Gather Around,
See andMake
JOHNAN Founder Matsuo Yamamoto’s
Story of Three Ultimate Mindsets

Gather AroundLong ago, in the early 1930s,
there was a boy working at a clothing store in Japan.

I ate on the cold dirt floor.
I took a bath after all of them,but the housemaids had theirs much later.

Something smells good…
That’s supper.

Why?

The long day is over.
Why can’t we eat the same meal in the same room as the owner's family?
He lived in the store owner’s house.

Why are the housemaids the last to take a bath?

The boy worked from early morning to late evening.

Why do people look down on others?

After supper and bath,it was already in the middle of the night.
He crawled into his hard bed andthought back on his day.

These simple questions that came up in the boy's mind
never faded away.

8 — Mindset 1: Gather Around9

Many years later,

Each of you is blessed with amazing potential.

the boy grew up to run a business himself.

I want you to cherish your gift and nurture it through work.
Why not respect each otherfor the wonderful treasure you were born with?

The clock struck noon.

In this way, his simple questions as a boy
guided him to a table to share with all.

The workers gathered around a big table.
Time for a nice chat over lunch.
The man talked to them all at the table:

10 — Mindset 1: Gather Around11

To “Gather Around” Is the First of His Three Ultimate Mindsets

Warm corporate culture where all gather around for a friendly conversation
are in, you should respect people’s dignity and treat others as equal humanbeings.”3

Respect for people’s dignity lies at the core
When Matsuo Yamamoto opened a clothing store on his own4 at the age of 31,
Matsuo Yamamoto, the founder of JOHNAN Corporation, served his apprenticeship in his boyhood.1
In 2002, the man looked back on the days when he devoted all his time to training
to be a tradesman, saying:“I used to be an apprentice. In those days, we apprentices were not treatedas human beings. When we ate, for example, we sat with one knee raisedon the earthen floor. We were not even given a tray—a kamachi servedthat purpose. 2 I’m not sure if that was the case in all the stores, but at least
it was where I worked. Also, the food served was different. We woke up
at six in the morning and worked until eight at night. We barely had time
for ourselves after eight, but there was a set order of who could take abath: apprentices were the second from last, and housemaids were the last.
In short, there was a hierarchy: the master at the top and then the headclerks—to be more precise, the first head clerk ranked ahead of the second
head clerk and then the next—and it went all the way down to the apprentices and the housemaids. People were treated differently depending on

1
Matsuo Yamamoto was born in1917 as the eldest son of eightsiblings in Tengachaya, Tennojicho, Sumiyoshi-ku (today Nishinariku), Osaka City. When he turned
six, the family moved to Hyogo
Prefecture, and the boy graduatedfrom elementary school in Hirotani,
Yabu-cho (today Yabu City). At
14, the boy was sent out on anapprenticeship at a clothing store
in Kyoto (instead of joining an ironfactory), which his aunt arrangedout of concern that this nephew ofhers had not been in very robust
health since his infancy. Source:
Keisho Kara Hatten He (“pass it on
for further growth”) (pp. 16–17,
1993)
2
The dishes were placed directlyon the kamachi, or the edge ofthe passage floor where people
stepped from the earthen floor
where they took off their shoes
and left them.

3

12 — Mindset 1: Gather Aroundposition he was in.
“I opened a clothing store, and it grew to have over a dozen clerks. They
called me boss, but I always ate the same meals as they did—never anythingelse. That was my firm conviction.”5
He later established JOHNAN Electric Co., Ltd., where he consistently followed

town that flourished with paperand silk fabric manufacturingindustries, the founder started aclothing business, which he learned
about during his apprenticeshipin Kyoto. While the company
performed well as a retailer ofready-made clothes, it later also
expanded its marketing network as
a tailor specializing in menswear;
the founder (aged 31 at the time)
liked making things with his own
hands.
5
Quoted from Korekara (p. 35,
2002)

