["Lying on firewood and persuading heaven" is the true innovation mindset]

Lines from the anime 'Nihon Sangoku'

In the anime 'Nihon Sangoku,' which I have recently become hooked on and shed tears over several times, there is a phrase:"Lying on firewood and persuading heaven."It is also the core phrase for the protagonist, Seiki Misumi, who wishes for a peaceful world from the very first episode of this story.

This expresses a strong resolve to never give up and to endure until the decisive moment, appealing to heaven with one's own will and great cause, no matter what hardships or humiliations one may face.

"Lying on firewood" refers to intentionally placing oneself in a harsh environment for the sake of a goal, enduring hardships to discipline oneself.

"Persuading heaven" implies not just enduring, but continuing to hold a will strong enough to convince "heaven" (fate or the world) of one's hardships and great cause.

It is the philosophy that if your great cause is just, you must have the resolve to persuade heaven (fate, history, the world), endure harsh environments, and wait for the time to change fate and the world.

This is not just about being patient, showing grit, or continuing to make an effort.
It is not about that.

Rather, it is a declaration that goes beyond that: "If the world is wrong, I will change the world itself."
In other words, it can be taken as not just enduring, and not just denying, but not giving up until a new world is created.

New business and innovation are the same
New business in large companies is a series of:
- Not being understood within the company
- Not generating sales
- Being denied by those around you
- Having budgets cut
Many people will lament at that point, saying,
"The company doesn't understand" or "The times haven't caught up."
People who blame others cannot create anything.

True people who change the world = innovators think, "If the world doesn't understand yet, I will create it myself and persuade the world."

Innovation creates value that has never existed before.
It does not end until the day you show the world something it has never seen before with your own power.
That is why you endure. And, not just endure,
you must demonstrate, increase your allies, and continue to rewrite common sense.

Innovation cannot be judged
"Innovation is not a 'judgment' but a 'decision'."
This is because if all the materials for judgment are fully available and everyone thinks, "This is a good idea" or "This will definitely make money," there is little novelty, and it is something anyone can do that someone else might have already started.
Things that can be judged only by logic based on past data will not create a future that does not yet exist = innovation.
I believe that because new value that no one has noticed yet lies in uncertainty, a strong belief that allows for a decision is necessary.

In 'Nihon Sangoku,' Misumi says this:
"The answer is something you derive with your own hands."
Indeed, innovation is not the act of choosing a given correct answer, but the act of creating a new answer yourself.

What I can do

I have participated in innovative businesses such as the launch of music and video distribution, Toyota Motor's metaverse, and the Cabinet Office's big data.
Although half of the businesses did not produce results, such as bankruptcy or dissolution, the music and video distribution that was denied and thought impossible 25 years ago has now become a presence that shakes the existing music industry and TV.
I have experienced times when I was lying on firewood many times, but now I am participating in cutting-edge businesses such as alternative energy, Web3, and spatial computing.

Although I played a part in that,
in a Japan that will become poorer from now on, the possibility of conflict arising from the gap between rich and poor and jealousy will increase.
At the very least, what I can do is to lead the people around me to happiness in a declining society so that they are not caught up in this negative spiral.

Rather than grand talk about "conquering the world" or "changing history,"
I have a desire to create a place where people close to me can live as themselves.In terms of creating a place, I think the outdoor festival "FreedomSunset" in Enoshima and the Zushi Art Festival were based on the same thought.
If individuals are convinced of themselves and satisfied with being themselves, they will no longer compare themselves to others or take from others.
At the root is the wish to leave behind, even if only a little,

a society where people can live like people.Rather than living in an expensive apartment or wearing high-end brands, isn't being able to live as yourself sufficiently happy...?

The flow of nations and civilizations is too large for individuals.
There is a limit to guiding the declining birthrate and aging population, the widening gap, and the changes in industrial structure due to AI in the right direction by one person's power.
I am only involved in a small part of that.
But looking back at history, when society became unstable, what supported people in the end was not the state, but the trust relationships of families and communities.

The smaller the community, the higher its value when large systems are weak.
I hope that at least the friends within a 100m radius will not be caught up in a negative spiral.

Happiness in a declining society
When asked, "What is your theme?" I answer, "Happiness in a declining society." This is not about compromising with decline and searching for happiness, but about becoming free from the bias of the growth myth and creating new value from "
moderate affluence in a solidarity-based society" (from "Degrowth" by Serge Latouche).

Continuing to grow is justice.
Increasing sales is justice.
Increasing GDP is justice.
That premise is already beginning to break down now.

What is necessary is to redefine affluence and return to the starting point, starting by thinking about:
- Who: Who do you live with?
- What: What do you leave behind?
- How: What kind of time do you spend?

In a society where economic decline is progressing and growth is no longer taken for granted, I keep in mind "Lying on firewood and persuading heaven" while heading toward a different value axis by "re-questioning" established concepts.
If we can re-question the growth of capitalism and redefine growth, I think that is where the most innovative revolution lies.