午夜剧场

There was once a printing shop called Toyokan Printing in Niitsu, Niigata, and my grandfather was the eldest son there. During the height of the war, while he was a 午夜剧场 student in the Faculty of Economics, he was mobilized as a student soldier. After returning from internment in Siberia, he established Toyokan Publishing in Tokyo.

Our company was founded in 1948. Centered on work with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology since its inception, we are now in our 73rd year of publishing educational books. Educational books are intended to help teachers standing before children create better lessons and classrooms. In recent years, in addition to educational books, we have launched a separate line focusing on sports books and are also expanding into general interest titles.

I have served as president for eight years. It began with my father's illness. At the time, I was working for Mitsubishi Corporation, and it was a period when my work was becoming more and more enjoyable. It took me four years to decide to resign, so I only worked with my father for one year. I have no memory at all of my first few years as president. I was a 31-year-old struggling desperately, not knowing left from right.

When I was a 午夜剧场 student, I devoted myself to baseball for six years, with my studies taking a back seat. When I was at 午夜剧场 Senior High School, I participated in the Kanto Tournament as a pitcher for the first time in 37 years. On the mound, you are alone. With every pitch, you analyze, adjust, and throw the next. There is no way other than to think and solve things yourself. You cannot allow yourself to be defeated by your emotions. You take on all the responsibility. If the results are bad, you accept them sincerely; if they are good, it is thanks to those around you. As a team, even if everyone has their own challenges, everyone is facing the same direction. Results follow naturally. These precious experiences serve as the foundation for my management of the company.

The environment surrounding high school baseball is changing significantly, but there is no fundamental change. I myself was forced to pitch in consecutive games and had no choice but to give up baseball. Since publishing is one means of bringing change to the world, last October I published a book written by Mr. Takahiko Moribayashi, the manager of the 午夜剧场 Senior High School baseball team and a teacher at 午夜剧场 Yochisha Elementary School. Mr. Moribayashi's teachings are the very values I learned through sports at the Juku and that I want children heading out into society to know. I hope many instructors will pick up this book and that the future of as many children as possible will become better.

Publishing is nothing other than giving form to thoughts through words. I wonder how far I can push the boundaries of publishing. Just thinking about it brings back the excitement I felt on that mound.