Chapter 9
Quality Control Starts and Ends
with Education

9.1 Leadership in the Establishment and Management of Various Seminars of
JUSE
Since the “QC Basic Course” was created at JUSE in 1949, the number of QC
Seminars developed, has amounted to more than 20, up to the present. There is no
seminar course which does not include the name of Prof. Ishikawa.
In his book, What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way, Prof. Ishikawa
says:“Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics etc. are common in the world. In “Quality
Control” on the other hand, which includes the term as “Control”, human and social
elements have a profound impact, and no matter how superior a way the U.S.A. andthe U.K. deploy it, it would never go well, in Japan as it is. In any case, we must
develop the method, called the Japanese Way.”The goal of Prof. Ishikawa seemed be to establish the Japanese way in Quality
Control. His active career and success in the field of Quality Control was implemented
mainly through JUSE.
At the “QC Basic Course”, Prof. Ishikawa called into account how to foster QC
engineers and QC instructors in the company, and at the “QC Seminar Special Course
for Senior Management “(1957–) held in Karuizawa, he emphasized the necessity andthe efficacy of Quality Control. At the “DOE Seminar Introductory Course” (1962–),
Prof. Ishikawa showed a knack for making use of statistical methods and design ofexperiments in the workplace, and at the “QCC Basic Course for Foremen” (FBC,
1967–), he taught QC methods and roles for foremen and supervisors, which fit in thefront line of the workplace. In the late 1960’s, and early 1970’s, where QC expanded on
a company-wide level, Prof. Ishikawa served as the steering committee chair for the“QC Seminar for the Sales department” (ETC, later EQC, 1968–) and the “QC Seminar

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

for the Purchasing and procurement departments” (KTC, later KQC, 1971–). When it
comes to seminars for QC Circle, as the President of “QC Circle Cruising Seminar”(1973–) and at the “QC Circle seminar for Top Management” (1973–), he talked
passionately about respect for humanity, and self- and mutual development.
In addition to the above mentioned seminars, his guidance and cooperation wereextended to the “QC Seminar Manager Course” (MC, 1955–), the “Design ofExperiment Seminar” (DE, 1955–), the “QC Seminar Special Course for Top
Management” (1962–), etc. as well as courses other than QC.
(Yoshihito Soma)(1) The QC Basic Course and the Ishikawa School

As described in 8.1, this seminar, which was derived from the Quality Control
Research Group started in 1948, was conducted with 39 participants from 13 companies,
for the duration of 30 days, in total, 2 or 3 days each month from September, 1949 toAugust, 1950, in the form of a Research Group. The course is commonly known as BC,
representing the initials of Basic Course. After that, the course has continued to takeplace to this day as one week a month for 6 months duration with the accumulated
number of participants at over 20,000, which is regarded as the core of QC education in
Japan.
The names of Prof. Shigeru Mizuno, Mr. Masao Goto, Mr. Shin Miura, Mr. Eizo
Watanabe, Prof. Tatsuo Kawata, Prof. Heihachi Sakamoto, Prof. Masao Kogure, Prof.
Eizaburo Nishibori, Prof. Sigeiti Moriguti, Mr. Takeshi Kayano, Prof. Kinichiro Saito,
Mr. Den Hanada, Prof. Motosaburo Masuyama, Prof. Hidehiko Azuma, etc. can be seen
as lecturers of the first program, who established the present day Japanese Quality
Control. In the course, literature which came from overseas, was mainly introduced.
Prof. Ishikawa participated from October, in the 1st BC. His first lecture wasmainly to introduce W.B. Rice’s book Control Chart on 21st July, 1950. Along with thestart of BC, the “QC Research Group (QCRG)” meeting was held every month toprepare the course materials and workplaces.
There were note-takers in BC who took a record of lecture summaries, which werecompiled to be distributed to participants as a monthly report, on the following month.
The report was 40 to 50 pages long, mimeographed on coarse paper. The monthly report,of which front cover was titled “Statistical Quality Control,” included, not only records,
but also a series of articles. It is not clear why this note-taker system was introduced in
BC. In most cases, pupils of the lecturers or promising young students were requested toserve as a note-taker, who could join the seminar free of charge, in return for preparing
214

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

the minutes, called the monthly report. Among note-takers, a motivated person ofquality was appointed as a lecturer for team-based research group activities, from thesecond term. We established a system of adopting the best of the selected, to take chargeof the lectures for the courses later. This became one of the major reasons why thiscourse continued successfully for over 40 years. Incidentally, the note-takers for the firstcourse were Mr. Ikuro Kusaba, Mr. Masumasa Imaizumi, Mr. Kumpei Nakahara and Mr.
Kaoru Fujita. The monthly report prepared by them, became the foundation of theHinshitsu Kanri (Statistical Quality Control) magazine, first published in March, 1950.
Following monthly reports contained mainly the minutes of lectures, as well as otherarticles, succeeded in the Hinshitsu Kanri (Statistical Quality Control) magazine (Refer
to Section 8.3).
From the second course, BC was characterized as fostering QC engineers, whichbecame a course of 180 hours in total, using 5 days each month for duration of 6 months.
Although the formality was different from the present, textbooks were prepared, andteam-based research group activities, social gatherings, workplaces, homework, etc.
were incorporated in the curriculum. From the fifth time, the BC course in Osaka started.
From the seventh offering, the course got on the right track and became more
content-rich, with 216 hours in total, using 6 days each month. In the event of the 10thcourse in 1955, a lecturers’ association chaired by Prof. Shigeru Mizuno, was put into
place. At the same time, the Control Chart Research Group (Chaired by Prof. Ishikawa),
the Statistical Method Research Group (Chaired by Prof. Mizuno), the Sampling
Inspection Research Group (Chaired by Prof. Asaka), the Statistical Theory ResearchGroup (Chaired by Prof. Moriguti), the Sampling Research Group (Chaired by Prof.
Ishikawa) (the Management Method Research Group was added, which was later
renamed to the Executive Method Research Group), and the Student Test Committee(Chaired by Prof. Sotojima) were established, as the executive bodies of lecturers’
meeting. Later the Implementation Method Research Group (former the Control Method
Research Group) joined this course and the foundation of the present course was almost
fixed at this time. Actually the Control Chart Research Group and the Sampling
Research Group were frequently combined, which commonly called the Ishikawa
School.
Prof. Ishikawa played a major role in implementing seminars as a lecturer for
workplaces team-based research group activities, and lectures of each subject. Moreoveras the chair of the “Control Chart Research Group” the “Sampling Research Group”,
Prof. Ishikawa imposed tough guidance on research group members with indomitablespirit through investigation and research activities. His tolerant and impartial association,
215

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

with a respect to humanity, and personal magnetism attracted people to gather. The
outcome was summed up in a number of textbooks and his books, such as Courses on
Quality Control, The Control Chart Method (JUSE, First edition in 1955) and Samplingat the factory (Maruzen, First edition in 1952).
At the same time, (based on Prof. Toshiro Kusaba’s suggestion) Prof. Ishikawa andProf. Mizuno discussed seminar operations, and adopted a two-lecturer system,
positively, for implementation, in order to foster young lecturers. More specifically, adrastic method was introduced to foster a lecturer, that is, a less experienced young
lecturer was responsible for the former part of the lecture, and a veteran lecturer madethe latter part of the lecture by supplementation. Strangely enough, there were nocomplaints from participants at that time, however, it was considered that allocatedyoung lecturers made advance preparation, with religious care, by referring to themonthly report (minutes of the lecture) of the previous month (Refer to contributions by
Mr. Takanori Yoneyama in Section 4.3 and, by Mr. Katsuhiko Tsunoda in Section 9.1).
While Prof. Mizuno was committed, as the chair, to operate and develop the course
from a holistic point of view, Prof. Ishikawa encouraged lecturers and the Secretariat
not to allow the execution of a series of young lecturers’ fostering system, such as thetwo-lecturer system, clerical assistant system, guidance of team-based research groupand research group activity to stagnate.
Note: Special thanks to Prof. Ikuro Kusaba and Mr. Yosihito Soma for organizing thisarticle.

“You cannot think that I cover Your Back”
Hiroaki Nakazato
I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Ishikawa when I served as the secretary for
Quality Control Basic Course. Since then, I have had numerous opportunities to learn
from Dr. Ishikawa through JUSE’s Ishikawa sectional meetings, various committees
such as the control chart sectional meetings, quality control seminars, and corporate
counseling，and for these I feel much honored.
Dr. Ishikawa taught me not only quality control but many other things in every
field. In particular, I cannot forget one experience. This was when I was just starting tolearn quality control.
Back then, I was often in-charge of the same course credit for QC Basic Course as216

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

Dr. Ishikawa. I would be in charge of the first half of the lecture, and Dr. Ishikawa thelatter half. When there was some insufficient coverage in my first half of lecture, Dr.
Ishikawa would supplement that insufficient part during his time of the lecture. Throughthis experience, I learned what to deliver for a lecture as well as how to guide ourjuniors. I felt safe in that I could speak freely what I wanted, and Dr. Ishikawa would
cover the rest and put the lecture in order.
At that time, Dr. Ishikawa and I were counseling quality control at a company. Dr.
Ishikawa’s belief was that one can do it if you let him do it. Once Dr. Ishikawa decided
who instructed what, Dr. Ishikawa left a lecturer to his own even he was a novice. Dr.
Ishikawa always had a grasp of company’s quality control status. Thus, I believed that I
could proceed as I wished if Dr. Ishikawa didn’t mention anything. One day, I
mentioned to Dr. Ishikawa that I was fortunate to have him covering my back.
Immediately he scolded, “Nakazato, what are you saying? You cannot think that I cover
your back. Establish your own QC”. His words are engraved on my mind. I can’t forget
this forever.
(Advisor, JUSE,
Former Professor of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)

