はしがき
本書が紹介する 15 社のうちほとんどの企業は学生諸君にとってなじみがあるだけでなく、名前を聞いただけでその企業のブランドイメージが鮮明に浮かぶであろう。
ホンダといえば、創業者は本田宗一郎氏だが、本田氏の技術へのこだわりは２輪のオートバイから４輪自動車、さらに小型ジェット機へと受け継がれている。本田氏がオートバ
イを開発するに至った理由が、自転車に取り付ける小型エンジンの在庫がなくなったからだったということを知ると驚かされる。「クロネコヤマト」の愛称で親しまれている宅急便というサービスを考え、個人向けの宅配便を日本で最初に定着させたのは小倉昌男氏である。小倉氏もまた宅急便のヒントを極めて身近なところから得ている。さらには、今や国民のほとんどの人が知っている即席ラーメンを世界で初めて開発したのが日清食品の安藤百福氏だが、その安藤氏もまた即席ラーメン開発のヒントを自宅の台所で見出している。
これら３人の創業者をはじめ本書で扱った15人の業種は様々だが、共通しているのは、既成の概念を打ち破って国民や社会が真に望んでいるものを嗅覚鋭く探り当て、果てしない努力と忍耐、そして試行錯誤の末、独自のアイデアを商品化に導き成功させていることである。しかも成功した後も慢心せず、さらなる創意工夫によって改良・改善を続けている点も見逃せない。一人一人の成功への道程は、数多くの試練や挫折、そして光明のひらめきを伴っており、それぞれが個性豊かで読む者の心をつかんで離さない。その理由は、本書がそれぞれの創業者が自身の口で語った真実の話にもとづいているからである。
各章の最初のページでは、創業者が基礎を築いた企業の概況と英文で触れていない創業者に関するユニークなエピソードなどを紹介している。次に、800 語前後からなる英文で、各創業者の幼年期から青年期までの生い立ちや経験、創業者のものの考え方や創業分野を決める際に大きな影響を与えた出来事や人物、さらには創業者が手掛けた製品やサービスを開発し成功させるまでの話などを載せている。
英文は TOEIC に頻繁に出題される単語を多数配した上、読解能力の向上に不可欠な多様な構文を散りばめてある。練習問題も読解能力の向上に結びつくよう、内容の理解度を的確に測る問題と TOEIC によく出題される語彙に関する問題を設けた。
日本社会がこれまで経験したことがないほどの閉塞感に覆われている現在、日本人に最も求められているのはチャレンジ精神ではないだろうか。その意味で様々な分野で社会が求める商品やサービスを艱難辛苦の末、一から創り上げた創業者達のサクセス・ストーリーを読むことは我々に少なからぬ感動と勇気を与えてくれることと思う。
本書は主に日本経済新聞連載の「私の履歴書」を参考にし、15 社からのご協力のもと完成した。資料や写真を快くご提供いただき、ご多忙のなか問い合わせに応じていただいた各企業の皆さまに厚く御礼申し上げたい。
著者

Great Japanese Entrepreneurs

15 Successful Leaders in Business
TableofContents

Unit 1

Soichiro Honda 本田宗一郎 1
本田技研工業株式会社

Unit 2

Masao Ogura 小倉昌男 7
ヤマトホールディングス株式会社

Unit 3

Kazuo Inamori 稲盛和夫 13
京セラ株式会社

Unit 4

Tadao Yoshida 𠮷田忠雄 19
YKK 株式会社

Unit 5

Momofuku Ando 安藤百福 25
日清食品ホールディングス株式会社

Unit 6

Konosuke Matsushita 松下幸之助 31
パナソニック株式会社

Unit 7

Riichi Ezaki 江崎利一 37
江崎グリコ株式会社

Unit 8

Akio Morita 盛田昭夫 43
ソニー株式会社

Unit 9Masataka Taketsuru 竹鶴政孝 49
ニッカウヰスキー株式会社

Unit 10

Koichi Tsukamoto 塚本幸一 55
株式会社ワコールホールディングス

Unit 11

Yoshiko Shinohara 篠原欣子 61
テンプホールディングス株式会社

Unit 12

Minoru Shirota 代田 稔 67
株式会社ヤクルト本社

Unit 13Junzo Kashiyama 樫山純三 73
株式会社オンワード樫山

Unit 14

Minoru Yoneyama 米山 稔 79
ヨネックス株式会社

Unit 15

Makoto Iida 飯田 亮 85
セコム株式会社

Unit1

本田 宗一郎（1906‑1991）

Soichiro Honda
本田技研工業株式会社

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

ホンダは現在、 2 輪オートバイの分野で他のメーカーの追随を許さないくらいの強い地位を確立し、 4 輪自動車では環境や安全性に十分配慮しつつ、個性が際立つような車作りを目指している。
さらに近年、小型ジェット機の分野にも進出しており、すでに多くの受注を獲得しているという。エンジンが自社製による開発で、機体も自社製というのは世界でも珍しいらしく、改めてホンダの技術力に驚かされる。