the policy he had developed out of his childhood experience as an apprentice: tomaintain a warm corporate culture where all workers gather around a table toshare a meal and friendly conversation.
“When I set up this company, I thought the same things as I had before:
to embrace a spirit of respect for people’s dignity; create a warm humane
culture across the company; and encourage employees to respect each otherand fulfill their responsibilities. These are my personal convictions, so I neverchange my attitude wherever I go, in our firm or elsewhere. When I visit
some other company, I bow to the female receptionists there and greet them

their rank, and the gap seemed to me to be too wide.
This experience gave me the strong impression that whatever position you

he turned this determination into action: to respect people’s dignity whatever

4
In Yoka-cho, Hyogo Prefecture, a

Quoted from Korekara (“toward
the future”) (pp. 34–35, 2002)

as politely as I do to the president of that company. Once I promise something to someone, I faithfully keep it whoever the person may be. I believe

13that such consistency wins people’s hearts and minds, and ends up gaining
support for our business.” 6

6
Quoted from Korekara (pp. 35–36,
2002)

The warm corporate culture flowing from mutual respect and the founder’s words
and deeds emanating out of respect for people’s dignity in all situations haveopened up close connections with a variety of people.
Kazuo Inaba, who joined JOHNAN (in 1972) in its infancy, says in retrospect thatfinished work by noon. They
enjoyed tea and cake, and listened
to some words from the Bible.
Source: Back to a Venture (p. 20,
2012)
8-1

er’s personality.

Quoted from Back to a Venture (p.
20, 2012)“Along the pathway from the parking lot, managers from Matsushita werestanding to show guests the way to the party venue. He stopped to bow
to and greet every one of them, while all the other company presidents
just strode along proudly with their heads high. Those who went withhim, including me, felt awkward and wanted to walk away quickly, but helowered his head and stood as still as a statue,” Inaba recalls, smiling at the
memory, “showing his appreciation for each of the managers, saying, ‘Thankyou for your warm welcome in such cold weather.’ He was a man of suchcareful consideration.” 8— respect for people’s dignity, a warm culture, and fulfilling responsibilities

7
On Christmas Day, the workers

the corporate culture was very homey. He also shares his memories of the found7

Mindset 1: Gather Around

8-2

Whatever position you are in, you should respect people’s dignity—behind
this firm belief of Matsuo Yamamoto lay his childhood experience of thedining table as an apprentice (his bitter experience of not being treated asa person and not being allowed to share the table).

Q.
What do you think it means tofulfill your responsibilities as aperson or as a worker?
Please take a moment to think
before moving on to Mindset 2.

Out of this personal creed, the founder of JOHNAN formed Mindset 1:
Gather Around, to be more specific, gather around the dining table, with

The New Year’s party in 1972
(commemorating the fifth
anniversary of JOHNAN’s
founding) gave a glimpse of thefounder’s policy of respecting
people’s dignity and gathering
around a table to share a meal. The
venue was a prefab building on thepremises, which was temporarily

which he fostered a warm corporate culture where all people, whether

named “Matsukaze Tei,” as if itwere a fancy restaurant. After apolicy speech, everyone enjoyed athe people gathering around the table would increase in variety—workers

inside or outside the company, could engage in heart-to-heart conversations on the job as companions.
This story of the founder’s mindsets began with what the boy felt at his
humble “dining table.” As the story unfolds with the evolution of JOHNAN,
and their families, competitors producing similar parts, and new businesssocial gathering over sukiyaki anda chicken hotpot. Source: Keisho

partners—and so would the products they gathered around to produce. A

Kara Hatten He (p. 51, 1993)

milestone in this journey would be his encounter with God.

While JOHNAN expanded its business domain and grew in size, the underlying
mindset of “gathering around” never waned.

The founder hoped that the people who gathered around at JOHNAN would
fulfill their responsibilities. What responsibilities should they fulfill? Well, you may
find out what he meant by looking deeply into the next mindset.

14 — Mindset 1: Gather Around

15

See

After returning home from the battlefront,

My encounters with so many people and their support

the young man set up a company.

have made me who I am today.
Maybe all the difficulty and pain in my life’s journey

How fortunate I was . . .

have been given to me by divine intervention so that I may overcome them.

He couldn’t believe his luck.

“God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,

The long, painful war was finally over,

but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape,and he was home again, safe and alive.

that you may be able to endure it.”Now as a businessman,he came up against one problem after another.

