Now I wonder how he could spend money to buy such things out of his scanty income.
Kaneo Kohara introduced another story about Tomizo at the time when one of the worst earthquakes in the world history hit the Kanto plain and destroyed Tokyo, Yokohama and surroundings on 1 September 1923:
“Tomizo-san took day off and came to our home at Shitaya. So he was with us when we had the earthquake.? In an instant, my house fell down and Tomizo-san was buried under it. Soon he could get out when an after tremor made a narrow opening. If it were not for the aftershock he would not have been saved. If there were a fire broke out there he would have been perished. I think he was a very lucky person. “
7. Philosophy of Life Learned at the Ironwork
The going rate of pay for an apprentice was 50 sen a month for a new kid and 3 yen (300 sen) for the full-fledged. It was long tradition that if one was recognized as a full-fledged craftsman, he was given a montsuki hakama (a kimono with one’s family crest on it) from his master.
In the years of apprenticeship, Tomizo learned a lot through the experience. What he learned from his senior pupils was that one should always foresee what would come next and prepare for it. There would be no angry shouts or punches from the seniors if the arrangement for the next move were complete.
Through the training there he learned the fundamentals of techniques and the importance of “human relations. EHe got that, to do a good job, there must be a trust between people.
Mitsuo Fujii ( Tomizo’s junior pupil at Kohara Ironworks) talked about Tomizo:
“Tomizo-san was trusted by his master as his skill was wonderful. He always looked ahead and was good at organizing people. He always took the lead in doing the work.
When a new machine came in he used to study it attentively. He once told me his experience at Kohara Ironworks was very helpful. E
8. Setting a Goal to Start a Company
In 1926, when Tomizo became 20 years of age he was given a montsuki hakama (a kimono with one’s family crest on it) from his master. He was now admitted as a full-fledged craftsman.
About that time the thought occurred to him that he became independent. Then the thought turned to determination. His dream of starting a company ballooned and he wanted to realize his wish no matter how hard it might be.
However, things didn’t go as he expected. The good times that continued for a couple of years after World War I ended. A record shows that in the spring of 1920 the slowdown in the Japanese economy began, followed by a financial panic of 1927 and a worldwide business slump of the 1930’s.
In the circumstances he had to put his dream in storage. However, he determined deep in his mind that he would lose no time to start a company when he got a chance.
9. Things That Weigh on Mind
At the time when he turned twenty-three he came to suffer from a bad headache.
Though he consulted a doctor, the doctor could not find out what the cause of headache was.
Kaneo Kohara said:
“He often complained of a headache. Looking back on it now, I think he was filled with frustration and was suffering from neurosis. He probably was caught in a dilemma of choosing about his career advancement. In the meantime, someone advised him to switch his job and he jumped at the advice.
He quitted the ironworks and got a job at a seafood shop at Kanasugi, Tokyo. It seemed that he did an about-face in his career. In addition to tending the shop, his job included buying from a fish market and going the rounds of customers.
Oddly enough, his headache vanished. He worked there diligently until he met Old Jack Frost.
Water was essential to a fishmonger. And when the winter came his hands nearly got frostbite. And that’s it – end of story.
10. A Precious Experience
Tomizo was completely at a loss as to what to do next. “Anyway, I should set out on a journey, ” he muttered to himself, “then, something good might happen. ” He headed for Tokyo Station. He had barely enough money to support himself for half a month. He bought a ticket for Nagoya with no definite object in view. He vaguely thought he could get along somehow with his skill as a craftsman.
In those days a trip to Nagoya took a whole day. He was dozing off in his seat got tired from the long journey, when he heard the repeated call “Hamamatsu, Hamamatsu .. ” He suddenly came to himself and thought Hamamatsu was an industrial city like Kawaguchi. He go off the train instantaneously.
He walked around all over the city all day long searching for a job, but to no avail.
He decided finding a job there would be impossible. So he made up his mind to go to the original destination, Nagoya.
Nagoya was a big city and he was a complete stranger there. He found a cheap and shabby inn and stayed there. He wandered around the city day after day, but without success. The money he brought with him diminished every day. And at last he became penniless one day.
“I can not return to Tokyo any more. It’s all over with me, ” he murmured crouching down on a footpath between rice fields looking absent-mindedly at the sun sinking below the horizon, when – “What on earth are you doing here? ” he heard someone say.
It was a man looking like a craftsman. Tomizo told everything to him – about why he was there in Nagoya. He was willing to clutch even at a straw then.