このような現在のホンダの礎を築いた本田宗一郎とはどのような人だったのか。技術屋というイメージが強いかもしれないが、経営者として備えるべき資質も兼ね備えていたのではないかと思われる。終戦後ガソリン不足で自動車は使えず、汽車やバスなど交通機関も混雑がひどい中、小型エンジン付きモーターバイクなら売れるだろうと、世の中の需要を見抜いた鋭い読みが見事に的中する。
1959年、ロスアンゼルスにアメリカンホンダモーターカンパニーを設立した際、代理店との話し合いの中で売り上げ台数を相手側が年間台数と考えたが、本田氏は月間台数のつもりであったという。この強気の背景には、レジャーを目的とした輸送手段としてのアメリカ人の志向が、すでに自動車からオートバイに移っていることを本田氏が強く感じていたことが挙げられる。また、新製品のための設備投資をする前に、市場に出した時の反応をよく見極めたうえで一気に資本を投じるという考えも経営者として合理的な判断と言えよう。
本田宗一郎は技術屋の反面、豪放磊落な性格を表すようなエピソードの数々を自ら開陳している。他人に隙を見せるような雰囲気を醸し出すことも経営者としての魅力なのかもしれない。おそらく社長として君臨していた期間、社員をはじめ一般大衆からも愛されていたのではないか。

1

R eading

DL 02

The Honda logo is visible in streets all over the world.
Soichiro Honda, founder of the world-famous company, wasCD1-02 〜

CD1-10logo「ロゴタイプ（会社名などをマークのように表現したもの）」

born in the Iwata District of Shizuoka Prefecture. Being
the son of a blacksmith, Honda was familiar with metal
5

blacksmith「鍛冶屋」

and metal products from an early age.
Even before starting elementary school, he possessed astrong interest in machines and engines. Four kilometersfrom his home, there was a rice shop that used a machinefor polishing rice. The youngster was attracted to the10sounds of the machine and the smell of oil in the shop. Not
far from the shop was a factory where logs were cut. There,
he could not resist watching and listening to the saws as
they cut the logs. Just watching machines in operation wasenough to make him happy.

could not resist「〜がたまらなく好きだった」
saws「のこぎり」

As he grew up,

15

Honda longed towork in the car
repair industry. So
one day, he decided20

to write to a repair
firm called ArtCompany&in

the hope of being
accepted as an apprentice there. His heart leapt with joy
25

when they offered him a position in Tokyo. Arriving in thecapital, his heart was filled with a strong desire to workon cars, but the fact was that his sole responsibility was totake care of a baby. There was a big difference between thejob to which he had aspired and the reality he faced.

30

Six months into the job, his boss asked him to help repair
a car. This was Honda’s first experience of fixing a car andhe never forgot the deep emotion he felt. Then, to his relief,
he began to do more repair work and spent less time withthe baby. However, he later realized that taking care of the2apprentice「見習い工」

baby for half a year had brought him tremendous benefits.
He commented that in the long run there is no such thing
as “waste” in one’s life. His words suggest that everythingin life is a learning experience that has value.
5

At the age of 18, his boss gave him an assignment inMorioka to repair the engine of a fire truck. When hearrived at the fire station, the staff, including the headof the fire station, looked concerned about whether or not
the young man could do the job properly. Over three days,

10

Honda worked diligently, taking the engine apart andrepairing it. Everyone was surprised when the engine
started up smoothly, and their worried expressions
suddenly changed into those of respect. Returning to hisaccommodation, he found that his ordinary room had been

15

upgraded to the best one.