Every time the man came across God’s words,
he was struck with awe, braced himself up, andIt’s as if something invisible is guiding me through it all.
He realized with a start.

received the strength to confront his difficulties.
My life and sufferings are all gifts from Him.
A realization that he lived under divine guidance
filled up the man’s heart with deep gratitude.

22 — Mindset 2: See

23

The man’s wish to feel God closer to him

Each of us has been given great potential and a mission from Heaven.

led him to daily prayers.

Aren’t we responsible forbeing aware of these gifts and making the best use of them?
The man wrote a lot in his diary, engaging in repeated dialogues with God.

One day,
the man was fascinated by an image of the Earth seen from outer space.

God has given us responsibilities to fulfill, andThe blue planet was floating and sparkling in the vastness of space.

our missions from Heaven lead society to a better place.
I hope to figure out my company’s mission and complete it.

How beautiful . . .
I never realized we are given such a beautiful world to live in.
If this planet, and the destinies and ordeals in life are blessings from Heaven,This wish of the founder has been passed on

I suppose each of us, who has been given life in this world, including me,

as a guiding light in the operation of the company.

has our own mission to fulfill.
A new question took shape in his mind.
The man looked deeply into himself and asked the question to God:

24 — Mindset 2: See

25

“See” a Wider View and Take a New Look at
How an Individual and an Organization Should Be

view that the world was created by God.

The man became aware of the invisible world

Individuals should make the best use of their potential

After serving in a couple of wars in his young adulthood and running a clothing
store, Matsuo Yamamoto, the founder of JOHNAN Electric Co., Ltd., started toembrace Christianity. His Christian faith grew into a very solid foundation for his
1life, career and management philosophy.
“My faith in God has been my greatest support over the past 40 years: to thisday, it has calmed my anxieties about business operations and has been thepillar of my inner life. Christianity has made me realize that there is something other than the visible, physical world—an invisible world where you
can do nothing without the hand of God. Such faithfulness from God has
been a steady rock for me.”2

1“I was born into a family of the
Buddhist faith. Besides, as theeldest son, I was responsible
for the memorial services forour ancestors. So, at first, I had
difficulty accepting Christianity. My
children started going to church
first, and then my wife did [. . .] As
I hit middle age, I was interested in
how we should live and where wego after death. It would be too bad
if our family couldn’t meet again in
the afterlife. So I thought maybe Ishould go to church once.” Quoted
from Korekara (pp. 20–21, 2002)
2
Quoted from Korekara (p. 20, 2002)

He says that each person is blessed with great potential and is therefore responsible for realizing this potential and making the best use of it.
“You must not leave your great potential undeveloped. If we join handswith each other and each of us spares no effort to live a better life in a goodenvironment, I’m sure we will be able to move mountains.” 4
The chapter on Mindset 1 quoted the founder’s wish that individuals would
respect each other’s dignity and “fulfill their responsibilities.” Behind these words
lay his belief that each person should realize that great potential in their bodyand mind 5 are blessings from God, and is responsible for making active efforts tomake the best use of their potential, as mentioned above.

4
Quoted from Joyu (1988)
5“In spiritual harmony and heartto-heart communication lies thepromise of future progress. To
put it plainly, business is a battle.
Tomorrow is not promised. However,
we are equally blessed with a bodyand wisdom from God, and it isentirely up to you whether you use
them or waste them.” Quoted from
Joyu (1990)“When I say my prayers, I often feel that God is supporting me physicallyand spiritually with His great hands. I am overwhelmed with gratitude toHim. Looking back over the 40 years since the start of the company, I’m

The organization found its mission under supernatural guidance

deeply aware that my Christian faith has consistently supported me up
until now.”3

Matsuo Yamamoto developed his thinking about how an individual and an organization should be, not only from a business perspective but also from the wider

26 — Mindset 2: See

3
Quoted from Korekara (p. 23, 2002)

If each member of an organization accepts the workings of the universe givenby the Creator and fulfills their responsibility for making the best use of theirgreat potential, the organization will, under supernatural guidance, figure out

