The Story of How I Dedicated My Student Life to Masashi Sada and Ended Up Performing 'Kanpaku Sengen' at an Executive Interview

Hello.
It is mid-May. Whether your living environment changed this spring or not, the tension built up during the holidays has faded, and many may be feeling a lack of motivation. You might be one of the many people struggling with 'May sickness'.

At times like these, why not immerse yourself in something you love to shift your mood, or try to recall the fresh feelings you had when you first started your job?

Well, this time, we will introduce a story from a third-year employee who dedicated their life to 'Masashi Sada' who joined the company in 2021.

What was the trigger that got a young employee in their 20s hooked on 'Masashi Sada'? And there is also a crazy
and cool episode about performing a guitar song during an interview.

Please enjoy.

Are you familiar with the song 'Kanpaku Sengen' by Masashi Sada that begins with these lines? This song was released in 1979, so it is 44 years old now. It is a song about a man aiming to be a 'Teishu Kanpaku' (a dominant husband) who clumsily conveys his love while making various demands of the woman he is marrying. Since it once reached number one on the Oricon charts, many people probably know it.

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I am a third-year sales employee, and I struggle every day with how to get many people to use our company's services. I spend my time feeling fulfilled in an environment where I can take responsibility and advance my work on my own. The reason why I am introducing Masashi Sada's 'Kanpaku Sengen' is because I ended up performing this song at the executive interview before joining this company.

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I was born into an ordinary family in the countryside of Saitama and spent my childhood without anything worth mentioning. At the same time I entered junior high school, I started playing the guitar with the impure motive of wanting to be popular.
Fortunately, my father had played music when he was young, so there was a YAMAHA acoustic guitar in the house. I decided to borrow it to practice, so I asked my father, 'How should I practice?'
Then, my father told me to try playing one song first and gave me Masashi Sada's 'Kakashi' as a practice piece.

I wondered, 'Why Masashi Sada?' but I wanted to be able to play the guitar, so I practiced it anyway. Then, every time I played it, I discovered the depth of his music. I was blown away by the Japanese lyrics set to melodies like classical music, and the comfort of the modulations and irregular time signatures placed throughout.

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As I played Masashi Sada's music like this, I found the charm in one song after another, and before I knew it, I had become a fan of Masashi Sada.
The fact that the first song I played on the guitar was 'Kakashi' was, in hindsight, a major turning point that affected my later life.

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Meanwhile, when I entered university, I found a circle called the 'Masashi Sada Research Society,' where students who like Masashi Sada go on pilgrimages to sacred sites and perform cover bands, and I joined it. I didn't belong to that university, but they accepted my membership based on the loose criteria that it was okay if I was a university student in the Kanto area.
I joined thinking, 'There probably aren't many Masashi fans of my generation,' but when I participated in the activities, there were 20 to 30 members just among those who were actively participating. I enjoyed the activities there and served as the secretary-general for one year during my third year of university. As the Masashi Sada Research Society, I was even able to experience meeting the man himself and appearing on terrestrial television.

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As the end of my junior year of college approached, the massive hurdle of job hunting loomed ahead.
Since I had only ever focused on club activities, I approached it with almost no plan.
However, I had a vague idea that I wanted to work in a field related to what I love, and since I had always liked music programs, I set my sights on SKY Perfect JSAT, which handles a wide range of musical genres including Showa-era pop and folk songs.
I didn't have any particular skills or strong selling points, but I made sure to convey just how much I loved Masashi Sada and Showa-era music during the selection process.

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Thankfully, I passed the initial stages and made it to the "executive interview." There was a pre-assigned task for the executive interview: a "one-minute self-promotion."
It was a time slot at the beginning of the interview where I had one minute to promote myself in any format or content I chose.
After thinking hard about how to convey my passionate feelings, I came up with an idea.

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"That's it, I'll perform a Masashi Sada song."
On the day of the executive interview, I headed to the venue with my guitar on my back. The HR staff member I met at the reception looked surprised and, while letting out a slightly troubled comment like, "Well, I did say the format was free, but...", they guided me to the room. Once the pre-interview instructions were finished, I asked HR,
"Excuse me, would it be alright if I just tune my guitar?" and tuned it string by string while the other candidates watched.That was the most embarrassing tuning session of my life.

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Then, during the actual executive interview, I performed the opening of 'Kanpaku Sengen' for one minute in front of four executives to promote myself.
The most nerve-wracking performance of my life and the longest-feeling interview of my life came to an end. The executives seemed to be right in the target generation, and they told me, "That 'Kanpaku Sengen' was great."
I remember clearly even now the relief I felt when I got home in the evening, dozed off a bit perhaps because the tension had worn off, and received a call from the HR representative saying, "You passed. The next step is the president's interview," and thinking, "Oh, my feelings got through."

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I am now working at the company that accepted me, and alongside my duties in the sales department, I am able to work on projects related to Showa-era pop music.
There is a saying that "what one likes, one will do well," and I truly believe that by mastering what they love, people can gain great strength and joy. I sincerely feel that I want to continue working at SKY Perfect JSAT, providing services that support the power to master what you love, and doing work that brings joy to many people.

The initial spark may have been "wanting to be popular," but from your writing, your photos, and your actions—performing at an interview where your life was on the line—one can feel a deep respect for Masashi Sada. Mastering what you love and actually meeting the person himself is the ultimate reward for a fan (laughs).

The reason doesn't matter.
Meeting wonderful people and songs in unexpected places might just change your life in a big way.

▼ Click here for programs related to "Masashi Sada," who is loved across generations.

#I got hired by talking about this