TSUDA Electric Wire & Cable was founded in 1854 in the late Edo period. We will celebrate our 160th anniversary the year after next. 1854 is one year after Commodore Perry arrived at Uraga in his black ship. Of course, in the late Edo period there was no electric wire. At that time, our company produced copper work for shrines and temples, and copper wire for fastening tiles. Our business in electric wires began in 1881 when we supplied copper wiring for communications to the Ministry of Engineering (which later became Nippon Telegraph and Telephone).
I am often asked by the media and others, “What is the key to longevity?” It was certainly not always smooth sailing for our company. The art of management is truly difficult. Various problems arise and must be appropriately handled. At that point, the only thing to do is to go along with natural providence, gather the wisdom of others, and practice common sense.
When gathering wisdom, I think it is important to make your ideas on self-reproach known throughout the organization. People tend to search for causes when encountering difficulty rather than take responsibility, but an organization is strengthened when each of its members takes an attitude of self-reproach instead of blaming others. If you create an environment that is naturally motivating, then the company becomes enriched with dynamism, but this is difficult to accomplish.
Looking back, when I was young I was rambunctious and a nuisance. I was hurt, but untouched by illness. My lucky color has been red since my school days when I was enthralled with magic, but I was hospitalized at sixty. Since then, I have been careful with my health, but have begun worrying about becoming overweight. Being overweight does not cause pain, and that is even more alarming. I have maintained that quitting the delights of delicacies, alcohol, and tobacco is bad for the body, but perhaps it is about time.
They say that happiness will slip away unless you create it, but recently I have come to believe that happiness will slip away unless you are awakened to it.
In life, too, I think that there is nothing so dull than if everything were to go as planned. This world has joys and sorrows. More than anything, it is essential to believe that in life there is both bitter and sweet, and there is a life full of hope wherever you go. It is the undisguised form that is natural and most allows humans to live the longest and strongest. Nature is not stagnant, but is constantly forming and developing, so for us, bravado is taboo and we cannot go against nature. If people possess a spirit of accommodation and adaptability, then I believe they can live a peaceful, long life.
Previously, a collection of poems written by a 100-year-old author was much talked about and gave many people the courage to live a long life. One of the poems read, “When I receive kindness from others, I keep it in my heart. When I’m lonely, I take it out and am cheered. You should start storing kindness, too. It’s better than a pension.”
Our company’s creed (family motto) is “creating good products faster and cheaper for society.”
We earnestly take to heart the sentiments of our predecessors. We strive to fulfill our social mission and have made QCD our company creed, passing down the motto, “learn from the past” throughout the Edo, Meiji, Taisho, Showa, and Heisei periods.
We will continue to learn from the past and create a company that constantly strives for new innovations needed by society.