This is How the Diagnosis Should Be Done
Bunteru Kurahara
I had an opportunity to learn QC when I participated in the 12th QC Basic Course(12BC) held in Osaka, as a transcriber, in 1956. The venue was the Chamber ofCommerce in Nakanoshima. On the very last day of the course, Prof. Ishikawa and I
rode in the same car on the way back to Osaka Station. In the car, Prof. Ishikawa
suddenly said to me, “For the next year’s BC (13BC), you must support JUSE as alecturer. Study hard for that.”
I got back home and thought carefully about it. I could probably apply Prof.
Ishikawa’s teachings to the everyday work that I am in charge of, but being a lecturer
and teaching what I had just learnt to business people was a whole different story. I was
anxious, at first, as I was not sure if I could take on that kind of responsible role.
The experience changed my life significantly. I am grateful to Prof. Ishikawa forgiving me such a life-changing opportunity. If I had not met him, I would not have been
who I am today, being able to put everything I have, into QC.
In order to put into practice what Prof. Ishikawa taught me, I tried as hard as217

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

possible to find time and acquire the skills to counter the practical issues of QC in theworkplace. Later on, I had a chance to accompany Prof. Ishikawa to diagnose acompany.
The most memorable diagnosis was the one we carried out at Chuetsu Metal WorksCo., Ltd. in Hokuriku. He showed me, by himself, how the diagnosis should be done.
When we arrived back at Tokyo Station, in the early morning, after taking the sameovernight train back home, we went to the public bath in the underground arcade, had abath together and ate breakfast together. I recall these memories shared with Prof.
Ishikawa fondly.
When I asked him about his view of life, he shared with me his experience andtaught me many valuable lessons. His teachings are etched in my mind deeply, and will
always shine brightly in my life. May Prof. Ishikawa’s soul rest in peace.
(Advisor, Union of Japanese Scientists & Engineers;
Formerly of Japan Electric Meters Inspection Corporation)

The Ishikawa School
Katsuhiko Tsunoda
It was from 1962, when I graduated from the “QC Basic Course,” and joined theControl Chart Research Group and the Sampling Research Group, that I was taught
Quality Control, personally by Prof. Ishikawa. Prof. Ishikawa served as the chair forboth research groups. Prof. Ishikawa, at that time, was very well and was all fired up,
with a loud voice.
My first assignment when I joined the Control Chart Research Group in 1962, wasto make a lecture for the 22nd QC Basic Course. Prof. Ishikawa told me out of nowhere,“Tsunoda of NTTPC†, you lecture the last practice case of the control chart.” I declined
by saying “impossible,” but I was not forgiven. I did not know what questions would
come up, as it was the last chapter of the control chart. For six months, from then, I kept
walking with that thick text book, The Control Chart method, every day. As Prof.
Ishikawa always called me as Tsunoda of NTTPC, for appointment of tasks during the
research group meeting, I was frightened every time Prof. Ishikawa started to say
NTTPC. When I recall now, I appreciate it very much, as it was his way of
encouragement for me to study, where I bore the name of NTTPC.
†

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation
218

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

Around 1965, a joint research group meeting between the Control Chart ResearchGroup and the Sampling Research Group was held for the duration of one night and twodays twice a year. Location-wise, the Aoi-so rest house of NTTPC was often made useof.
Arriving at Aoi-so the night before, we stayed up all night to discuss Quality
Control over a drink. Prof. Ishikawa complained me at around 2 a.m., because no
alcohol was left, and toughened me up for the presentation meeting, which started at
8:30 a.m. on the following morning, at 8:30 a.m. It was really hard but these days wereenjoyable and fulfilling.
It was on “Quality Control for Construction Work” that Prof. Ishikawa praised meat one joint research group meeting. It gave me confidence and brought joy, as I wasrecognized by Prof. Ishikawa.
For your information, the document for the Control Chart-Sampling Joint ResearchGroup meeting, held in December, 1965, shows the following topics for presentationand study:
Sampling Research Group
1. The relationship between the intrinsic technology model and the DE model
Instructor Kano
2.
3.
4.

The application of ratio estimation at work sampling
Instructor Kume
An Application of Computer for Process Control in Steel Industry
Instructor Imaizumi
About business trend indicator
Instructor Takesue

Control Chart Research Group
1. Two level or three level Multi-way layouts and orthogonal array
Instructor Maeno
2.
3.

One observation of “Cause and Effect Diagram” and “Process Chart”
Instructor Ezoe
About cusum control chart
Instructor Takahashi(Counselor, Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers;
Formerly of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation)
219

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa(2) QC Seminar for Executives

In 1954, Dr. J.M. Juran visited Japan for the first time and gave a series of lectures:the QC Seminar for Executives (a two-day course held in Hakone and Kobe) and the
QC Course for Managers (a ten-day course in Tokyo and Osaka). These lectures werethe catalyst for the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) to hold the QC
Seminar for Managers (MC) the following year (with a program designed by Shigeru
Mizuno, Okizo Kamio, Hiroshi Matsumoto, Rintaro Muramatsu, and Eizo Watanabe.
Many of the participants in this course said that they would like JUSE to offer anotherseminar, to provide management executives with an understanding of quality control. In
response to these requests, JUSE considered the matter, and the QC Seminar for
Executives was established with the primary objective of providing a forum in which
management executives could gain a deeper understanding and awareness of quality
control, in order to ensure that Japanese quality control could be useful in corporate
management. With the cooperation of Professor Shigeru Mizuno, Professor Tetsuichi
Asaka, and Professor Kaoru Ishikawa, the course was held for the first time in July 1957,
at the former Mikasa Hotel (now an Important Cultural Property) in Karuizawa.

The former Mikasa Hotel (before it closed in October 1970, bringing down the
curtain on 64 years as an hotel, it was used as the venue for the QC Seminarfor Executives for 13 years, right through to July of that year)

The fully residential program lasting five days and four nights consisted of the twoclasses, A and B. Due in part to the fact that all three professors were around 40 years ofage at the time, the relationship between lecturers and participants was most congenial,
220

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

like siblings or other family members, and the residential course proceeded amid aharmonious atmosphere.
Thereafter, for 27 years until the 27th seminar, this program was planned and run
by these three professors. Professor Mizuno retired after the 27th seminar, while
Professor Ishikawa continued to give lectures every year, for 32 years in total, until
1988. When the 30th seminar ended, Professor Asaka approached Professor Ishikawa
and suggested, “30 is a good round number, so why don’t we retire and pass the baton
on to the younger generation?”, but Professor Ishikawa replied, “I’m carrying on, so
you should keep going for a bit longer too,” and continued to be a mainstay of theseminars (tale related by Professor Asaka). This anecdote really does demonstrate
Professor Ishikawa’s passion for QC. Professor Ishikawa also always used to say,
“Unlike other courses, the Seminar for Executives at Karuizawa is where I spend a fullday talking enthusiastically to the executives about my views on QC, my own
experience, and future approaches to QC.”
As of 1991, this seminar has been run 35 times (for 35 years) and around 5,000
executives have participated in it to date. It is often said that the main reason for the
progress of quality control in Japan is the fact that executives, particularly company
presidents, took the initiative in promoting it. All three professors were invariably
unanimous on this point. The first thing that a president must do to demonstrateleadership is to study. Merely listening to a short lecture or attending an impromptu oneor two-day course is not enough. I have heard that in the West, it is usual for courses for
management executives to last only a day, or three at most. In addition, the majority of
the “management executives” who attend these courses are apparently those at what inJapan would be company director or departmental director level. In contrast, thisseminar truly is a seminar for executives, as the name suggests, with company
presidents, vice presidents, managing directors, and executive directors cooped up in a
hotel in Karuizawa for about a week. Even within a company, the fact that the president
has spent a week taking part in the Seminar for Executives seems to have a major
impact in terms of promoting TQC.
I believe that it would be no exaggeration to say that it is the practice of TQC ateach company—driven by the leadership provided by participants in this seminar—that
has led to the international competitiveness of today’s Japanese companies in the area of
quality. In this sense, one could say that the question of how this seminar will develop in
the future is of paramount importance to the future of the quality provided by Japanesecompanies.
Professor Mizuno and Professor Ishikawa have passed away and Professor
221

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

Tetsuichi Asaka is the only one of the three original lecturers left, but thanks to the
support of Professor Shoichi Shimizu, Professor Tatsuo Ikezawa, Professor Hajime
Makabe, Professor Kenji Kurogane, Professor Hitoshi Kume, and Professor Noriaki
Kano, we are able to offer five classes a year.
Professor Asaka says, “I’m the last of the three. If only old Ishikawa were still withus. While I’m still in good health, I’d like to do my best, for the sake of those who havebeen kind enough to carry on the history and traditions at Karuizawa, for the sake of the
QC world in Japan, and to convey Ishikawa’s last wishes.” (See contributions byProfessor Tetsuichi Asaka in Section 3.2 and by Kenzo Sasaoka in Section 4.4)
(Masami Mita)(3) QC Seminar for Marketing

Launched under the title “JUSE Course for Marketing,” with the primary goal ofinstilling a scientific approach among salespersons, the first course took place from
August to November 1968 for 16 days in total, with one four-day session being heldeach month for four months. The organizing committee was chaired by Professor
Ishikawa.
Chairman

Kaoru Ishikawa (Professor, the University of Tokyo)

