[Episode 6] The nail that sticks out, was not hammered down.

Life can bloom over and over again.
――[I who wanted to join a major company everyone knows]

I joined Matsushita Electric, and my assignment was announced.
I had assumed I would be assigned to a sales office handling home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines.
That was because I wanted to work in sales.
However, I was actually assigned to a sales office handling industrial parts.
Motors.
Semiconductors.
Batteries.
"Matsushita Electric does this kind of work too?"
I learned that for the first time after joining the company.
Although I had hoped for sales, there were no female sales staff in this department.
The job given to me was "Sales Administration."
Even though it had "sales" in the name, it was actually a sales assistant role.
Every day was spent organizing slips, answering phones, and supporting the senior sales staff.
When I first joined, I was desperate just to learn the job.
I was exhausted every weekday.
When the weekend came, all the fatigue would hit at once, and I would spend Saturday and Sunday just sleeping.
That life continued for months.

I joined Matsushita Electric in April 1991.
Japan was just seeing the end of the bubble economy, and the atmosphere in the company was starting to change little by little.
When I joined, there were still remnants of the bubble, and a glamorous atmosphere remained.
But that atmosphere did not last long.
Even when female employees left due to marriage or childbirth, replacements were rarely assigned as they had been before, and each person's workload gradually increased.
I had a desire to work in sales.
But at that time, it was not an era where they tried to develop women for sales positions.
I was also fully occupied with learning and handling my daily tasks, and I didn't even have the leeway to say out loud that I wanted to work in sales.
"If I join a stable, top-tier company, I will surely be happy."
I believed that and joined Matsushita Electric.
But, four years after I started working at the company that was my dream.
Something in my heart had started to shift little by little.
And, four years after joining.
I suddenly started thinking things like this.
"Will I continue to work as a cog in the company like this?"

Around that time, a major problem occurred.
A new motor was released, and the sales representatives at the office were desperately trying to get orders every day.
However, factory production could not keep up at all.
The phones at the sales office kept ringing with calls from customers.
"The motor I ordered still hasn't arrived."
"I am very sorry. I will check on that right now."
Every time they hung up the phone, the senior sales staff would let out deep sighs.
Going to apologize to customers,
taking more orders,
and apologizing again.
That was every day.
I had been watching that scene the whole time.
The sales team is working so hard.
Yet, things are stalling at the factory.
I just couldn't accept this situation.

Then, one day.
The factory manager of the motor division came to the sales office.
A welcome party was held in the evening.
Alcohol was served, and at first, the atmosphere was harmonious.
But I was remembering the frustration that everyone in the sales office was feeling.
Before I knew it, I was sitting next to the factory manager.
And before I realized it, my mouth was moving.

"The sales team is working so hard to get orders, so what is the meaning of the factory not being able to make the products?"

I had said it.
At that moment, the air around us stopped.
No one spoke.
Even the laughter vanished.
The factory manager was silent for a while.
And then he said quietly.
"…You're right. I'm sorry."
I was let down.
Because I had expected him to talk back more.

Some time after that, the delivery of motors to the sales office became surprisingly smooth.
"Could it be… because I said something?"
Of course, I don't know the real reason.
But I couldn't help but think so.

A few days later.
I was called in by my direct manager.
"Oh no."
I'm going to be scolded.
I thought so.
It was only natural, since I had spoken to the factory manager in that way.
The manager said as soon as he saw my face.
"Nishida, well said."
…Huh?
I almost asked him to repeat that.
The manager continued while laughing.
"You said on behalf of everyone in the sales office what they were all thinking."
Far from being scolded, I was praised.

Thinking about it now, I never thought about wanting to get ahead.
I had no title to protect.
I had nothing to lose.
That's why I could say it.
But I feel like there was a bigger reason.
I have always had a personality where I couldn't leave things alone when I thought they were "wrong."
When I was a junior high student with a deviation score of 40.
When I went job hunting in a cream-colored suit.
When I raised my hand in front of 200 people.
And on this day, too.
Thinking about it now, I have always been a "nail that sticks out" since I was young.
But, strangely, I was not hammered down.
Rather, each time, the door to a life that was uniquely my own opened a little more.
At this time, I still didn't know.
That this personality of "saying what needs to be said" would lead to my decision to quit a major company at 26 and move to New Zealand without even being able to speak English.

(To be continued)

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Episode 7 "My dream came true. But something was different."
An office with a view of the sea.
The Rainbow Bridge under construction.
A major company everyone admires.
All my dreams came true.
Even so, my heart had started to drift away from the company little by little.

🌼 This is one of the works I am entering in the 'Creative Awards 2026'
I poured my soul into summarizing the experience of "having four miscarriages and giving birth at 45," which was a major turning point in my life, and entered it into note's 'Creative Awards 2026'.
If you would like, I would be very happy if you could read this work as well.
▼ You can read the work here