niime 百科

Encyclopedia of niime

Ms Ishizuka, who entered the company as a fresh graduate, learned directly under Tamaki, has been absorbing the unique essence of tamaki niime, and has been working hard to be a ingenious artisan day by day. Mr Fujimoto, who has working experience with other textile companies and calmly self-analyses, sensing the direction of tamaki niime, and searching for his role there.


The two of them work together on the “Weave team.” Both have worked on creation with a sincere attitude and have argued with each other because of the different approaches towards work. And beyond that, an incredible story awaited … A sequel to the discussion by Ishizuka x Fujimoto.

Ishizuka

We both have the same goal in mind. We just had a different approach. That is why we had significant conflicts…

Fujimoto

Both of us were saying the same thing as a conclusion, right?

Ishizuka

Yes, we were!

—— You both seem passionate about making the team better.

Fujimoto

I guess we just view the way we achieve from different angles. We both have ambitions as well. So, we learned that it does not work to force only one direction. Mostly, we are speaking about the same thing and arguing. That is kind of foolish, isn’t it?

—— That’s true. But, it seems the conflicts are positive ones, aren’t they?

Ishizuka

I just don’t have any experience working with other companies, so I only know how I learned here. I believe that is the “most efficient” way. Mr Fujimoto speaks about his experiences. Of course, we both understand the others way. But, I guess that understanding the way it is and whether it is the best one for tamaki niime is difficult …

Fujimoto

Nobody knows.

Ishizuka

It generally works, so it is good. That idea is not wrong. But, I feel the way is not suited best to tamaki niime. Something like that.

—— Well, I see.

Fujimoto

All in all, what the one with experience says (in tamaki niime) makes sense. When I think about it later, I see what she was saying, which makes sense. When I think about it later, I see what she was saying, and that all makes sense.

—— Inside the unique mechanism of tamaki niime.

Fujimoto

She conveys them to me as quickly as possible. However, to understand, it probably requires repeated discussions. I need to know how our company is running and the theory the company runs a business with. That knowledge probably could help me understand what she was thinking. I should say I know but I think this way. But I tend to share all my general theories in a single breath, which does not make sense to her. We both say the same things, but we both have our views, as you know. So we must find a happy medium to move on.

Ishizuka

Until then, no one was explaining like that. If those were quick talks, I could have said that’s good, let’s do that. With other people, it’s not always a good thing, right? So, I want to understand and want him to understand. That is why… it took time, honestly. (laugh) But, well, it seems that there is someone who thinks in the same direction as I do.

—— I see why. So, from that point, you started being aware of the potential partnership

Fujimoto

(laugh)

Ishizuka

(laugh) Even though I was younger than him, I was not shy about saying all those things. If I think back why I said that, I guess I did not have anyone, I guess, that was trying to solve it. If anyone heard our discussion, they would probably think what are you talking about.

—— Yes.

Ishizuka

Well, something like that. Maybe?

Fujimoto

The attitude (of Ishizuka) towards the work has been amazing. So, I felt that she was rewarded as much compared to the hard work she put in to solve it.

—— It sounds like you were overwhelmed… Didn’t you feel like that, Ms Ishizuka?

Ishizuka

I wasn’t aware of that. I just thought I gotta do everything! This is a great chance to learn! That’s what I was thinking. (laugh)

Fujimoto

She made it work so well, but she was the first to be blamed because she took all the responsibilities. That didn’t make sense to me when I watched as a newcomer. So, I started speaking up and suggested to share the work that she had. As you can imagine, most anyone would react like, what do you know? You don’t know anything!

—— Like, ‘grrrr’. (laugh)

Fujimoto

We had it a handful of times.

Ishizuka

We had confrontations, equally, not senior vs subordinates. It was at work.

Fujimoto

They were bad ones back then.

Ishizuka

They were horrible.

—— How long were you in a confrontation?

Ishizuka

We are still like that. (laugh)

—— Oh, you are still… (laugh)

Fujimoto

The first one was when I started working here for 3 or 4 months. It was not a small one.