Coordinator

Hajime Karatsu (Director, Development Department,
Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd.)
Shuji Hayashi (Professor, the University of Tokyo)
Committee Member Tatsuo Ikezawa (Assistant Professor, Waseda University)
Yoshio Ohno (Director, Marketing Department, Shiseido Co.,Ltd.)
Saburo Suganami (Director, Data Processing Division,
Mitsubishi Atomic Power Industries, Inc.)
The distinctive features of this course were as follows:
Hitherto, the seminars organized by JUSE were what might be described ashorizontally-structured seminars, consisting of separate seminar programs for thethemes of quality control and operations research, for which participants from all
corporate departments with a connection to these themes were accepted. However, this“Course for Marketing Staff” was the first vertically-structured seminar, teachingsalespersons everything that they needed to know as salesperson, rather than being
confined to a specific theme. Consequently, the curriculum comprehensively covered
222

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

the essence of a variety of themes, as shown below. The relationship between thecourses can be depicted in the form of the following diagram.
JUSE seminars to date
Shop floor staff
Planning staff
QC
coursetargets

Design staff
Marketing staff
Development staff

OR
coursetargets

QC Seminar for Marketing
Admin staff
Data processing
staff
Shop floor staff

OR techniques

Marketing staff

Design of experiments

Accounting

Computer techniques

QC techniques
MR techniques

Targetingmarketing
staff

staff

In addition, experts in fields that had not previously had any connection to quality
control were asked to join the ranks of the seminar instructors, and, as described above,
elements that differed from those used in other JUSE seminars were incorporated into
the methods used to train the seminar participants. The Japanese name of the course,
Eigyō no Tame no Cōsu, was abbreviated to ETC, after the English-language
abbreviation “etc.”
By the time of the sixth and seventh courses in the 1970s, the number of course
participants had declined, and plummeted further to just 25 at the time of the eighthcourse, due in part to the oil crisis. With this decline in participant numbers, it was
becoming difficult to continue running the course; during a committee meeting aroundthat time, the secretariat and the majority of committee members voiced the opinion,“Perhaps we should take a year off next year and wait for the economy to recover.”Having listened intently to these views, Professor Ishikawa declared in a loud voice, “Itwould be easy to take a year off or to give up. Let’s think about how we can turn it into
a course that will be useful for marketing staff, and how we can increase the number ofparticipants to ensure the survival of the course.” With these few words, it was decided
to keep the course going and the committee members deliberated long into that night
about the way forward. As a result, the course underwent a complete makeover totransform it into a “QC for Marketing” course.
Consequently, the courses up to and including the eighth course (1974) were held
under the name “JUSE Course for Marketing,” and was renamed the “QC Seminar forMarketing” (EQC for short) beginning with the ninth course. In conjunction with thechange of name, the content was also completely reorganized to create a course thatwould enable marketing staff to study quality control. This reorganization was a great
success: the number of participants began to increase the following year, from the ninth
223

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

course onwards, and it continued to expand steadily thereafter. The approach adopted
till then during the course was primarily based on group discussions focused on specificthemes, but it was revised to introduce small study groups that considered individual
themes contributed by each course participant based on experiences at their own
workplace. This too helped to ensure that the course ran smoothly. Ultimately, Professor
Ishikawa served as chairman until the 16th course (1982). Tatsuo Ikezawa took over thereins as chairman from the 17th course, when we received so many applications toparticipate that we could not accept everyone, so we established a new course called“Introduction to QC for Marketing.”
As of 1991, we are holding the 25th course (130 participants, once a year) and the19th introductory course (140 participants, three times a year). Looking at how thesecourses are thriving today, I am particularly struck by the words of the Committee’s
current chairman, Professor Ikezawa, who said, “If Professor Ishikawa hadn’t spoken up
that time, our current marketing courses might not have existed.” Professor Ishikawa
truly was both the birth parent and the foster parent of this course, creating it andnurturing it over the years.
(Masami Mita)

Introduction of QC to the Marketing Department
Kosuke Kuji
I learned a great deal from Professor Kaoru Ishikawa regarding a variety of things,
but more than anything else, I cannot forget his tenacious efforts to introduce quality
control in the marketing department. I do not know when he began thinking about
introducing quality control to the marketing department.
The first time I officially had the opportunity to work with Professor Ishikawa was
the JUSE Course for Marketing (ETC), which began in August 1968. This 16-day
seminar held over a period of four months provided marketing staff with an introduction
to the essence of various seminars that JUSE was organizing at that time, in order toteach them scientific techniques and ways of thinking. Accordingly, the course lecturers
were drawn from the ranks of the instructors for the existing seminars, including quality
control, market research, operations research, and design of experiments, and wereorganized appropriately. At that time, I was a lecturer for the market research seminarand became involved in the running of the ETC seminar, taking on responsibility for thelectures on market research.
In September that year, organizing committee chairman Professor Ishikawa wrote
224

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

Quality Month Text No. 34, Quality Control in Distribution Systems, in which hedescribed the application of QC to sales, as well as a number of QC-related maxims
relevant to sales. Furthermore, the October 1971 edition of the Hinshitsu Kanri(Statistical Quality Control) contained a special feature that highlighted “distribution
systems and quality control” as a key theme, in which he strongly advocated theapplication of quality control to marketing, sales, and distribution.
At that time, I myself was anti-QC (my “anti-QC thesis” was published in Quality
Month Text No. 48, Quality Control in the Marketing Department, which was issued in
September 1970) and argued in favor of the proper practice of marketing. Thinking backnow, I blush to recall how narrowly I viewed the concept of quality, but Professor
Ishikawa nevertheless accepted me with great magnanimity and patiently guided me.
Given that the work I do today sprang from “Quality Control in the Marketing
Department” to some extent, I would say that this is the result of my having been
nurtured by Professor Ishikawa.
The ETC was subsequently reorganized into the QC Seminar for Marketing (EQC)
and as of today (the 25th seminar), there have been 2,311 participants. One would haveto say that Professor Ishikawa’s efforts have borne fruit magnificently.
(Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, Showa University)(4) QC Seminar for PurchasingThis seminar was launched in 1971 under the name JUSE Course for Purchasing(KTC), as a sister course to the JUSE Course for Marketing (ETC). Professor Ishikawa
served as chairman of the organizing committee and the “Invitation to Participate” forthe first seminar describes its purpose as follows:“Today, one of the problems common to most manufacturing companies is theissue of strengthening the capabilities of the purchasing department. The reality isthat across Japan, on an average, 70% of the manufacturing cost of a product isaccounted for by items purchased from other companies, so the purchasing
department occupies an extremely important position in terms of both quality andcost. Hitherto, this department tended to be regarded as fairly low-key incomparison with the technology and production departments, but awareness of therole that it plays and the importance thereof has grown as corporate management
overall has improved. Most notably, quality improvements, the reduction of costs
among producers, the integration of management functions, innovation in materials,
and pricing policy are being placed under the microscope as new issues that must
225

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

not be overlooked.
From this perspective, QC, OR, IE, design of experiments, computers, andother scientific techniques and technologies that JUSE has developed anddisseminated over the last 20 or so years are effective tools in relation to the
management technology to be employed by purchasing departments. Accordingly,
we have planned the JUSE Course for Purchasing (KTC), in order to foster ascientific viewpoint by using these techniques to introduce a common “language”
between the technology and purchasing departments...”Four years later, in 1975, the course was reorganized under the name QC Seminarfor Purchasing, in order to highlight the important roles of the seminar in company-wide
quality control activities. I am struck once more with admiration for Professor
Ishikawa’s foresight, which really was demonstrated in the timing of this name change.
Subsequently, with the advent of the TQC boom, the purchasing department rocketed inimportance, and today, now that materials are also purchased from overseas,
expectations regarding this course are growing further still. Under Professor Ishikawa’s
leadership, this seminar underwent several reforms to meet the needs of the times, and it
continues to be held today, as a course that is without parallel in teaching the knowledge
and practical skills that all purchasing staff need to master.
Apart from this seminar, Professor Ishikawa also assisted as the main instructor forcourses including the QC Seminar for Executives, the QC Seminar for Senior
Management, and the QC Seminar for Managers, and one of the things that he always
covered in his lectures on all of these courses was the “Ten QC Principles for
Vendee-Vender Relations,” which he had put together at a panel discussion at a QC
conference in 1960 and then re-examined and revised at the fourth Quality Control
Symposium in 1966. In these lectures, he would talk passionately about the Ten
Principles in relation to importance of the purchasing department in TQC activities. The
content of his lectures seem to suggest that he was keen to highlight the importance of
this field, which had hitherto been regarded as rather low-key, as the aforementioned“Invitation to Participate” also states.
Each time, at the beginning of the seminar, it was customary for Professor
Ishikawa, as chairman of the organizing committee, to give a lecture entitled Purchasing
and TQC. When I went to ask him to give this lecture at the 18th seminar to take placein August 1988, he had a slight cold and sounded rather hoarse; so on behalf of theSecretariat, I said, “Why don’t we move your lecture to a later date?, ” whereupon theProfessor roared, “I know my own body! There’s no need to worry, I’ll do it as planned!”On the day of the lecture, we took great care of his state of health and listened
226

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

attentively to Professor Ishikawa via a monitor. Although his voice was a little weak,
there was barely any trace of hoarseness and he sounded clearer than when I had heard
him before. He seemed a little tired after the lecture, but I’ll never forget the sight of
him enjoying a cigarette, as if to say, “Didn’t I tell you there was no need to worry?”
His lecture at the International Seminar on TQC the following month was unfortunately
his last lecture at a JUSE seminar. (See contribution by Mr. Koji Morooka in Section
10.3)(Katsuhiko Okada, Deputy General Manager, First Operations Division,
Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers)(5) Introductory Course for Design of Experiment