27its mission and how the organization should be, as Matsuo Yamamoto learned
through experience.
“While I served in the war,6 I fell into a life-and-death situation many times
and wondered if I would see tomorrow or not. This experience taught methat no matter what the situation may be, no one can live entirely on theirown. [. . .] I went to war twice and returned safely twice, but this was notwhat I had arranged for. Actually, there was various supernatural guidance
behind it. [. . .] I just want you to know that there is something powerful likea destiny or some workings that are invisible to you.” 7“I saw a picture of the Earth taken by a camera on the Space Shuttle
Discovery. Our planet was floating and sparkling beautifully in the pitch
darkness of space, and I was touched every time I set my eyes on the picture.
We people today are lucky and happy to be able to feel familiar with themysteries of the universe while sitting in the comfort of our home. That is
nothing but the work of God, and it takes my breath away.” 8“As I spent my days praying to God and receiving encouragement to makeproducts, my mission as a maker and my mission as an entrepreneur 9 took
shape within me, and I started to devote more serious thoughts to encounters between people.” 10

6
When Matsuo Yamamoto was 20,
the Sino-Japanese War broke out.
As a member of the 40th Tottori

Mindset 2: See— workings of the universe, supernatural guidance, and missions

Infantry Regiment, he served in
the war for one-and-a-half years.
Six months later, he was called up
again, but thanks to Major General
Kataoka’s thoughtful consideration,
the young foot soldier received
preferential treatment as the eldest
son of his family and returned to his
homeland before the war was over.

How should a person, an employee, a company and society be? How do theworld and the universe work? Through the process of deepening his cosmic
perspective, Matsuo Yamamoto formed Mindset 2: see, to be more specific,
see a broader view. When individuals and organizations accept the work-

Source: Keisho Kara Hatten He (p.
17–18, 1993)

ings of the universe, they will figure out their missions under supernatural

7

contains his thoughts related to this mindset as well as verses quoted from

Quoted from Korekara (p. 227–228,
2002)
8
Quoted from Joyu (1999)

guidance. His journal, in which he wrote a lot especially in his closing years,
the Bible.
Religion tends to be considered that which helps one look into one’s inner

9
Masaru Yamamoto (JOHNAN’s
second president) shared the words

self and ask oneself how one should be. In the case of Matsuo Yamamoto,of the late founder in an interview(in 2018): “He used to say, ‘You may
wish to do this and that, but you

given by God.

won’t be able to do it no matter
how hard you try unless God and
His will are behind it.’ He pointed
out one more thing: ‘The purposeof business is to demonstrate theit seems that religion also helped him communicate with the invisible world

His journal served as a channel through which he reflected on himself andfelt sure of the unchanging workings of people, the world and the universe
amid all the changes of the times.

Q.
Do you have a channel throughwhich you can have a deep
dialogue with yourself or a place toexchange thoughts and ideas withothers to look back on yourself?
Q.
What channel or place is it?

glory of God. A company does
not grow in order to fatten the
pockets of the management. A
company does not exist for the

In the following pages, you will look deeply into the third and last mindset of thepersonal greed of the founder or
the president.’”

founder, with which one should look at the world from a broad point of view andaim to do something no one has ever done.

10
Quoted from Joyu (1988)

28 — Mindset 2: See

29

Make

Some encounters inspired the man to take a new step forward.

The man met people who worked with integrity.
He was impressed by the way they worked and wanted to do so himself.
This is how I should be.

This is it!

Day after day, they produced electronic parts with integrity and enthusiasm.
As a maker, they worked hard with their soul and prayers
to make sure that they offer the best products.

The man encountered world-changing technology.
He took the path of pouring his heart and soul

Our love and life reside

into making new products.

within every item we make.
May the products be of service to the world.

I’m going to make this my lifetime work.

The man devoted his whole life to this work.

36 — Mindset 3: Make37

As the man went through life with the company,
he always told himself to do the following:
Treat others with respect.
Carry out the mission given to you.
Make products with your soul and prayers.

I’m sure that as we push ourselves ahead like this,
there will be a light to guide our way,
and doors will open up for us.

