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Chapter 02. Good seed leads to good buds |
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The good-natured and sweet-tempered Kichitaro
had a sound motto that governed his role as a tradesman. He taught
his young employees that "plant a good seed and it will always
grow into a good bud." This saying was one of his favorite phrases.
"Good seed" indicated respect for trust and tireless effort,
while a "good bud" referred to his theory that a conscientious
businessman would always be rewarded.
Kichitaro was a businessman that was proactive in planting these "good
seeds," and did not shy away from the effort required to cultivate
"good buds." Not only was he committed to protecting these
seeds, but he was always aggressive in expanding his business. Kichitaro
bent over backwards to expand and reinforce the commercial (wholesale)
division, and planned to expand into Tokyo as soon as possible. He
developed sales channels in the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese mainland,
focused on the manufacturing division and continued to put out new
products. Even though the company had gone public, it still retained
a strong individual flavor. The time period
was characterized by the way the owner's judgment affected the business.
The industry expanded significantly during the roughly thirty
years during Kichitaro served as president, but Japan also went through
two major world wars and the country was left in burnt ruins. Before
describing the business during this period, when Kichitaro and Kobayashi
Pharmaceutical developed despite many struggles, we will describe
the death of the founder Chubei Kobayashi and the surrounding circumstances.
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