The Introductory Course for Design of Experiment (6-day course) was launched inTokyo in April 1961 by Professor Ishikawa, along with fellow academics Hiroshi
Matsumoto, Shizuo Ito, and Hiroaki Nakazato.
During the year or so before the second course was held, they revised the overall
curriculum and compiled a textbook to be used on the course, as well as reorganizing
the schedule to make it an eight-day course split into two halves, both lasting four days.
The textbook was published under the title The Elementary Design of Experiment
Textbook (JUSE Press, first edition published in 1963; 88,500 copies have been
published as of February 1992).
The authors of this textbook (aforementioned four academics) demonstrated
perfect teamwork in taking charge of the lectures on the second to eighth courses. The
course was timetabled so as to ensure that participants gained a deeper understanding,tailoring the exercises according to the progress of the lectures, something that is adistinctive feature of JUSE’s seminars today. This too was Professor Ishikawa’s idea; inaddition, he actively promoted young lecturers from the Basic Course to provide
instruction during these exercises, thereby helping to cultivate their skills in practicalsituations. New lecturers joined the team from the ninth course onward and the course
content was improved to reflect the needs of the times. Today, it survives as the only
introductory course with an established reputation for training researchers and engineers
who study experimental design for the first time.
(Takamichi Endo, Manager, Second Operations Division,
Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers)

227

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

9.2 Lecturing All the QC Courses Organized by the Chemical Society of Japan
In the chapter on the round-table discussion (Section 3.3), Koichi Ohba, Tatsuo
Ikezawa, and Yoji Akao have all described the tremendous impact of the courses
organized by the Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ). Fortunately, articles about thecourses were published in Kagaku to Kōgyō (Chemistry and Chemical Industry), thejournal of the CSJ at the time, so a summary of the articles is included as the referencematerial at the end of this chapter and the following paragraph provides an overview of
the courses.
The first course was a three-day course held in 1950, which was co-hosted by the
Kanto Branch of the CSJ and the National Museum of Nature and Science. Attended by
345 people, it was deemed “a huge success,” so the following year the course duration
was doubled to six days and it was co-hosted by the Kanto Branch of the CSJ and theUnion of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). A cumulative total of 750 people
attended and the journal described it as “a rare example of overwhelming success, to theextent that although additional collapsible chairs were set out, it was impossible to meetdemand from those wishing to attend.” Word of its success spread to the Kansai region
and in 1952, the CSJ’s Kinki Branch and JUSE co-hosted a course entitled Statistical
Methods and Quality Control. Thereafter, articles on the course held in Tokyo(co-hosted either by the Kanto Branch and JUSE, by the Kanto Branch, JUSE, and the
Association of Chemistry-Related Academic Societies, or by the CSJ’s headquarters and
JUSE) appeared every year until 1958, while articles on the course in the Kinki region
appeared every year until 1954. The title of the course also varied each year, with names
including “The Course on Statistical Methods and Design of Experiments”, “TheCourse on Experimental Design”, and “The Course on Quality Control and Design ofExperiments”. The main lecturers were Professors Shigeru Mizuno, Tetsuichi Asaka,
Kaoru Ishikawa, and Sigeiti Moriguti. Professor Kaoru Ishikawa lectured at each of thecourses. Until around 1955, the number of participants ranged from 300 whenattendance was poor, right up to 400 or even 500.
According to him, Ikuro Kusaba became a lecturer at the Kinki Branch’s course at
the invitation of Professor Ishikawa, who, along with Professor Shigeru Mizuno (whohad also majored in chemistry), undoubtedly spared no effort in the planning andrunning of the course. As can be understood from Yoshitaka Ogiwara’s contribution
concerning the courses in Gunma Prefecture, it would seem that the runaway success ofthe courses in Tokyo and Osaka led to their being held elsewhere as well.

228

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education“Don’t Miss the Bus!”
Yoshitaka Ogiwara
I first met Professor Kaoru Ishikawa at a regional meeting of the Chemical Societyof Japan that took place in Kiryu in 1950 or thereabouts. At the time, all I knew about
him was that his field of specialism was the same as mine: chemistry. In 1953, my boss
at Gunma University, Professor Isao Shimoda, who had the view that the engineers of
the future would need to study statistics in order to survive in the face of the dramatic
progress being made in industrial technology in the USA, decided to invite Professor
Ishikawa (then an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo and already at the very
forefront of his field) to Kiryu to offer us lecture. A close friend of Professor Shimoda’s
was Professor Ishikawa’s direct supervisor, so we miraculously managed to organize theKiryu Quality Control Class, with Professor Ishikawa as the instructor.
These classes continued for several years. The number of QC disciples at Kiryu
exceeded the 100 mark. The professor also began a course in design of experiments in
1963 and many alumni who took this course are at the vanguard of industry today.
It goes without saying that everyone who took his courses was completely
fascinated by the Professor’s powerful lectures and their fresh, exciting content. “If you
don’t master quality control now, you’ll miss the bus!” The professor’s words rang
loudly in everyone’s ears. I am certain that the path that I have followed until now has
been entirely guided by these words.
The alumni who took his courses, who have already reached the mandatory
retirement age at their companies, have often said, “I don’t really remember what hetaught us, but ever since, I’ve been proud to have been able to study under such aneminent professor.”
I had one more key encounter with him, in 1972. I ran into the Professor in acorridor at JUSE. “Have you heard of QC Circle? It’s no good just sitting there in the
countryside, with your nose in a book! This is your last chance to get on the bus!” Andso that was how I heard about QC Circle for the first time, as he encouraged me toparticipate in QC Circle activities.
Since then, I have had the feeling that my entire concept of manufacturing, which
was up to that point merely having bandied theories around in my ivory tower,
completely overturned. I discovered that quality control is not something that can beachieved by rigorous theory alone and that a richness of spirit is also essential. This was
such a revelation to me that I felt as though the scales had fallen from my eyes.
It seems to me that the Professor always explained the most important things in the229

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

simplest terms. I believe that the Professor’s easily understandable, powerful beliefs that
“if you progressively move forward with improvement using statistical techniques,quality will improve without fail and the company will flourish” and that “no matter
what the theory, it’s useless if you don’t put it into practice!” bore fruit magnificently,
creating the splendid “worldwide QC” that we see today.
I take a tremendous pride in the fact that I had the good fortune to encounter such agreat professor, and I feel quite keenly the weight of responsibility to do what little I canto pass on his countless precious insights to the next generation.
(Professor Emeritus, Gunma University)

Reference Material: The following are the Courses organized by the Chemical
Society of Japan (CSJ) on statistical methods, design of experiments, andquality control“A Simple Course on Statistical Methods and Design of Experiments”
Organizers: Kanto Branch of CSJ/National Museum of Nature and Science
Date: December 7–9, 1950 (3 days)
Venue: Auditorium, National Museum of Nature and Science
Course Topics and Lecturers:
Design of Experiments (1st–3rd lectures),
Motosaburo Masuyama, the University of Tokyo
Statistical Concepts and Simple Testing Methods,
Kaoru Ishikawa, the University of Tokyo
Analysis of Variance, Correlation, and Graphical Methods,
Shigeru Mizuno, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Number of applicants: 345
Source: A 1951 article on p. 121 of Vol. 4, No. 3 of Kagaku to Kōgyō (Chemistry and Industry), theJournal of the Chemical Society of Japan.

“Second Course on Statistical Methods and Design of Experiments”
Co-organizers: Kanto Branch of CSJ/JUSE
Date: December 3–8, 1951 (6 days)
Venue: Large Auditorium, Building 2, Faculty of Science, the University of Tokyo
Course Topics and Lecturers: The course was divided into elementary and intermediatelevels.
Elementary Course
Basic Distribution in Mathematical Statistics,
Tetsuichi Asaka, Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo
Statistical Thinking,Shigeru Mizuno, Tokyo Institute of Technology
230

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

Correlation Analysis,
Shigeru Mizuno, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Analysis of Variance,
Kaoru Ishikawa, Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo
Intermediate Course
Design of Experiments,
Genichi Taguchi (on behalf of Motosaburo Masuyama,
Faculty of Medicine, the University of Tokyo)
Sampling,
Kaoru Ishikawa, Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo
Participants: Around 750 in total
Source: A 1952 article on p. 468 of Vol. 5, No. 9 of Kagaku to Kōgyō (Chemistry and Industry), theJournal of the Chemical Society of Japan.)“Elementary Course on Statistical Methods and Quality Control”
Organizers: Kinki Branch of CSJ/JUSE
Date: August 18–23, 1952 (6 days)
Venue: Faculty of Engineering Auditorium, Osaka University
Course Topics and Lecturers:
Statistical Methods and Quality Control
Control Chart Techniques,
Eizaburo Nishibori, Senior Advisor, JUSEDistribution of Statistics,
Tetsuichi Asaka, Assistant Professor, the University of Tokyo
Testing Methods and Correlation Analysis,
Shigeru Mizuno, Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Analysis of Variance and Design of Experiments
Sampling,
Kaoru Ishikawa, Assistant Professor, the University of Tokyo
Course fees: Members: ¥1,000, Non-members: ¥1,200, Participants fromuniversities/research institutes: ¥600
Textbook fee: ¥500 (limited to one copy per participant)
Textbook only (not attending course): ¥600 (postage: ¥40)
Source: A 1952 article in Vol. 5, No. 7 of Kagaku to Kōgyō (Chemistry and Industry), the Journal of
the Chemical Society of Japan.
Note: In putting this section together, Professor Ikuro Kusaba of Nagoya Institute ofTechnology and Professor Masahiko Munechika of the Department of Chemical
System Engineering at the School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo, provided agreat deal of assistance in the gathering of information.