upgrade「格上げをする」

Working at Art & Company for six years, Honda mastered
how to build, repair, and drive cars. Then, at 22, he opened
his own branch garage in Hamamatsu. Business was slow
at first but he soon built up a reputation for being able to fix
20

cars that other garages could not. Car owners had spreadthe rumor that any car could be repaired at his particulargarage.
Even though the garage had been doing well, he closed
it after six years and established Tokaiseiki Inc. in order25

to produce piston rings. This was a step forward — fromrepairing to manufacturing. However, the step waspiston rings「ピストンリング」

no easy task. He and a senior member of his staff, Mr.
Miyamoto, often worked until midnight, and sometimes
slept in the factory when they were extremely tired. With30

over fifty employees but no products to sell, Honda used
up most of his savings and even exchanged some of hissavings「貯蓄」

wife’s possessions for money in order to keep the businessrunning. It took nine months, but on November 20th, 1937
he finally succeeded in making a good piston ring. Then35

disaster struck. In 1945, a huge earthquake in Hamamatsu
destroyed his factory. At this point, he sold his company toUnit 1

Soichiro Honda

3

Toyota Inc. for ¥450,000.
With money from the sale, Honda enjoyed himself,drinking sake and playing shogi. Then he hit upon aunique idea. Small engines had been used as parts of5communications equipment during the war, and he could
buy them cheaply. He purchased and attached these engines

communicationsequipment「通信機」

to bicycles and the “mopet” was born. This bicycle with anengine sold like hotcakes as public transport was crowded
and not very reliable, and gasoline for cars was in short
10supply. In fact, it sold so well that the engines completely
ran out of stock. However, as “Necessity is the mother ofsold like hotcakes「飛ぶように売れた」

not…reliable「乗れるかどうかの保証もないし、発着の時間も当てにならない」

invention,” Honda made an engine on his own. His problem
was solved and production of the mopet increased from afew hundred to one thousand a month.
15

This success prompted him to fulfill another of hisdreams. In 1949, Honda built “Dream D,” the world’s firstmotorcycle with a 2-cycle (98cc) engine and its own body.
Clearly, the power behind achieving this and his otherdreams lay in Soichiro’s perseverance.

42-cycle engine「２サイクルエンジン」

lay in「〜にかかっていた」

C omprehension Check
本文

内容合、英文

完成

適当

質問答選。

1. The effect that machines had on Soichiro Honda as a child wasa. to make him feel sick and unwell.
b. enough to attract him to saws.
c. to fill him with pleasure.
d. caused by the smell of bad oil.
2. Looking after a baby was a good experience for Honda because
a. it was his dream job.
b. he learned something valuable.
c. he didn’t like to repair cars with his boss.
d. it had caused him to lose his desire to work on cars.
3. In Morioka, the reason he received a better room was due to the fact thata. the head of the fire station was concerned about him.
b. he paid more money for an upgrade.
c. it was a surprise from his boss.
d. he had gained respect for doing a good job.
4. When he established Tokaiseiki Inc.,a. Honda and Mr. Miyamoto slept in the factory to save money.
b. it made an immediate profit from sales of piston rings.
c. piston rings were much harder to make than Honda had thought.
d. Mr. Miyamoto was the only member of his staff.
5. Why was the mopet so popular?
a. Because trains, buses and cars could not be relied upon.
b. Because it was sold with hot cakes.
c. Because there was no shortage of engines for the bikes.
d. Because their engines allowed people to communicate with each other.

Unit 1

Soichiro Honda5V ocabulary Builder
以下空欄

当語

1. Our team is not、a 〜 d選

this kind of new marketing strategy.

a. familiar withb. similar to

2. She hopes to join a law

c. interesting ind. likely toafter graduating from college in Chicago.

b. industry

a. company。

c. officed. firm

3. The employees are basically content with a high salary and goodb. payment

a. profitsc. benefits.

d. insurance

4. Such a big investment seems to be risky at the moment, but it will return agreat profit.

a. in vainc. in the short termb. in the long run

d. in a row

5. The personnel manager wassome employees’ poor performance

ratings.
a. concerning withc. concerned about

b. worried ofd. worry about

6. There are now
a. signs

that the poor economy is improving.

b. imagesc. shows

d. exhibitions

7. We are afraid that it will take longer to deliver the item to you as we arerunningright now.

a. out of stockc. out of service

b. out of orderd. out of question

8. Owing to rising interest in a healthy lifestyle, the number of people whohave quit smoking has been rapidly
a. decreasing

6b. improving

in major countries in the world.
c. increasingd. exclusing