Eiichi Shibusawa

"“Group” means “forming a strategic synergy group.” Eiichi Shibusawa established five hundred companies and called himself a “jack-of-all-trades.” Masayoshi Son currently has set a goal of creating an army of five thousand like-minded companies within the SoftBank Group in thirty years, ten times the goal of Eiichi Shibusawa."

"Eiichi Shibusawa lectured on Confucius’s “Analects,” preached human ways, and taught the “unity of economic and moral principles” to the business community."

"Eiichi Shibusawa accompanied Shogun’s 15th successor Tokugawa Yoshinobu’s brother, Akitake, to the Paris Expo as a retainer. Upon returning, he visited Yoshinobu at Houdaiin in Shizuoka, who was under house arrest at the time, to report and hand over the remaining money after organizing the accounts and belongings from his stay in France. Since almost no one else accurately reported the expenses during their stay in France, Yoshinobu and those around him greatly deepened their trust in Shibusawa."

"“Seven” is the magic number that indicates “the optimal timing to make a move in a game is when a 70% chance of victory is seen.” When Oda Nobunaga, Ryoma Sakamoto, and Eiichi Shibusawa sensed “victory,” they took “bold actions” as if driven by it. Oda Nobunaga made a significant shift with the Battle of Okehazama, where he blocked the path of Imagawa Yoshimoto aiming for Kyoto, Ryoma Sakamoto with his two defections, and Eiichi Shibusawa when he resigned from the Ministry of Finance at the request of the Meiji government to live as an entrepreneur establishing the First National Bank."

"“Flow” means “seeing the flow of the times, predicting ahead, and taking action while waiting.” Oda Nobunaga, Ryoma Sakamoto, and Eiichi Shibusawa were such great figures."

"“Defense” is “defensive power.” Eiichi Shibusawa modeled the First National Bank after the Bank of England, which he actually saw in England, and worked to establish and nurture many banks, accumulating Japan’s financial power."