Founder Stories
Founder Stories
The Life of Gonshiro Kubota
Actively taking on challenges, such as diversification and expansion overseas
Starting the production of machine tools
When a long recession from the end of the Meiji period (1912) led to the cities, towns and villages refraining from waterworks construction, there was also a dramatic drop in the demand for iron pipes. Gonshiro was quick to make a decision and steered the company towards diversification.
In 1914, he utilized lathe casting techniques to start the manufacturing of lathes in a corner of the main plant in Funade-cho. He gradually increased the types of machines, from milling machines and boring machines to planing types, and strengthened the foundations of the business. In 1917, the delivery of a steam engine for cargo boats formed a foothold for expansion into ship machinery. From then on, he continued to widen the business into machinery for steel manufacturing, engines for farm machinery and industry, and diesel engines, and aimed for the financial stabilization of the company.
A quick advance into the automobile business
Automobiles were becoming more widespread in Japan from the middle of the Taisho period (1912–1926). Gonshiro decided he wanted to make a small and inexpensive car, to be suitable for the Japanese market, and in 1919 he established Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd. He purchased a patent from an American, Mr. William R. Gorham, and began manufacturing.
However, the company started to struggle financially when mass-imports of American-made cars such as Fords began, and it merged with a Tokyo company, the DAT Motorcar Company. In 1931, a non-stop road test from Osaka to Tokyo was performed in a small car. This vehicle was put on sale under the name Datson.
Strenuous efforts were continued after that, but in the end, it was decided that they could not win against the competition from foreign cars, and the shares in the company were transferred to Tobata Casting Co., Ltd. This what was later to become Nissan Motors Co., Ltd.
Numerous prizes at expositions and exhibitions
The talents of Gonshiro as an engineer and an inventor can be seen from the numerous prizes he was awarded at various expositions and exhibitions.
After exhibiting a 1,200 mm iron pipe at the Meiji Memorial Colonial Exposition held in Tennoji Park, Osaka in 1913, he went on to exhibit a 1,500 mm pipe at the Taisho Exposition in Ueno Park, Tokyo the following year, and won the gold medal.
In the field of machinery manufacturing, at a Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce (now the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) sponsored machine tools exhibition in 1921 he exhibited an 8-foot planing machine, a plain miller and a 10-foot lathe, and won gold medals for each of them.
Furthermore, with the Kubota Oil Engine also winning the top prize at an exposition of new agriculture in 1925, Gonshiro had produced excellent results at various exhibitions and reviews.
A trading area stretching from South East Asia to Europe
Expansion overseas began in 1917, with the export of 2,000 tons of iron pipe to Java (currently Indonesia). As Japan entered the Showa period (1926–1989), the company began regular exports of iron pipes to various countries in South East Asia, centering on the Dutch East Indies. Furthermore, in 1932, an order was received from homeland Holland for 3,000 tons of gas pipe. In 1935, the company exported diesel engines to the Soviet Union (currently Russia).
When an order came for 10,000 tons of iron pipe for waterworks from a city in South East Asia, Gonshiro accepted it, even though he knew that they could not make a profit from it. He told the executives and employees who objected that “Although there will be no profit, it will be a chance to obtain foreign currency, so it will be for the sake of the country. This is not a company problem. It is a national issue.”
The resolve he had to do something “for the country” when he started out making iron pipes was still strong.
Two observation visits to Europe and America
Gonshiro visited Europe and America to make observations twice, in 1919 and in 1927. He wanted to observe industry in the advanced nations to check whether the products he himself had developed would be accepted on the international market.
(Right: Gonshiro Kubota, in New Orleans City, U.S.A.)
When he visited Germany on an observation visit in 1927, he refused to buy the rights to a patent from a particular company (Company A), no matter how hard they recommended it to him. However, when he visited the next company (Company B), as soon as he viewed the plant, he offered to buy the patent without even asking the price.
Even though the companies were famous companies in the advanced nations, he was undaunted and believed in his own judgment as an engineer.
Gonshiro (left) in Koblenz City, Germany
Words of the founder
The most important rule for those going about a certain task is to apply good ideas right away. You may have received good advice, and you may have outstanding theories, but if you don’t act instantly, nothing will come of them. That said, the implementation of these schemes is no easy feat.
In 1937, on a radio program entitled Talking about Business, Gonshiro said that the most important thing for aspiring businessmen is “to act on good ideas instantly, no matter what the task.” When he was still in training, Gonshiro paid careful attention to his surroundings, and would absorb new ideas and techniques and try them out straight away. When it came to the development of new techniques for castings and cast iron pipes, be it implementing new ideas from abroad and other companies, or purchasing patents and production rights, he did whatever it took to lead the developments to commercialization.
Words of the founder
Inexpensively manufacturing good-quality products is a diligent way forward. The small profits and quick returns method is a win-win situation for both the company and the consumer. It is a method of upstanding morals, and one that will build relationships of trust.
In these remarks by Gonshiro, which concluded a business lecture, it is clear to see that his hands-on approach was, in the end, all for the consumer. It is said that Gonshiro would ask his buyers to keep material costs as low as possible. At the time, business was for profit, and profit would be spent however one pleased. Gonshiro, however, injected the majority of the company’s profit into new factories, equipment, and technological improvements. His aim was to give back to the company’s customers and to society as a whole.
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