“I see, he said, “I know someone who’s looking for a craftsman. So just trust me and leave it to me. ” “That will be a great help to me. Thank you very much, ” Tomizo exclaimed. He felt the world was as kind as it was cruel.
The man brought him to an ironworks. There he met with much recognition as a craftsman. He got a job, worked there for one full year, and became a much sought-after.
11. Return to Kawaguch
Tomizo’s father, who, at last, found out his whereabouts, wrote him over and over again. He entreated him to comeback home. Tomizo decided to go home. He made a firm resolution to go back home to work again with his companion at Kawaguchi.
12. Wish Came True
He returned to Kawaguchi and worked for Kohara Ironworks. Everyone around him appreciated his growth and his ability as a craftsman. He worked there as a chief to the age of thirty.
In January 1935, he started his company, Kohara Haguruma Kosho (gear workshop) at Nishikicho, Kawaguchi. The Japanese economy at that time was booming as military demands were increasing.
The population of Kawaguchi increased rapidly to 46,000. The town of foundry began to grow into an industrial city. Tomizo thought now was the right time to start a company, and he carried that out. His marriage (Tomizo and Fude got married in 1933) was the indirect cause to start a company.
His Nishikicho workshop was very small. It was as small as fifty square meters and perhaps the smallest factory among most of the small factories in Kawaguchi. He lived in there together with his wife. When he started his business, one of his patrons lent him fifty yen and with that money he rented machines for thirty yen a month.
That very fifty yen became the foundation of Kohara Gear Industry Co., Ltd. today.
For two years he worked very hard with two of his employees. It was not unusual that lights-out was the middle of the night.
The current of the times helped him. In 1937, the booming Japanese economy had reached a plateau. He was able to earn a good income.
13.Come Up with New Idea
In 1937, Tomizo built a new factory with floor space of about 150 square meters. The number of machines had increased and also the number of employees increased tenfold.
The key to success was that Tomizo had a good eye for gears. In those days, in order to operate lathes, change gears were used. He foresaw that demand for lathes would grow soon, as a munitions boom was close at hand.
A 6-foot lathe, then, needed at least twenty change gears. Every ironworks in the city used different change gears of its own. Tomizo sensed there would be great demand for change gears if they had been standardized. He decided he would push on with his plan. Thus, KHK Stock Gears took the first step memorable for company history.
Kaneo Kohara reminisced:
“They started to sell a 23-piece set of change gears for lathe. That hit the jackpot. The change gears sold like hot cakes. There were some who paid money in advance to get one. “
The situation, however, had changed completely with the outbreak of World War II
14. Evacuation
World War II exerted great influence on Tomizo’s business. Orders decreased sharply.
Restraints were imposed on the business activities by the military administration.
In 1944, B29 air raids on Japanese cities were launched almost every day. Kawaguchi was a prime target for bombs. People and factories began to evacuate into the country side. Tomizo decided to evacuate his factory to Negishi, a mountainous place. When he had spent all his money and exhausted all his energy for the evacuation, the war ended.
Tomizo felt relieved when he thought that the time would come to act freely and produce what you would want to make. With an effort he pulled himself together and returned to Kawaguchi. He, then, made farm implements with materials left on hand, and gained a bare livelihood.
15. Specializing in Gear Making
While Tomizo was getting over the postwar period, his employees sent to the front returned home one by one. He gathered them to restart his company. And at length he established his company, Kohara Gear Industry Co., Ltd. in April 1949. Time was ready now for him to produce what he wanted to make – stock gears.
His renewed enthusiasm was that Kohara Gear would expand the market for stock gears
on a large scale, beyond Tokyo area to all over the country. In order to materialize that,
it was clear that he had to go through a process to modernize production facilities, to reduce cost and to improve quality.
Takumi Inada, a former director of Kohara Gear said:
“Tomizo-san told me about his plan to sell stock gears on a large scale and asked me to do the job together. I entered the company and visited, together with Kaneo-san, machine-parts suppliers in Tokyo every day as a canvasser. ” “In 1951, ” he continued, “I went through the formalities of obtaining money on loan from Aid-Japan Funds. The amount was 800,000 yen and it was meant for improving production facilities. It had taken almost a year before we
16. The Birth and the Growth of KHK Stock Gears
In 1951, Kohara Gear built a steel-frame factory building at Nakacho, Kawaguchi, and set about manufacturing stock gears. In 1955, it invested one hundred fifty million yen in up-to-date facilities to introduce the latest gear-cutting machines earlier than others. In 1964, it further installed new machines to be able to cope with mass production.