Ishizuka

Was it so? I forget things quickly.

Fujimoto

Yes, we did. Hey, what on earth are you doing?

—— You seem to have no hesitation saying that, do you?

Ishizuka

Not at all. I have been solving everything by myself. And if I was convinced by myself, I signed off on them as solved. However, I realized that by working with tamaki niime, understanding and interpretation would have only stayed within me. Either asking directly to Ms Tamaki whether my knowledge is OK or not about my work, or the cause of the errors, I was solving them by myself.

—— I see. You might have been putting pressure on yourself without noticing.

Ishizuka

That was not on my mind at all. I was working too hard to see. Therefore, when I was overwhelmed, a person happened to appear and butt in my business. I was narrow minded, and fed up with it. But when I calmly thought about it, I guess that I needed to delegate tasks. Of course, I got irritated when the tasks delegated were not finished quickly, but I noticed that I did not give the team chances to grow.

—— I see.

Ishizuka

…I seem to think of him as a person I can say anything to without hesitation. In a good way, I did not need to be too sensitive about what I said, and if I say something, he will respond back to me. It was not like nagging each other, but exchanging ideas back and forth, so it was very comfortable working together. I sensed it.

—— You sensed that he is different from others.

Ishizuka

I can say anything I want to say…unlike anyone else. (laugh)

—— Oh, I thought you meant he is someone special.

Ishizuka

He tells me anything he wants to say, as well. He told me things that others did not care about much, so he made me notice that I had unnoticeable issues and tasks on my hands.

—— It seems that he let you objectively look at yourself. What do you think, Mr Fujimoto? I mean, when did you first have feelings for her?

Fujimoto

I guess I was an extension of the way I observed her, maybe. I liked the way she devoted her passion for working. But, it was easy to see she was pushing herself too hard. Obviously, she was overwhelmed with too much on her hands, so it made me want to help her. You know that when people have interactions over and over, personalities are slowly revealed. Like, who is this person really? It is like unguarded interactions.

—— Because we kept running into each other.

Fujimoto

When I found out what this person was like, I thought it was very attractive. Then, I felt that she was probably the same outside of work and would cherish relationships with others. She is the type who pursues work very profoundly, and most of all, she was the one I can respect.

Ishizuka

I think it is essential to respect the one you work with rather than to be likeable or not.

Fujimoto

I felt that strongly. We had big fights a handful of times, but we still could talk to each other. That was new to me. I sensed that we could do well in both personal and work life. I think that was how we were feeling towards each other.

—— That is how, as your buddy says.

Ishizuka

…Yes.

Fujimoto

Anyhow, it was important that we shared the same work between us…while working together, we both had the same concerns. We can share the problems and issues that can not be grasped if not in the same situation.

Ishizuka

We can share them. We can solve them.

—— With each other. Solving them together.

Fujimoto

Yes. We are in a kind of “unique” workplace, and we understand it, and each other.

Ishizuka

It might be strange…but we are together. Anytime, anywhere.

—— Oh, I see.

Ishizuka

The same department at work, as well.

—— It means that there is no “on” or “off”.

Ishizuka

Once we step out of the home, that should, would, could be this way or the other way…blah blah blah…from the bird-singing-early-morning. Like, I can’t believe you are doing the absurd things! (laugh)

Fujimoto

But I feel like we’re doing well within ourselves.

Ishizuka

I feel like we’re doing well, I mean, very well.

—— You mean that when you get home, your ‘mode’ is different, correct?

Ishizuka

Well, I take a break first thing. (laugh)

—— It’s like, “ceasefire”. (laugh) You both seem to handle it well, not logically, but naturally.

Ishizuka

Probably, intuitively.

Fujimoto

I start the little story with “Hey, listen.” Well, of course, the conversation in our routine daily life is essential. However, the discussion we have at work helps to make our communication better. That is something…

Ishizuka

That is something natural within us, probably.