231

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

9.3 Quality Control Courses on Radio and TV
Professor Kaoru Ishikawa helped to spread the concept of quality control using themass media, serving as the principal lecturer for the Quality Control Course broadcast
in July 1956 by Nihon Short-Wave Broadcasting, the New Management and Quality
Control program broadcast on NHK Radio 2 for six weeks from July 15, 1957, and the
Quality Control and Standardization segments on The Factories of the Future, which
was televised on NHK Educational TV for a year from April 1960. One person fromNHK said, “I’m amazed that the textbook has been selling so well. I didn’t realize thatso many people were interested in quality control.”(Tatsuo Sugimoto)(1) Nihon Short-Wave Broadcasting

It was in 1956 that the first course on quality control was broadcasted on Japaneseradio. It was organized by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) andco-organized by JUSE Press and Nihon Short-Wave Broadcasting. This course aimed atmanagers working in front-line manufacturing was divided into six semesters(Semesters I–VI) and ran for a year and three months from July 1956. It was a broadcast
for 15 minutes from 16:15 (to coincide with the time when factories finished work inthose days) every day except Sundays.
This project was implemented under the leadership of JUSE managing director
Kenichi Koyanagi, with the assistance of Professor Mizuno, Professor Ishikawa, andother learned members of the QC Research Group. The themes and broadcast schedules
for each semester are shown below:
Semester I (July–September 1956): Quality Control Course for Shop Floor
Managers
Semester II (October–December 1956): Quality Control Course for Shop Floor
Managers
Semester III (January–March 1957): Preventing Defects
Semester IV (April–June 1957): Preventing Defects (Intermediate Class)Semester V (July–September 1957): Quality Design of Products That Sell Well
Semester VI (October–December 1957): Cutting Manufacturing Costs
The textbook for this course was edited by JUSE Press, but unfortunately no
reliable record of how many copies were sold is available today.
In January 1959, the Elementary Quality Control Textbook (published by JUSE
232

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

Press) was compiled based on the structure and content of Semester VI, i.e. Cutting
Manufacturing Costs. This long-selling textbook (as of January 1992, there have been
193 impressions and 310,000 copies issued) is still used today by many companies anduniversities. As soon as it was published, it was adopted as the textbook for the 6-Day
Introductory Quality Control Course (JUSE), which had been launched in 1956, andcontinued to be used until 1974, when this course was renamed as the Quality Control
Seminar Introductory Course (lasting eight days, divided into two halves) and thecurriculum was revised.
(Katsuharu Arai)(2) NHK Radio 2 and NHK Educational TV

The first radio broadcast on NHK was the Radio Program: NHK Course forCommerce and Industry New Management and Quality Control on NHK Radio 2 in1957 (18:25–18:40 every day except weekends of July 15–August 30). It opened with an
introductory greeting from Meitatsu Takamine, then President of the Japanese Standards
Association (JSA), and offered the curriculum shown below:
Quality and Management (Week 1)
Quality Control of Raw Materials and Ingredients (Week 2)
Process Control and Quality Assurance (Weeks 3–5)
Management of Equipment (Week 6)
Approaches to Quality Control (Week 7)
The two main lecturers were Professor Kaoru Ishikawa and Mr. Shin Miura. Twodays (August 28 and 29) out of the last week of the seven-week broadcast were devoted
to questions from listeners, which were answered by Professor Kaoru Ishikawa, Mr.
Hirokazu Aiwa (Itagaki Ltd.) , and Mr. Shin Miura (Mitsui Chemical Industry). On thevery last day, the course was brought to a close with a special lecture by Takeo Kato
(Mitsubishi Electric), then principal of the JSA’s Quality Control and Standardization
Seminar. One can see how much interest there was in these courses among listeners by
the fact that the textbook went through reprint after reprint, eventually breaking throughthe 100,000 copy mark. Naturally, one of the factors behind this was the assistance of
the JSA’s sales department, particularly the partnership between veteran JSA sales
department member Matsuo Yoshida and Katsumi Miyachi, Secretary-General of the
National Association of Principals of Technical Senior High Schools, who together
promoted the textbook to technical high schools nationwide.
The fact that it was possible to launch this kind of quality control course on NHK
233

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

was entirely thanks to the proactive approaches made to the broadcaster by the JSA’s
Masahiro Ohnishi. While Mr. Ohnishi was lobbying NHK, he sought advice from
Professor Ishikawa, who responded positively and provided vital backup that enabled
the broadcasts to come to fruition. Professor also provided his full assistance in theplanning of the broadcasts, including the structuring of the curriculum, the selection of
lecturers, and the preparation of the textbook. The textbook for this course received the
Nikkei Quality Control Literature Award in 1957. The presence of NHK executives at
the award ceremony helped to increase NHK’s awareness on the status of QC in
industrial circles, which had the fortuitous side-effect of making it easier to broadcast
QC-related programs on NHK thereafter.
Following the overwhelming success of the first QC course, NHK broadcasted the
Basic Course on Production Management (18:20–18:40 every day except weekends ofApril 7–August 29) on NHK Radio 2 in 1958, extending the length of each broadcast
and the duration of the course, and expanding the content to include production
management, with a primary focus on QC. Under the guidance of Professor Ishikawa,
one day was again set aside for questions at the end of each chapter (10 chapters intotal) and there was also a discussion between the lecturer in charge of the previous
chapter and the lecture in charge of the next chapter. This was because the Professor
thought that this would facilitate a smoother transition between chapters. In addition,
again at the suggestion of Professor Ishikawa, the broadcasts were recorded in front of
an audience of invited listeners like an entertainment show, to break free of the
traditional mold of simply speaking to a microphone in a studio. The first program took
place in NHK’s Studio No.1 on Sunday, June 22, 1958, and the second in Waseda
University’s Ono Memorial Hall on Sunday, August 17 the same year, with around 200
course participants attending each recording (application in advance). Such publicrecordings were very unusual at the time. The textbook for this course was revised andexpanded before being published by the Japan Broadcast Publishing Association in
August 1959 under the title New Production Management (jointly authored by Koichi
Aiba, Tetsuichi Asaka, Kaoru Ishikawa, Kotaro Ito, Masahiro Ohnishi, Tadashi Kasaishi,
Takeshi Kayano, Hidehiko Azuma, Hikaru Furukawa, Motosaburo Masuyama, andSigeiti Moriguti; Shigeyuki Nakai and Shinichi Watanabe also announced during the
program when the course was broadcasted).
The success of this course was the catalyst for programs about QC or production
management with an emphasis on QC to be broadcasted on the radio each year underRadio Program: NHK Course for Commerce and Industry (subsequently renamed NHK
Course for Industry, and then NHK Course for Management). These programs are listed234

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

below:
1959 Radio Program: NHK Course for Commerce and Industry: Introduction to
Production Management(19:00–19:15 every day except weekends of August 3–October 30)
1960 Radio Program: NHK Course for Industry: Production Management Made
Simple(19:05–19:15 every day except weekends of April 4–July 1)1960 Radio Program: NHK Course for Industry: Introduction to Quality Control(19:05–19:15 every day except weekends of July 7–October 31)
1961 Radio Program: NHK Course for Industry: Quality Control Made Simple(18:35–18:50 every day except weekends of April 3–July 31)
1961 Radio Program: NHK Course for Industry: Approaches to Quality Assurance(18:35–18:50 every day except weekends of October 2–December 22)
1962 Radio Program: NHK Course for Management: Introduction to Quality
Control(18:30–18:45 every day except weekends of October 1–December 28)

In addition to lectures, four of the programs broadcasted as a part of this course
included footage recorded on visits to factories, which were arranged with thecoordination of Professor Ishikawa. Professor Ishikawa took charge of about two thirdsof the course, with most of the rest being presented by Professor Tetsuichi Asaka.
The 1962 course was the last NHK course concerning QC; Professor Kaoru
Ishikawa was the only lecturer who had appeared on all of the aforementioned radio
courses. When bringing these courses to a close, the Professor did a kind of overall
235

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

review of the course by reciting 40 sayings concerning quality control, which one might
describe as the collection of Dr. Ishikawa’s quotes.
In addition to the aforementioned courses, a number of programs focusing on QC
appeared as a part of Radio Program: NHK Course for Educational Features (mostly
about 55 minutes long), between 1957, when the first QC course started on NHK Radio,
and 1962. These included the following:
Radio Program: NHK Course for Educational Features (recorded segments anddiscussion): Management in Daily Life
(20:05–21:00, February 19, 1958, NHK Radio 2)[The discussion segment featured Motosaburo Masuyama and Haruko
Mitsuaki]Radio Program: NHK Course for Educational Features: Corporate Management
and Mathematics(20:05–21:00, December 19, 1958, NHK Radio 2)[Tatsuo Kawata, Saburo Suganami, Katsuyoshi Yokoyama, Teiji Yokobori,
Fumihiko Hayashi]
Moreover, in November 1960, Quality Month was established under the guidanceof Professor Ishikawa. At the instigation of Professor Ishikawa, the JSA successfully
lobbied NHK for a program to be broadcasted as a part of Quality Month and thefollowing program went out on NHK Radio 2.
1960 Radio Program: NHK Course for Educational Features: The Quality ofJapanese Products(20:05–21:00, Friday, November 18)[Quality Month broadcast; Discussion among Professor Kaoru Ishikawa,
Noboru Yamaguchi, Hidehiko Azuma, Kenichi Koyanagi]
The fact that the public recordings in 1958 had been so well received suggested
that QC might be of interest not only to radio listeners, but also to television viewers as
well, so the following television program was broadcasted in 1960.
NHK Educational TV: The Factories of the Future(21:00–21:30 on Tuesdays, April 1960–March 1961)