Over the same period, Kohara Gear pushed on standardization of gears and put KHK brand spur, bevel and worm gears on the market. In 1962, it succeeded in building up a nationwide sales network.
Takumi Inada, a former director of Kohara Gear said:
“At first, I had difficulty in having people understand what KHK stock gears really were. It took me time to get my point across. It was from around 1957 on, that KHK stock gears fared well on the market. We earned the users’ trust and the sales agents’ trust, and were able to expand the stock gear line. “
He continued, “In order to determine the type of gears to be included in stock gear line, we analyzed all orders coming in and tried to find out the need that people had then. Further, we spent some thought on it before we came to a conclusion.
Hideaki Yonehara, a former manager of Kohara Gear said:
“As the penetration of KHK stock gears on the market rose, we were able to procure up-to-date machines such as Karatsu’s gear shapers, Nihon Kikai’s 26-inch hobbing machines and Kashifuji’s KR600. Up to then we had been mostly using second hand machines. “
He continued, “The president (Tomizo) took a positive approach towards adopting cutting edge gear manufacturing machines. He told us that in order to gain users’ confidence we should always take best measures to produce quality products. ” We took over his belief and procured Gleason No.104 straight bevel Coniflex generator, Gleason No.108 hypoid generator, MAAG SD32X gear grinding machine, Reishauer gear grinder NZA, etc. “
Thus, Kohara Gear had succeeded little by little in establishing a firm position as a manufacturer specialized in stock gears.
17. The Postwar Gear Industry
There were three types of gear producers in the postwar period:
1.The one that took care of gear-cutting as a subcontractor.
2.The one that mainly produced gearboxes and speed reducers.
3.The one that carried out all the gear production process; material-sawing, turning, gear-cutting, heat treating, grinding, etc.
Of these three types, not a single gear producer belonged to the category of “big business. “
As for Kohara Gear, it fell under the type (a). The problem that the gear producers of type (a) had, in those days, was that they tended to be easily affected by the economic fluctuations. Business was at the mercy of the market. So, planning production schedules was extremely difficult for them.
Tomizo Kohara thought he must do something to improve the situation. And he decided to take action for reform at full tilt. His conclusion was that the future lay in the standardized gears. Thus, he hit on the idea of manufacturing standardized gears and then paved the way for today’s KHK stock gears.
18. Learning a Management Philosophy on His Own
Introduced here is a short essay Tomizo Kohara wrote for a magazine issued by Kawaguchi Kikai Kogyo Kyodo Kumiai (Kawaguchi Industrial Machinery Association) in 1959:
‘As you are well aware, all of our member companies fall under small and medium-sized enterprises. We, small and medium-sized enterprise, must operate business in a way different from big business. You must cut your coat according to your cloth. It is necessary that you make better use of profit that you gain to develop your business further. If your business does not earn a profit, it will soon stop operating and go bust. Therefore, you must identify the cause of disease, and root out the illness. Management is a living thing and is sometimes ruled by chance. You must use common sense and keep a sense of proportion to take effective measures to solve a problem.’
‘Bankruptcy is one of the greatest social evils of our time. It harms people. So, bankruptcy because of lax management should be avoided. If you want your business to succeed, you must plan and control operations, keeping accounts properly. You should take the break-even point into consideration for your profit-planning. You must cut down on expenses as far as possible. In any event, you should set great store on keeping the balance in the black.’
One might agree that the essay sums up a fine philosophy of Tomizo’s life. The following reminiscences also tell a story about Tomizo Kohara.
Takumi Inada, a former director of Kohara Gear said:
“He was a man of enterprise and creativity. He possessed the gift of foresight. Studying accounting by himself he used cost accounting to support his decision making. “
Kiyonao Sakasai, a former managing director of Saitama Industrial Rationalization Association said:
“Kohara-san was always thinking how to make a business more effective, and he took a positive approach towards finding out a solution once a problem arose. He was one of few persons I know who aimed at management through figures at that time. He often said ‘You need to analyze break-even point to make advantageous decisions. “
Company History – based on historic photographic album (No.19)
The words we always have in mind for better company management, is “Labor can work vigorously and can do a good job for the company with cooperation from his/her family “.