These daily deeds ended up earning trust from others,
and helped the company out of crises.
A close connection
with people leads to business opportunities.
The man believed that
if all who came together reached their full potential,
there would be power to create something new.

38 — Mindset 3: Make

39

With the “Make” Something New Mindset,
JOHNAN Keeps Striving to Open up New Frontiers“Believe that inanimate objects have a life of their own. Within each object,even an electric part, resides the love and life of the person who madeit. If you put your soul and prayers into the parts you make, they are notmere objects but things with life in them. Conduct manufacturing with thisBe aware of your calling from Heaven and see the job throughattitude, and you will naturally feel like taking good care of the machines
and materials. Then, you will have products of excellent quality, with noThe founder’s encounter with a world-changing technology inspired him with the1third mindset: make, or to be more specific, aim for something no one has everdone to make new values.
“The moment I saw the job offer [for transistor component assembly], I felt
my heart burn with passion. I was convinced that I was meant for the job,and I put all my energy into it. Then I made up my mind to do it as my lifetime job and never to go back to the clothing business. In those days, I wasjust starting in my Christian faith. I prayed every day, ‘Dear Lord, please letme keep this job for the rest of my life as my calling from Heaven.’” 2

1
The founder looked back on
his encounter with transistors,
saying, “I was once in Yoka Town’s
volunteer fire department. One of
the members of its branch, a sonof a wholesale dealer in Toshiba
products, brought transistor samples
to our meeting one day and asked
me whether I had ever seen suchthings before. I said I hadn’t, andasked what they were. He said they
were called “transistors,” and thatthey were not on the market yet
but would take the place of vacuum
tubes in the future. That was myfirst encounter with transistors, andI remember it very clearly. You may
call it a strange fate.” Quoted from
Korekara (p. 11, 2002)
2
Quoted from Korekara (pp.186–
187, 2002)

Make products with all your soul and prayers

defects.” 3

3
Quoted from Joyu (1995)“When I delivered products, I always thanked the clients and also prayedthat the products would be of service. What about you? With what feelingdo you deliver products and have clients purchase them?” 4

4
Quoted from Joyu (1995)“Clients’ expectations motivate us to make products with passion and joy.
Then, our expertise grows, and our efforts bear fruit in the form of excellent
products.” 55
Quoted from Joyu (1990)

This attitude toward manufacturing as well as the excellent quality of theresulting products formed a close connection with those involved and opened up
business opportunities and relations with new business partners.
“When there was no prospect of getting another loan and we were doomed,
the president and other executives of Matsushita Electronics Corporation,
one of our business partners, extended to us the biggest helping hand at

The founder pushed forward with manufacturing as his calling from Heaven. He

the last minute. When they found out about our plight, they did us a special

seriously pondered what high quality products were, and poured all his soul andfavor—they examined our situation and gave us guidance and a chance toprayers into them.

get back on our feet. I can never forget how thankful I was. […] Every time I

40 — Mindset 3: Make41

look back on it, I am filled with deep gratitude for the strange fate and their

6
Quoted from Korekara (pp. 16–17,

thoughtful consideration.”6

2002)

able to endure it.’ (1 Corinthians

Mindset 3: Make
— figure out your calling from Heaven, exert all your effort, and make something new

10:13)” Quoted from Korekara (pp.
22–23, 2002)
9
Quoted from Korekara (p. 190,

His encounter with transistors led Matsuo Yamamoto to his calling from2002)

Heaven. Based on his own passion, the founder stressed that you should put

Accomplish your mission and aim for something new

all your soul and prayers into your work. Beyond such devotion, he asked
The founder strove to make things that were completely new to most people. For

7example, the company opened Kohitsuji Nursery School, introduced a widow’s

In April 1972, JOHNAN established
an in-house nursery with a cuteallowance,7 and produced photovoltaic cells. He believed that if he fulfilled his

name (“Kohitsuji” means “lamb”),
inspired by childcare centers thatmission despite various obstacles and ordeals 8 and aimed for something new,churches ran as an incidental
charitable business across Japan.
To single mothers working for the

doors would open up for him.
“I’m afraid that JOHNAN Electric will remain a subcontractor forever at thisrate. Well, it’s not too bad to remain as it is—we partner with respectablecompanies, and that’s really something. As long as we stick to them andmeet our responsibilities as their partner, we can manage the company quite
well, but that wouldn’t be fulfilling from a human viewpoint. So we should
add something new. I’d like to hear someone say someday that JOHNANElectric has created something great besides working on semiconductors andelectronic parts. That’s my dream, and we should aim that high.”

