Coin Op. Journal

"My Life is Shoes" volatile ear during which Iwajiro, at the mere age of twelve, initiated his life work, and about the refracted heart of the man who followed the path from samurai LOUGOR9 3HT 21 EHTRO OJAOV 3 ATBUONI THEM This is an excerpt from the copy for a poster advertising the Otsuka Shoe Manufacturing Co. It is hard not to find its simple clarity refreshing. The pride and faith in the business embraced to shoemaker. Moreover I am thinking about possible reasons that might explain how his company weathered the vicissitudes of the Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras, how it passed through the changes in styles of living and custom, and how it grew into one of the biggest enterpises in the world of shoe manufacturing. There are a variety of reasons why an enterprise grows. Produc- by the company, as well as the given my life to shoes; the smouldering heart of a man has of the body of the enterprise. It is usual that the failure of one area harms the whole, and again that the success of one part activates the rest. One of the primary reasons for success is doubtless the prudent judgement of the management that determines ways of coping with the various changes of the industry by ac- curately interpreting the move- ment of the economic and social environment. However, I think that the most important reason グツのオーツカ affection for the product-shoes -that has been zealously raised and refined, this is all reflected in the copy and is quite wonderful. The founder of the Otsuka Shoe Manufacturing Co. was a samurai from the feudal domain of Sakura named Iwajiro Otsuka. In 1892, when he changed his course from that of a warrior to that of a shoe manufacturer, Iwa- jiro was twelve years old. "I have tion, sales, financial manage- ment, personnel, each contributes in its own area to the development 1872 9-44 191 19304-1C 伝統が品質に表われる オーツカックツ given birth to splendid shoes; the Otsuka This copy is also included in the 私の魂は靴だ。 business has lived for 108 years." poster, but it is not simply shoes with which I am here concerned. I am thinking instead about the 137 SHOES 19804