Therefore, we invite employees and their families together every time we have commemorative ceremonies. In 1977, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our company and threw a party for a recreational family meeting. The party was held in Noda Factory (The current KHK Noda Factory) a fun time for all, where there was a band to play live music, mini-golf games and more. In 1989, we had a party called the “The Family Festival” to celebrate our 50th anniversary.There was wonderful performances of Marimba players, a traditional lion dance. We also provided a space to play games like Begoma (a spinning top play) and video games, so the whole family can enjoy.
20. Contribution to the Community
While Tomizo went on a journey through life together with gears, he devoted himself to people and did much for the community.
Tomizo had exerted himself to set up Kawaguchi Industrial Machinery Association. He served many years for the association as a director. In 1961, he became the chief director and held the post for three consecutive terms.
Masao Koizumi, Tomizo’s successor as the chief director of Kawaguchi Industrial Machinery Association said:
“Tomizo-san instilled management analysis into the members of our association. He tried to persuade the members to do cost accounting to support their decision making to reduce a company’s costs and improve its profitability. He took the lead in the financing of the member companies. He often visited the member companies for examination. Thus, he contributed greatly to the machinery industry of Kawaguchi. “
From April, 1951 on, Tomizo participated in the Kawaguchi municipal government as a city council for three consecutive terms of twelve years. During that period he made a great contribution to the development of Kawaguchi city and to the promotion of the welfare of the people. His achievements include setting up a railroad station, the construction of an overpass, the improvement of a plaza in front of Kawaguchi Station, and flood control project.
Mikio Sato, the former president of Yamafuji Kogyo K.K. said:
“Mr. Kohara was the one who, as far as I know, most served for the public good. I knew he was zealous in launching a traffic safety campaign. He probably foresaw today’s traffic problem. I heard he made the donation of traffic lights.
The Fifth Class Order of the Sacred Treasure was given to Tomizo Kohara from the then Prime Minister, Eisaku Sato as an official sign of honour on the occasion of his death.
21. Devotion of Tomizo’s Wife, Fude
We can not omit his wife Fude when we talk about the life of Tomizo Kohara.
The same is true for the Koharas and for the Kohara Gear Industry Co., Ltd. Fude was born in 1906 in a countryside village. She married Tomizo in May, 1933. She reared five children, three sons and two daughters.
Fude supported Tomizo both openly and secretly since he started a company in 1935. She worked hard together with Tomizo in order to pay back his debt and to laid the foundations for Kohara Gear today. In the immediate postwar years she brought up five children while helping Tomizo’s work. When Tomizo served in important positions in his later years, she helped him from behind the scenes.
Takumi Inada, a former director of Kohara Gear, said about Fude:
“Her skill put the professionals to shame. She always kept a good countenance though, I think, there were times when she had some unpleasant experience. “
Kaneo Kohara said:
“Fude-san was a hard worker. She didn’t spare herself. With her assistance Tomizo-san was able to do the important jobs. It’s all thanks to her that he built up a fortune in his lifetime. So I think she was the true and loving helpmate of Tomizo-san.
Tomizo’s daughters Kikue and Katsuyo unanimously said:
“The mother was the mainstay of our family. She contributed greatly to the business of the father. ”
Fude ended her life on 17th of October, 1976.
22. Talking about Father
Seiji Kohara, Tomizo’s second son:
“My father was a lover of novelty. He liked a car, a camera and an 8-mm cinecamera.
He cared very much for a car. He looked extremely happy each time when he got into his new car. “
“He was a very methodical person. He always kept a record of everything he did about his business. He pigeonholed data. Now, I’m in charge of general affairs and I’m following his way. I think it would take a lot of effort for me to reach his level. “
Shoji Kohara, Tomizo’s third son:
“I heard that my father was concerned about my health as I was a delicate child.
He was very busy when I was a child, so I rarely saw him during the day. In every school event he used to give a speech before all the students of the school. I was nervous and a little embarrassed as it was my father who gave an address. As for business I heard him say our business would work out well if we could bring our stock gear business up to 40% of the whole, 60% being the piecework from the regional enterprises large and small. ”
“Now, the configuration of KHK stock gears has reached 1,500 and the percentage of stock gear business has risen up. I wonder how my father would say if he knew this. ”
Keiko Kohara, Tomizo’s daughter-in-law:
“In 1961 when I was newly-married, my father-in-law went back and forth between Nakacho factory and Nishikicho factory. He sometimes dropped in our home after he had finished his work of the day and took late-night meal. He beamed at me and said “Good! It tastes good. ” He was a warm-hearted man.