236

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

At the Recording Studio for Quality Month Broadcast, Radio
Program: NHK Course for Educational Features: The Quality ofJapanese Products
Yamaguchi, Azuma, Ohnishi and Koyanagi (from the left)(November 5, 1960)

This program mainly focused on QC and standardization. While Professor
Ishikawa provided guidance on everything from preparation for establishing the
television course, to selecting and providing introductions to locations, and the overallrunning of the course, Kotaro Ito, Hajime Karatsu, Tetsuichi Asaka, Hirokazu Aiwa,
Seikichi Miyagi, Masakuni Tahara, Hidehiko Azuma, Sachio Maeda, Shin Miura,
Masumasa Imaizumi, and Yasuichi Matsukawa served as lecturers. Professor Ishikawa
appeared nine times, taking charge of the Purchasing Management, Shop Floor
Management, Overview of Factory Inspection Tours, and Approach to InternalStandardization sections of the course, as well as giving a lecture entitled “Management
and Standardization” to round off the course in the final program. One of the problems
encountered in planning this program was that while it was possible to film on location
at workplaces that served as examples of good practice and success, it was not possible
to film at workplaces that were examples of poor practice. Professor Ishikawa’s view
was that examples of failure and poor practice must also be included, to ensure a proper
understanding among viewers, so there were cases where a set was built in the studio torecord inserts. For example, one of the “bad examples” that was used was that of amanager or supervisor who, if a worker with a query asks for guidance, always scolds
them, saying, “Do you really not know?”, but then, if the worker acts without seeking
guidance, scolds them for failing to consult them. It was the Educational TV channel, so
237

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

it was not possible to get anyone really famous to appear, but there were secret episodes
that actors were actually eager to appear, because they could make up their own lines.
Such episodes really delighted Professor Ishikawa.
Subsequently, even after Educational TV began to broadcast in color and video
recording became the norm (the majority of television broadcasts were live in the earlyyears), this television course was the catalyst for short educational spots about QC to be
made, with the backing of Mr. Sano. The main programs of this nature included thefollowing:
Sensory Evaluation (1971), Next Process Surveys (1973), Quality Label Systems(1975), TQC in the Housing Industry (1976), etc.
That is the history of the broadcasts about quality control on NHK radio andtelevision. It was a period when educational programs appeared on the radio andtelevision broadcasting was in its infancy (television broadcasts began in 1954), so thefact that it was possible to put together programs of this nature was primarily thanks tothe assistance of the learned instructors from the world of quality control who were kindenough to take part and, above all, to the unstinting efforts of Professor Kaoru Ishikawa.
Also, one must not forget the kind support received behind the scenes from Kentaro
Sakae, Group Leader in the Industry Department at NHK’s Education Bureau, and from
Ichiro Sano, who had not long joined the company before the radio course began.
Note: In assembling information for this section, I received a great deal of assistance from
Masahiro Ohnishi of the JSA, who was not only a bridge between the world of quality
control and NHK, but also served as presenter and commentator in the actual
broadcasts.

QC Courses on NHK Radio and TV
Masahiro Ohnishi
In 1951, when I was working in the Quality Control Department of the JapaneseStandards Association (JSA), I was tasked with helping to organize the Quality Control
Committee (QCC) and this was when the Professor first got to know me by sight and by
name.
In addition, he provided me with support and guidance in a variety of ways when I
was organizing seminars and courses about quality control and standardization. He wasof particular assistance when we established the JSA’s Standardization and Quality
238

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

Control Seminar (1953), as well as in editing the Guide for Managers: Quality Control
Guidebook (Vols. 1 & 2) (1958) and launching the Quality Control Course for Managers
based on this Guidebook. Moreover, he provided a great deal of practical guidance fromthe outset when we were holding meetings to prepare for the launch of Quality Month,which began in 1960.
As well as providing advice regarding events directly organized by the JSA, theProfessor was kind enough to give me the benefit of his knowledge concerning
negotiation methods in 1957, when we were urging NHK to set up a quality control
course on the radio and I was placed in charge of promoting the idea to the program
editors. When that first radio course started, the Professor took charge of the “Process
Control and Quality Assurance” section, which took up almost half of the timetable;
even now, I clearly remember the exercise in the first broadcast, which involved
searching for the character “の”† in the textbook. The Professor did this in order todemonstrate to students the “unreliability of inspection.”
The textbook sold 100,000 copies when the course was first run. And as a result of
this, NHK ran the Quality Control Radio Course seven times in total. The Professor did
not only provide guidance as a kind of general manager when I was negotiating with
NHK; he also intervened when various problems arose between NHK and those
appearing on the program, resolving the issues in a way that saved face for both sides.
He gave me a variety of new ideas about how to run these radio broadcasts; what ismore, he told me, “Make sure you understand it fully and then explain it to NHK as
your own idea. Don’t tell them it came from me.” Many of these ideas ultimately cameto fruition, but the people at NHK thought that they were my idea, so I came to behighly regarded at NHK and that was the main reason why I ended up being regularly
chosen to be a presenter or commentator on NHK Educational TV.
The first program about quality control began on NHK Educational TV in April
1960. The Professor was of great assistance from the planning stage and was one of themain people to appear on the program. In addition, he was kind enough to point out
problems with my presenting style.

†の=one of the Hiragana phonetic letters in Japanese language, commonly appears in the text. It issimilar to search for the letter “d” in around 200-word text. Through this exercise, people would learn
to recognize how difficult to find them all.
239

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

NHK Educational TV: The Factories of the Future (Broadcast
March 21, 1960)
In the studio are 2–3 TV cameras, which the TV crew members switch between toshow different images on the TV screen; when the nearest camera is broadcasting, therule is that you should not get too close a view of the face. However, demonstrating his
forward-looking personality during the camera rehearsal, the Professor gradually moved
further and further forward, and when one of the crew said, “Your face is going to be off
the edges of the screen,” the Professor replied, “It won’t have any impact unless that
happens.”
In July 1982, we happened to be on the same China Airlines flight to Taipei and theProfessor was kind enough to show an interest when I talked about QC problems in theconstruction of government offices, which I was managing at that stage. I told him,
“The Board of Audit is being really picky about the quality of concrete and thestandardization of windows at the moment.” Unfortunately, that was the last opportunitythat I had to talk at leisure with the Professor.
He subsequently sent me a photograph that he had taken on the flight, along with aletter saying, “I enjoyed chatting with you.” I treasure that letter and photograph as
cherished mementos.
(Senior Advisor, Japanese Standards Association (JSA);
formerly a director of the JSA)

240

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

Image and Reality/Professor Ishikawa on TV
Ichiro Sano
QC first appeared on NHK Educational TV in May 1960. Amid criticism fromthose who scoffed that nobody would watch something so difficult, we embarked on
this new endeavor, feeling our way uncertainly.
During this period, it was Professor Ishikawa who served as both our pilot and ourcaptain. He patiently explained the ABC of QC in a way that I—a youngster in mysecond year with NHK—could understand, and was even kind enough to appear on the
program as a commentator. Almost all television broadcast at that time was live andalthough the program was only once a week, prior preparation and meetings meant that
I needed to go to the Professor’s office almost every day to discuss the structure of the
program and have him explain its content.
On the day of the broadcast itself, the place would be thrown into turmoil. Thiswas because there were restrictions on the number of characters that could be used on asingle screen for explanations, as well as on the thickness of the lines in the illustrations.
However, to the eyes of our experts, the diagrams looked too simplified and theterminology and figures were too abbreviated, so we never got the OK the first time.
That is when the war of attrition between the academics and the production team would
begin. This was the cause of all the fuss and it would be repeated every single time.
However, although he was regarded by the production team as the most formidable
opponent, Professor Ishikawa was always the most flexible in his response and waseven kind enough to intercede on our behalf to try to talk round the others appearing on
the program. I thought that he demonstrated a really professional approach. The
production team did repeatedly complain about the Professor’s characteristic tendency
to speak rather quickly. Later on, saying that he was convinced because that was what
experts in the media said, he surprised us all by practicing and mastering the art of
speaking at a pace of about 200 characters a minute, which was easier for the audience
to listen to and understand. I recall with great fondness the time, several years later,when the Professor was kind enough to say, “I really have to thank all of you forshowing me how to speak, what expressions to use, and how to structure my talk.”
Contrary to his appearance, the Professor was rather shy, so his open-hearted
manner did not really come across on screen. This was entirely the responsibility of theinexperienced, novice director, and I am embarrassed to think of it even now.
In any case, I would like to close by recalling what had been said to me by theProfessor, who described himself thus: “When I’m standing, I’m compiling a
241PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

cause-and-effect diagram; when I’m sitting, I’m making a control chart; and when I’m
walking, I’m looking for defects.”
He said, “The reason I’m glad I studied QC is that there is no better approach forlooking at what is necessary and sufficient satisfaction and getting close to that level ofsatisfaction in the most efficient way possible.”Thank you for everything, Professor.
(Chief Director, Lifelong Learning Program Team,
Program Production Department, NHK)

