ITOCHU Corporation

  • 日本語
  • 中文
Font size
  • S
  • M
  • L

The link to move in the page.

  • 日本語ページ
  • 中文页
  • Print this page
  1. Home>
  2. About ITOCHU>
  3. ITOCHU History>
  4. Chubei Itoh Ⅰ

Primary contents from here.

Chubei Itoh Ⅰ

Innovation and Compassion The Spirit that Pervaded the Life of Chubei Itoh Ⅰ Chubei Itoh, the founder of ITOCHU Corporation, began itinerant trading when he was only 15 years old. He went on to build an extensive array of very self-reliant businesses during a period of great turmoil in Japan, from the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate to the early and middle Meiji era. By tracing his footsteps, his innovative approach to business development and the spirit of compassion that underlies his management ethos become clear.

[Photo] Chubei Itoh Ⅰ

Witnessing the emergence of modern Japan, Chubei Itoh took bold initiatives and achieved a significant number of breakthroughs. For example, he drew up a store charter when he opened Benchu in Osaka to streamline and institutionalize management.

The store charter clearly set out the rights and duties of his store employees, and defined the details of the “sharing of profit by three parties”. He also astonished his competitors in an industry that had very much retained traditional business practices with a series of initiatives that were revolutionary at the time, such as introducing a meetings-based system of management, recruiting graduates of advanced education, and adopting an insurance system.

Chubei held onto the Buddhist spirit of compassion as his management ethos. This spirit combined with his innovative approach to business, like two sides of a coin. Chubei was guided by his conviction that trading was the Way to Buddha, and he ensured his store workers behaved accordingly. Based on this spirit, he practiced the “sampo yoshi” — the good for the seller, the good for the buyer and the good for society — which characterized the Omi merchant, and he insisted on his strict precept: “Never lie when trading”.

[Photo]

Chubei also dealt with his store employees with a spirit of compassion, which was apparent in his approach to them. He treated them as family-like partners in running the business, rather than taking a master-servant approach to their relationship.
One such example was the holding of sukiyaki parties called “16” for all store employees. The parties were held six times each month on days ending in a “1” or “6”, and Chubei is said to have drunk sake with his staff and exchanged opinions with them in an informal setting.

Moreover, in an approach that anticipated the corporate recreation practices of today, he arranged a number of events to recognize his staff's service, by taking them to theaters, Sumo tournaments, and boating parties in summer. His approach naturally increased the motivation and solidarity of his employees, positively affecting their daily work.

Chubei learned the teachings of Buddha and developed the foundation of his true faith when he was traveling to carry out itinerant trading in Kyushu and met Shichiriwajo, a high priest and the chief priest of Mangyoji temple in Fukuoka, an old temple belonging to the Nishi Honganji sect of Shinshu.
Innovation and compassion appear to be the two elements that dominated Chubei Itoh's life and enabled him to achieve great things.

Common menu of category from here.

Common information from here.

  1. Home>
  2. About ITOCHU>
  3. ITOCHU History>
  4. Chubei Itoh Ⅰ