Kikue Takahashi, Tomizo’s first daughter:
“I worked for five years for my father’s company. I was in charge of accounting. So I think I am the best among my brothers and sisters to know about the father. I recall the day when my father and I, I was single then, enjoyed drinking talking about our family, the company and the future dream. He joked ‘You are a girl of marriageable age. Why don’t you walk up and down the street wearing a big red tag indicating ‘FOR SALE’ . I married in March, 1966. Four months after that he passed away. I can’t help but feel ‘If he was alive and was able to see what my husband and I are doing now.’
Katsuyo Motohashi, Tomizo’s second daughter:
“I recall the times when my father sat cross-legged with me on his lap. He used to press his cheek against mine’s and his heavy beard always prickled my cheek. As I was the youngest among my brothers and daughters I was his favorite until I was a second grader. “
“After I reached the age of reason, I rarely had conversation with him or take chow with him as he was so busy with his business. Leaving this world at 59! He must have left something unfinished. “
23. Talking about the President
Hideaki Yonehara, a former manager of Kohara Gear:
“I entered the company in 1957 when it began to make much progress. When I married in April, 1960, the president acted as our nakodo (a nakodo plays a ceremonial role at wedding). He was considerate of others. He prized me as a technician. I can not forget a day when I lived in a bachelor apartment house. He visited me that day and explained to me his plans for the future, his plans for improvement of production facilities and his plans to increase the productivity. He really had a quiet, determined temperament and a shrewd intelligence. “
Toshikatsu Yanagawa, a former employee of Kohara Gear:
“Though the president was outspoken with everyone, he was kind at heart. This is an example how he was kind to me. While I worked for the company during the daytime, I attended a night school in those days. I badly needed a pocket money to be used for shugaku ryoko (school trip for educational purposes). I wanted to borrow fifty yen in advance on my salary, but I could not broach the subject. I made up my mind and began to talk to him. To my surprise, he gave his OK gladly and said ‘Do be careful and enjoy your trip.’ I cried to myself for joy. “
Masao Ishii, a former employee of Kohara Gear:
“The president was always willing to have a talk with us or give us advice. It seemed to me that he was trying to see what the young like me had in mind.
Seiichi Nagai, a former employee of Kohara Gear:
“I was 16 when I entered the company. At first I called the president Oyakata (master).
Frankly, I’d been scared of him as I felt he was the person beyond my reach. He scolded me when I was singing a song in a loud voice in the middle of the night. The incident left a deep impression on me. Now I realize he was a great person.
Tsugio Wamuro, a former manager of Kohara Gear:
“This is a story of my awful blunder. On the first day I entered the company I was to handle a machine. Unfortunately there was an oil leak on the machine. I heard voices behind me, ‘ Hey, you! It’s leaking oil.’ So I replied, ‘Will you fix it by yourself?’
And then I looked back. Standing there was the president. He didn’t say any more, ‘cause he knew I was a new face. “
To our readers
From The Kohara Gear Story production team leader
We feel happy that we were able to showcase the life of Tomizo Kohara to a lot of people through this electronic media. The path Tomizo Kohara followed devotion to gear-making was written by Junji Sumiyoshi in 1979 and was published by Nobuharu Kohara, Tomizo’s son who was the second-generation president of Kohara Gear. We believe you caught a glimpse of what the life of Tomizo and his wife, Fude was like.
Tomizo Kohara took a lot of pictures with his Contax and Leica cameras. He also filmed scenes with his Sony 8-mm cine camera and recorded sound with his tape recorder. We used those photos and films to edit this Internet version of The Kohara Gear Story. The images appear here were scanned from the photos, and the video images appear here were converted from the 8-mm, 16-mm and 35-mm films through video editing software.
In the course of the compilation of this story, we renewed our appreciation of Tomizo Kohara’s great work.? As he kept a record of his business activities in detail, we can trace how he thought, planned and put into practice about things. His ideas that he recorded and left for us are still acceptable even today in spite of rapid change due to advent of computers. His way of thinking is a good example for us about controlling a business, on relations between workers and management, relations with customers and the community, and about something more than profit and loss. And besides, Tomizo and his wife, Fude were the loving parents of five children.
We are sure that the future successors of Tomizo Kohara and KHK will poise to continue to be a leader in the field of stock gears remembering that KHK was founded on the dreams of its founder. Ganbaro (Stick to it) towards the centenary of the founding! is our slogan for now.
Thank you for visiting www.khkgears.co.jp.