Kaoru Ishikawa
“The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.”
― Mikhail Bakunin
During the period shortly after World War II, there was no better way to describe a poorly-made, cheap knock-off, mass produced item than a simple “Made in Japan” label. “Made in Japan”, in the United States at least, was not just a statement of origin for a particular product, but a judgment statement referring to its inferior quality and workmanship. Years of war with China and Russia, then later the United States and the Allies left the nation bankrupt and directionless. Manufacturing after the war was a hodgepodge of opportunists seeking quick profits from the new demand for cheap electronic parts, highly competitive companies seeking to rebuild after the devastation of war, and companies that had supported the military suddenly being commanded to re-tool and manufacture for nonmilitary uses . Although the reasons for Japan’s lackluster manufacturing performance seemed valid, for Japan, using the national identity to refer to an item as substandard was personal affront and insult, that – no matter how accurate – demanded correction. In this tumultuous business environment, a young chemical engineer would rise as a champion to spearhead not only Japan’s progress away from a third-rate manufacturing reputation, but to help institute the drive for continual quality improvement that would allow Japan to rise to become one of the world’s greatest economic powers before the end of the century. Kaoru Ishikawa was born in 1915 in Tokyo. He was the eldest of eight sons born to wealthy Japanese Industrialist, Ichiro Ishikawa. Interestingly, the name “Ichiro” is a common name in Japan, meaning “First Son”. While customary to pass this highly regarded name on, Ichiro named his first-born “Kaoru”, an androgynous name meaning “Fragrance” (Ichiro, n.d.). It might be conceivable that Kaoru was teased as a young man for his somewhat effeminate name, especially in a highly gender-appropriate culture like
― Mikhail Bakunin
During the period shortly after World War II, there was no better way to describe a poorly-made, cheap knock-off, mass produced item than a simple “Made in Japan” label. “Made in Japan”, in the United States at least, was not just a statement of origin for a particular product, but a judgment statement referring to its inferior quality and workmanship. Years of war with China and Russia, then later the United States and the Allies left the nation bankrupt and directionless. Manufacturing after the war was a hodgepodge of opportunists seeking quick profits from the new demand for cheap electronic parts, highly competitive companies seeking to rebuild after the devastation of war, and companies that had supported the military suddenly being commanded to re-tool and manufacture for nonmilitary uses . Although the reasons for Japan’s lackluster manufacturing performance seemed valid, for Japan, using the national identity to refer to an item as substandard was personal affront and insult, that – no matter how accurate – demanded correction. In this tumultuous business environment, a young chemical engineer would rise as a champion to spearhead not only Japan’s progress away from a third-rate manufacturing reputation, but to help institute the drive for continual quality improvement that would allow Japan to rise to become one of the world’s greatest economic powers before the end of the century. Kaoru Ishikawa was born in 1915 in Tokyo. He was the eldest of eight sons born to wealthy Japanese Industrialist, Ichiro Ishikawa. Interestingly, the name “Ichiro” is a common name in Japan, meaning “First Son”. While customary to pass this highly regarded name on, Ichiro named his first-born “Kaoru”, an androgynous name meaning “Fragrance” (Ichiro, n.d.). It might be conceivable that Kaoru was teased as a young man for his somewhat effeminate name, especially in a highly gender-appropriate culture like
References: Bakunin, M. (1842). Reaction in Germany - A Fragment by a Frenchman. Retrieved July 25, 2013, from russiapedia.rt.com: http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/politics-and-society/mikhail-bakunin/ Evans, J. R., & Lindsay, W. M. (2011). Managing for quality and performance excellence. New York, NY: (8 ed.) South-Western Pub. Ichiro. (n.d.). Retrieved July 26, 2013, from Behind the name: the entymology and history of first names: http://www.behindthename.com/name/ichiro Process Improvement in Japan. (2010). Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa. Retrieved July 26, 2013, from Process improvement in Japan: http://www.process-improvement-japan.com/kaoru-Ishikawa.html Reshef, Y. (2000). W. Edwards deming: the man and the legend. Retrieved July 24, 2013, from University of Alberta: http://www.ualberta.ca/~yreshef/orga432/demingobituary.html Takahashi, Y. (1993). Progress in the electronic components industry in Japan after World War II. Retrieved July 25, 2013, from IEEE Global History Network: http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/images/c/c2/Takahashi,_Japanese_Electronics_after_WWII.pdf