9.4 Counseling Activities at Enterprises
Requested by Fuji Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., Wanishi Iron Works (currently Nippon
Steel & Sumitomo Metal, Muroran Works), Prof. Eizaburo Nishibori, Prof. Shigeru
Mizuno and Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa delivered their lectures in August 1950 accompanied
by Prof. Masumasa Imaizumi and myself, Ikuro Kusaba, as their assistants. In addition
to the classroom lecture, gathering of data from the actual work place and its analysis
were also part of the training. Result of analysis was introduced during the lecture. I was
surprised by the way that Prof. Ishikawa acted and made decisions based on his field
experience and that there was a lot to learn from this approach. This must have been
how the on-site quality management training first started in Japan. Owing to Prof.
Ishikawa’s way of teaching, Japanese quality management became something morepractical and effective than just a theory, resulting in realizing a joint effort between
industry and academia.
Whenever Prof. Ishikawa visited companies for counseling, he used to say “It is
not us who practice TQC. It is to be implemented by all the employees under theleadership of the president”, “What needs to be done to improve this company?”, “Whatare you going to do to make this company better?”, “Is this place a warehouse?”, “Youhave your plant in a warehouse?”, “Why is a file necessary in a machine assemblyplant?”, etc. Instead of teaching specialized skills, Prof. Ishikawa first thought about
what was necessary for the company and then instructed focusing on the specific items
that needed to be dealt with. Whenever running into an issue that was beyond his own
area of expertise, Prof. Ishikawa willingly introduced a professional in that field. He
was flexible and proactive about using any resources and people who could be helpful,
whether or not they had QC tools or were QC experts, and he was good at incorporatingthem into the field of quality, as tools and QC specialists. Quite a large number of QC
242

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

experts today are in the field of quality, as a result of being invited by Prof. Ishikawa.
Prof. Ishikawa made substantial effort in fostering young future lecturers forcompany counseling activities as well. Companies seeking for counseling usually asked
for well experienced lecturer however, Prof. Ishikawa often had young trainees
accompany an expert lecturer, as an assistant to a counseling activity. It seemed thatcompanies had no choice but to accept this because it was Prof. Ishikawa’s idea. There
are many people who became quality experts after being given such opportunities by
Prof. Ishikawa. Some companies did not welcome inexperienced lecturers at first,
however, it started to work out as it was easy for the company people to get into a
conversation with young lecturers in a casual manner and to ask small and simple
questions. It was also a valuable opportunity for young lecturers to enhance themselves.
The more they engaged in consulting activity, the more they become attached to thecompany, thankful for having them, despite their lack of experience, and enthusiastic toshow their gratitude in return. Companies started to understand and accept the way Prof.
Ishikawa assigned young lecturers, as it eventually worked out effectively. Prof.
Ishikawa’s way of thinking was very logical. But at the same time, he took into
consideration how to build a mechanism that was based on people’s kindness andunderstanding.
(Ikuro Kusaba)“It’s Important for People to Interact Frankly andWithout Concealment”
Rokuichi Yamada
I was deeply shocked and saddened by the news of the sudden passing of Prof.
Ishikawa on 16th April. It was shortly after we gathered at QCG, a golf competition we
often held, in Sobu Country Club on 8th April. We were saying that Prof. Ishikawa may
not be able to play golf next year, but he can still join the party. Despite his busy
schedule, Prof. Ishikawa loved QCG so much that he appointed himself as leader. He
was hardly ever absent and participated in the competition as many as 174 times. It wasan outstanding record. Including Prof. Ishikawa, members were quite enthusiastic about
QCG and they never called off the competition, no matter how bad the weather
condition was. Prof. Ishikawa truly loved golfing and the QCG without him, was nolonger what it used to be. It was 1972, when I first met Prof. Ishikawa at the Top
Seminar held in Karuizawa. After his lecture, I decided to formally implement TQC and243

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

asked him to form a team of lecturers. That’s how we started our journey toward theDeming Prize. He never failed to participate in the Steering Committee meetings, twicea year and taught us, passionately. In the evening, we spent time together deepening ourbond, having frank and honest conversations over drinks. It was his important message
to tell us that TQC is not just about theory, but about having a real interaction.
It is also unforgettable how Prof. Ishikawa lectured for QC Circle members. He got
together with frontline workers, and taught very compassionately and warmheartedly.
Owing to Prof. Ishikawa’s support, we won the Deming Prize in 1976. We havecontinued to promote TQC since then however, we still have much to achieve, to meetthe expectation of Prof. Ishikawa. I truly believe that what motivated post-war Japan toaccomplish significant industrial growth, was Quality Management, as the United States
has announced. And Prof. Ishikawa’s tremendous effort that made it happen, will always
be remembered.
(President, Sankyo Seiki Mfg.)“Without Steady Improvement of Quality, No
Progress Can Be Expected for the Company.”
Kiyoshi TaniFirst of all, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for this opportunity towrite a reminiscence essay in memory of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa.
With the support of Prof. Ishikawa, we launched TQC activity under the slogan to“establish efficient and lean management by enhancing the quality of work across theorganization” in 1977, as a company-wide effort.
The economy was entering to a period of low growth at that time. It was also when
the competition among companies in the clock industry became more severe due torapid electronics innovation, cost competition with the use of crystals and the launch of
new products. In order to overcome such a difficult management environment, drastic
improvement of the company’s constitution was the key to survival.
Being given the privilege to receive guidance from Prof. Ishikawa, aworldwide-recognized Quality Management expert, at a difficult time like this, was very
fortunate for us, both in the business and in personal settings.
His to-the-point theory and advice, based on his ample experience, as well as his
frank personality, remain strong in our minds. Thanks to Prof. Ishikawa’s guidance, wewere able to ensure understanding of TQC throughout the company, enhance quality244Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

awareness, and revitalize voluntary circle activities, which led them to become anaward-winning team at external conferences. In the end, we all came to the conclusionin the organization, that a company cannot grow without a unified effort to promote
TQC. We attempted to obtain the Deming Prize, participated in by the president, and all
employees. As a result, we were able to win the prestigious Deming Prize, in 1982.
Gaining appraisal widely, from society, helped us to significantly improve our businessperformance afterwards.
We greatly owe all these achievements to Prof. Ishikawa, and are deeply thankful
for his guiding us. Businesses today still face hardships and uncertainties. Under suchcircumstances, we will be sure to keep in mind the value of quality through TQC
promotion and "without steady improvement of quality, no progress can be expected forthe company”, as Prof. Ishikawa taught us. For our company, TQC promotion is aneverlasting challenge, and we strongly believe that is what makes a company prosper.
We are determined to put our utmost effort continuously, to achieve company growth
and to contribute to society. By doing so, we hope to show our gratitude to Prof.
Ishikawa for his kind support.
His words which guided us will live on forever in our company management.
Thank you, Prof. Ishikawa, from the bottom of my heart.
(Director and Senior Adviser, Former President, Rhythm Watch Co., Ltd.)

Memories of Dr. Ishikawa
James A Henderson
I met Dr. Ishikawa in 1983. Mr. Ryoichi Kawai, Chairman of Komatsu, took me
aside on a visit one day and told me Dr. Ishikawa had been a class mate, and had been
influential with him personally and instrumental in Komatsu’s success. Mr. Kawai
recommended that I become acquainted with him. We met Dr. Ishikawa in his Tokyo
office and realized that he indeed had wisdom and experience that would be very
valuable to our company. Even though his schedule was very busy, he agrees to help us.
He visited our plants and technical center, and trained our senior management at ourheadquarters in Columbus, Indiana, in November 1983.
Dr. Ishikawa was a memorable person. He made his points simply and forcefully,
with easily understood examples. He consistently lectured us on the cross-functional
nature of work, keeping the orientation on the customer, using data and statistics—not
opinions, focusing on the “vital few” as opposed to the “trivial many,” process control,245

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

and the importance of education and training—especially in technique and method, notjust concept. I well remember his insistence that I, as the president, must participate incompany-wide quality control, especially through the presidential audit process. His
counsel was always not to accuse, but to ask why and for the data, and, above all, to“not get mad” at the person involved in a quality problem.
It was instructive that before training our senior managers, Dr. Ishikawa toured ourplants and technical center, asking very detailed questions of workers, engineers andmanagers. His approach to preparing for the training session was a vivid reminder of
how our managers had to approach the whole issue of quality if we were to improve.
We have made much progress in quality since Dr. Ishikawa launched us on ourway in 1983. He counseled that it would take several years to install company-wide
quality control. He was right. We have persevered and basically stayed on the course hehelped us to set. We call it “Customer Led Quality.” While we have much room for
improvement, we have many of the basics he taught us now in place, putting us in goodstead for the 1990s.
I will always remember both Dr. Ishikawa’s firmness and his understanding as heworked with us. I will also always remember his simplicity—both in message and inteaching approach. He was a man of integrity—telling you what you needed to hear, notwhat you wanted to hear. His examples were timeless, and you knew he had been there.
He did not bring a lot of people and equipment or an elaborate process as many
consultants do. He brought himself and a vital message. Although he was legend, henever behaved as if he knew he was.
Finally Dr. Ishikawa was a joy to be with. He sparkled with enthusiasm as hetaught. He was curious about our business and its details. In one way or another throughhis interest and method of inquiry, he was always teaching. We feel fortunate andprivileged to be one of the many companies in the world which he influenced so
positively.
(President and Chief Operating Officer,
Cummins Engine Company, Inc.)

