Sazō Idemitsu, Karl Marx and Sengai

2021/04/27

I got off at Moji Port Station for the first time. Under the "Moji Port" station signboard hanging from the roof of the platform, I watched the scene of families with their luggage heading towards the exit, and for a moment, I was hit by a sensation of slipping back in time to the past.

Upon exiting the old-fashioned station building, one can see the Mitsui Club building, where even Einstein is said to have stayed. In just a few minutes of walking, the Kanmon Strait comes into view, and on the other side, the city of Shimonoseki and the Kanmon Bridge can be seen. Along the coast, there are also hotels and old customs buildings, making the "Moji Port Retro" area a popular spot that attracted 2 million visitors in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

On this visit to Moji Port, it was not for the purpose of sightseeing or to try the local specialty "yaki-curry" (I had tried the local specialty "kawara-soba" for lunch in Shimonoseki). I came to visit the founding materials room of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, which is located in the birthplace of Idemitsu Kosan.

Idemitsu Kosan's founder, Sazō Idemitsu (1885-1981), was the model for the protagonist of the novel and movie "Man Called Pirate." As one of the business leaders who supported Japan's post-war economic growth and as a person of interest, many may be drawn to his character.

I think it's not well known, but Sazō Idemitsu wrote a book with the unusual title "If Marx Had Been Born in Japan" (1966). In this book, which he wrote after the age of 80, he discusses his own philosophy of civilization and management while having discussions with his employees about Marx (1818-1883).

In the book, Sazō says that he shares the same motivation and goal with Marx, which is to eliminate the exploitation of capitalists and to seek peace and well-being for humanity. However, their means of achieving this goal are different. He believes in the path of mutual aid and cooperation, while Marx believes in class struggle. Sazō reflects that if Marx had been born in Japan, he might have followed the same path as himself towards promoting friendly cooperation among humanity.

Sazō was a person who preferred the idea of working as a shopkeeper and receiving compensation like his employees, rather than as a capitalist. When it came to selling oil, he emphasized fair prices from the consumer's perspective and cautioned against the attitude of profit-seeking speculators. He believed in putting people first, and his management philosophy involved treating employees like family, without forced retirements or attendance logs, and allowing each individual to work independently and enjoyably. This book also shows a glimpse of Sazō‘s management philosophy.

In the founding materials room, it is explained that Sazō grew up in the beautiful and traditional area of Munakata in Fukuoka, where he learned the values of diligence and frugality from his family, and observed how the local people supported one another in their daily lives. This original scenery of Munakata influenced Sazō‘s thinking and philosophy.

Recently, in the United States, there has been a growing discussion about the way capitalism should prioritize not only shareholders but all stakeholders. On the other hand, the trend of avaricious capitalism, also known as the money game, continues unchanged in the financial market.

Questions such as whether the margins imposed by GAFA are fair, how CEO salaries should be determined, and whether Amazon needs a labor union, as well as who the company actually belongs to, are being raised. One would like to ask what answers Sazō would give to these questions if he were still alive.

I have visited the Idemitsu Museum of Arts in Marunouchi, Tokyo before. It houses numerous ink paintings by Sengai(1750-1837), a Zen monk from Fukuoka Shofuku-ji Temple. Among the pieces that Sazō collected since he was young, there is a painting called "Shigetsu Hotei Gasan" which depicts the heartwarming scene of Hotei playing with children while pointing at the moon. It is one of Sazō‘s favorite paintings. The explanation accompanying the painting says that the moon represents a state of complete enlightenment, while the pointing finger symbolizes the Buddhist sutras. Some may even imagine that Sazō, in the form of Hotei, is pointing at the ideal society while discussing Marxism.

As more and more young people consider starting their own business or contemplate the future of society, perhaps there are hints to fundamentally rethink the ways of capitalism and corporate management in the dialogue between Sazō and Marx. Standing on the pier of Moji Port, overlooking Honshu, I couldn't help but think about such things.