9company, JOHNAN also gave awidow’s allowance, which was atleast as much as a full attendancebonus. These systems, which were
unprecedented in those days, were
natural expressions of the founder’scompassion and warm personality.
Decades later, he met one of theinfants who were taken care of at
this facility again when she was past
30. She talked to him nostalgically
about it, and he was “deeply
touched” by the reunion. Source:
Keisho Kara Hatten He (p. 52, 1993)8“I often suffer ordeals, so I am
cheered up by these words fromthe Bible: ‘God is faithful, andHe will not let you be tempted

42 — Mindset 3: Make

himself and the employees to aim for something new, or something that noone has ever done.
In this way, through dialogues with God, the founder built a vision (way oflooking at the world),10 which was neither naive idealism nor harsh realism
but a good balance between the two, and promoted Mindset 3: make, or to
be more specific, make new values.

These three mindsets (Gather Around, See and Make) are interlinked. Each of
us should respect people’s dignity and fulfill our responsibilities. Regardless ofwhether you are an employee or an executive, you should always have a cosmic

10
The word “vision” may remind
you of a corporate vision, but inChristianity, it means a vision ofsomething that is not there atthat moment but is presented toa prophet by God as a new path
to follow. In that sense, throughhis repeated dialogues with God,the founder built a vision (wayof looking at the world) to makesomething new.

perspective and keep your view wide open. Fueled by your vision and the passionthat wells up in you, you should make something new to bring it to the world.
It is important to keep all three mindsets at the same time in any situation, evenamid an inner conflict. This ultimate, multifaceted way of thinking is unique to thefounder of JOHNAN.

beyond your ability, but with thetemptation He will also provide

Cherishing the founder’s three mindsets as an unchanging core of the JOHNAN

the way of escape, that you may beWay, we shall combine our efforts to create a new version of JOHNAN.

Q.
What vision (way of looking at theworld) do you want to build? With
whom do you want to fulfill it?

43Gather Around, See and Make
JOHNAN Founder Matsuo Yamamoto’s Story of Three Ultimate Mindsets
Date of publication

March 31, 2020

Publisher

JOHNAN Corporation
1-28 Narute, Okubo-cho, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan 611-0033

Planner and editor

Editorial Engineering Laboratory Co., Ltd.

Allegory author

Yoko Maru

Illustrator

Kaita Abe

Designer

Kota Abe

Biblical content support Katsuhiro Kohara (the School of Theology, Doshisha University)
Fact check support

Ichiryubakusha

Editorial support

Recruit Management Solutions Co., Ltd.
Recruit Communications Co., Ltd.

Copyright © 2020 JOHNAN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

The “Pursue the JOHNAN Way” project“Pursue the JOHNAN Way” is an R&D project that started in 2018. It aims to trace the company’s roots that
underlie the JOHNAN of today; extract and express what makes the company JOHNAN; and envision an evenbetter version of the company. As the core of the JOHNAN Way, the project focuses on the sense of value
the JOHNAN founder Matsuo Yamamoto developed. The project team has collected anecdotes about him,
episodes in his life, and entries in his journals; sorted them out; and compiled them into specific phrases andallegories, including the “Three Ultimate Mindsets” and the “Five Views.” The team has also produced thispicture book, a JOHNAN Way learning database, and other tools to share his sense of value with people insideand outside the company. These resources are also used in the “Pursue the JOHNAN Way Seminar,” a training
program mainly for the management and managerial staff.
The project encourages each person to apply the founder’s sense of value (the core of the JOHNAN Way) totheir own decision making, response to changes, and dealing with inner conflict. Besides these activities, thecompany will continue to pursue the JOHNAN Way, which develops with the times. Join us in the journey.