246

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education

Product Liability Prevention:
The Most Important Issue
Yoshijiro Soda
In 1971, I had succeeded my father, the founder in our company. Leaving the goodtraditions in place, we aimed to get rid of our conventional ways to become a modern
company in order to advance. We decided to ask for the guidance of Dr. Ishikawa, thethen leading authority in quality control. At that time, he was a professor at the
University of Tokyo. For 18 long years since then, we had the pleasure of directly
receiving his direct vivid influence. During that time, we dispatched research staffs to
his laboratory, participated in JUSE’s courses, promoted improvement suggestion
system by small group activities, and strived to improve our business performance. To
this day, we have continued these activities.
Dr. Ishikawa always said, “Quality control is doing normal things in normal ways.”
However, for us, this was difficult to practice. When solving problems, Dr. Ishikawa
himself would deeply analyze raw data until he was fully satisfied. Then, from among
the stack of issues to be studied, he would give us sound solution strategy and also some
homework to be tackled. His guidance was strict, but his personality was plain andhumane with a true Tokyoite. On the way to our Okayama factory, he would spend mostof the time in the dining car, constantly smoking and drinking, having lively chats, andgo back to his seat almost nearing the destination.
One of his advices that left a deep impression on me is the indication on PL issue.
Nowadays, PL issues have finally become a topic for discussion, but Dr. Ishikawa hadwarned about this topic 20 years ago with an example of the USA. I cannot repress myawe anew towards Dr. Ishikawa’s foresight still now. In recent years, it had been a joy
for me to visit Dr. Ishikawa at the president’s office in Musashi Institute of Technology.
During our chats on my company, our line of business, and other matters, I learned theway of thinking, judgment criteria, and life lessons from Dr. Ishikawa, the master of theworld.
I commit to endeavor to contribute to the society through our business and throughour industry’s activities, holding Dr. Ishikawa’s teachings as my moral guide, evenwhen I can be of limited help.
(Chairman and Executive Director, Soda Aromatic Co., Ltd,
Chairman, Japan Flavor and Fragrance Materials Association)

247

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

That Was Worth Doing
Taiji Sayo
I cannot forget the time when we applied for the Deming Application Prize in 1982.
Prof. Ishikawa gave advice on mental preparations as follows:“Do not apply for the prize for the sake of the award. QC will become merely
a formality through this approach. If TQC is properly practiced, good results areachieved, and it shows on everyone’s face that we’ve made it happily, you will
naturally be awarded the Prize.
In order to make this situation, you must keep in mind the followings:
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

Each and every one clearly understands why Kajima implements TQC.
You identify the characteristics of Kajima’s TQC of each department andeach branch, and build confidence about them.
PDCA is properly rotated at the corporate level, each branch office, eachdepartment and section, and in the construction sites, over 3–5 years. As aresult, its outcome gets better and better. Quality analysis and process
analysis are made in a statistical manner, and preventive control is carriedout well.
Capability and mechanisms to promote TQC autonomously are
established, even after being awarded the Deming Prize.
Sectionalism is eliminated, cross-functional control is organized in asystematic manner, and the system is successfully executed.
Each and every one makes utmost efforts at their best and has a confident
face showing what they have done.”

Like this, I remember the way Prof. Ishikawa always taught lessons of the essence
frankly, and I am truly convinced that we were happy to practice TQC under his
guidance.
In the end, I pray sincerely for the repose of his soul.
(Former Vice President, Kajima Corporation)

248

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education“New Product Development Is the Only Way to Get
Out of the Recession”
Atsushi Yamagata
My first encounter with Prof. Ishikawa was when I visited the President’s office ofMusashi Institute of Technology on a cold day with snow falling from time to time fromthe morning, in February 1981. Accompanying the company president, I came torequest Prof. Ishikawa’s guidance as we wished to improve our company’s structure
which had been weakened by the two oil crises. Prof. Ishikawa quietly lent his ear to thepresident’s ongoing worries and his enthusiasm, of being at the top, to reform thecompany by any means necessary. Since Prof. Ishikawa, himself, had a background of
applied chemistry, and there were only few companies working on TQC, in the raw
materials industry at that time, he willingly accepted our request. After that, Prof.
Ishikawa chose the top instructors in the TQC world for us, and even after our company
won the Deming Prize in 1985, many of our employees continued to receive his kind
guidance, directly.
In the first 2 years, Prof. Ishikawa scolded us at SUTEKON (the steeringcommittee) and guidance meetings, “The promotion headquarters is not studying
enough and weak to support each division to find and solve problems. It is only
promoting superficially,” and I remember that the president and I struggled together
each time. When it comes to communicating with a great professor, we had a tendency
to behave modestly, but Prof. Ishikawa preferred a straightforward manner, and often
admonished us for “dawdling.”
On another occasion, we sometimes made an excuse by using the word “exception”
pointing out that the raw material industry was different from other industries, but Prof.
Ishikawa particularly hated that and encouraged us by saying “No progress can be madein the technology, if you make an exception.” Above all, with saying, “New productdevelopment is the only way to get out of the recession,” Prof. Ishikawa advised us
widely on business management issues themselves, such as how to anticipate the needsof the customer, product planning, elaboration techniques and production process
analysis, with regard to high functional specialty synthetic rubber used around theautomobile engine, and on the materials for developing fuel efficient tires which wewere working on at that time. I believe that as a result of the effort made by thepresident and all those involved, in return for his guidance, led to a positive outcome.
We are very grateful, and sincerely appreciate Prof. Ishikawa.
249

PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

Over the last two or so years ago, our company has acquired companies in Europe
and the U.S., and started to operate as a conglomerate. In the course of pushing forward
improvement, Prof. Ishikawa’s advice, “It is important to have people understand theJapanese way of QC gradually, and proceed along with the local national character,” istruly sinking into my heart, as of late.
I feel that I still hear him saying, in his guttural voice, while chain smoking andcoughing, “Is new product development going well?” Though it was a short period oftime, I still would like to put into practice the numerous valuable lessons taught by Prof.
Ishikawa.
(Representative Managing Director, Zeon Corporation)“QC Is Not Something to Be Done by
the QC Department.”
Katsuyoshi Ishihara
I was given guidance directly from Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa for the first time in May
1963, when I presented my research at a QC Conference, held in Sendai.
At that time, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. was already receiving
guidance from Prof. Ishikawa on a regular basis. However, I, myself, never had theopportunity to be taught by him until that conference. I remember Prof. Ishikawa
introducing Matsushita’s quality management to the conference participants.
In 1964, the Device Business Department decided to attempt the Deming Prize.
Long term guidance by Prof. Ishikawa himself, started from that point. I am deeply
grateful to Prof. Ishikawa, as I would not be what I am today without him.
Prof. Ishikawa used to say “quality management is not something to be done by the
QC Department. It needs to be done by everyone.” Now I look back and regret how
uncreative my method of quality management was. I feel embarrassed about theapproach I took.
Though I don’t drink or smoke, I joined dinner with Prof. Ishikawa.
Sometimes we enjoyed talking so much that it went on till 2 or 3 a.m. in themorning. When that happened, Prof. Ishikawa said “how can you manage staying up
with me, without drinking.” At times like this, he also mentioned a certain department
and said “their quality management was not clear.” Actually, things he pointed out werevery important lessons. We analyzed those issues, established a promotion system and I
asked Prof. Ishikawa for advice at the next counselling session. His feedback was
250

Chapter 9 Quality Control Starts and Ends with Education“uh-huh, uh-huh, I see,” which made us wonder if we had taken the right measure or not,but it was under the guidance of Prof. Ishikawa, so we believed in ourselves enough togo ahead with what we came up. By continuing to achieve goals and produce results, wewere able to win the Deming Application Prize for Divisions in the fall of 1966.
From then, till the day I retired, Prof. Ishikawa guided us for over twenty years.
My respected mentor passed away on 16th April. He will be missed immensely. May hissoul rest in peace.
(President, Quality Engineering Institute;
Formerly of Matsushita Electronic Components Company)

A Great Professor with a Warm Heart
Isao Itsukage
Deeply moved by Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s speech at the QC Conference in the fallof 1956(held at the University of Tokyo), along with a suggestion from the person in
charge of promoting quality control at Iwabuchi Mill of Honshu Paper (Deming Prizewinner in 1954) at that time, I proposed to a board member, who was my superior, toreceive a guidance from him, as soon as I returned to the office.
This turned out to be the trigger, Suntory (then Kotobukiya) received its firstguidance from Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa and Prof. Ikuro Kusaba on Feb. 16, 1957, at
Fujisawa Plant in Fujisawa City. I attended this guidance meeting as a promoter ofquality control.
After the guidance meeting, in the daytime, at the so-called “nomunication” held at
a Japanese-style hotel with Japanese cuisine dining, I was taught by Prof. Ishikawa, “It
is not to control quality. It is to control production processes and business management
through quality, elaborate quality, and control quality as result. It’s the same with cost
control. It is not to control cost, but by cost,” and I felt as if the scales fell from my eyes.
I can still clearly visualize the scene even now, after 34 long years, and his voice still
lingers strongly in my ears.
Prof. Ishikawa often mentioned “QC-wise sense,” but he never treated me, wholacked the sense separately, and he always encouraged me and rendered me, warm care,even on personal matters.
When I spoke as a curtain raiser to Prof. Ishikawa, at the lecture during Quality
Month in Hiroshima, he said “Itsukage’s lecture was thought-provoking,” to theaudience. It helped me gain great confidence.
251PART III Accomplishments of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa

Looking back now, the dinner meeting on Jan. 11, 1988, in Nagoya with Prof.
Tadakazu Okuno and Mr. Taro Okawa, the president of Sungrain, turned out to be thelast “nomunication” with Prof. Ishikawa, and on the way back to the hotel, I was deeply
touched by his concern for my life, after retirement from Suntory.
Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa, thank you very much, for such a long time.
(Contract Counselor, TQM Promotion Department, Suntory)

252