—— It’s something like no borders.

Fujimoto

That’s it.

Ishizuka

So, it is like we feel “comfortable”.

—— The “comfortable relationship”. That is nice. Well, to conclude, would you mind telling us both of your future visions at tamaki niime?

Ishizuka

…The subject is too big to say. Of course, which Ms Tamaki is aspiring for, one thing is that all of us understand the vision of tamaki niime. It might be old school but “learning by watching”, I think we all, as a trainer or student, should consider doing that because I will be on leave from the end of December.

—— Well, there are such circumstances.

Ishizuka

I have my mission to pass down what I have now. I think that newer workers can’t grow unless the person in the middle grows. Our people at the top go farther without looking back (laugh), so we must keep up with them. I think that is the missing part. My vision is… tough to say.

—— How about something you want to do in this kind of creation?

Ishizuka

I always have that in mind, wanting to do this. That is our daily theme.

—— Would you mean that it is different from your vision?

Ishizuka

That is right. I think that we must have an adventurous spirit, and it might be strange word choices, but I believe that we need a challenging attitude, not just being the customers’ pet. Companies tend to fit what the public needs and wants, but I don’t want us to be, and I think we should not be that way. I believe that is the authentic style of tamaki niime, and I sincerely do not want to ruin it.

Fujimoto

We haven’t changed since the founding.

Ishizuka

That is why. I want to continue creation without forgetting the foundation of tamaki niime. I think that if we create ordinary things, it wouldn’t be tamaki niime.

—— Even I agree that tamaki niime is truly “eccentric”.

Fujimoto

Soft and comfy, you know, we have these core philosophies. But if we don’t pass it down correctly, our creation could become diluted.

Ishizuka

It could become a different thing over time.

—— You mean, passing it down to your company’s successors, correct?

Fujimoto

I mean, both internally and externally. One of a kind and texture, all could be changed if miscommunicated. I need to have a deeper understanding of our company’s creation, and also I wish everyone to be aware of it. With the basics, we can deliver our message. As I do public relations and have many chances to speak to people outside the company, I might be sensitive about it, but I believe that the comprehension could be watered down if I miscommunicate. Since I started here, I thought I need to dig in, ask questions, visit other companies, observe, and discover how to collect information. If I keep doing that, I will be inspired, and greater creation will happen. But we have a strong core, and I believe a better result will come to life.

—— It is as if, there is a being named tamaki niime, which further activates the brain and energizes the body.

Fujimoto

Also, those emotions such as “awesome”, “cute” and “wow” and “ba-dump ba-dump” give them energy, and I think that the company will go in a right direction by going in this cycle. Just my understanding.

—— While you are in positions that require you to digest the information you receive, pass it on to others; you must feel the responsibilities and importance of your roles, it seems that you are working hard on yourselves.

Ishizuka

All of us speak their opinions and create together. Trusting and making creation together. Not creating alone, right? The word, “respect”, is a perfect keyword, to me, I want all of us to share the time and keep continuing what we are doing.

Fujimoto

I have a strong feeling that all of us, including the company itself, seem to be required to climb to the next stage, and it is time that each of us steps up in the roles. Not being satisfied and staying in your comfort zone. For example, I believe that if I can gain machine maintenance skills with just one more step, the little things can improve things a lot. I don’t say we have to do this now, but possibly, there is a task only one person understands. If one more person gains that knowledge and can help, the person who is in charge of the task can have a chance to try other things. Similar to the confrontation we mentioned, if I improve my skills and support tasks that Ms Ishizuka is in charge, and is pressured by, she will have time to create a better workflow. If that is possible, our workflow will probably roll more efficiently. So, we all should not be stuck in one place but work to improve our skills. Each of us could expand their craft on a broader area.

Ishizuka

Yes, improving the level of individuals leads to enhancing the status of the entire company.

Fujimoto

As to my outlook, when wanting to run the company well, while the number of employees is increasing now, existing members must climb one step further. Without that, newer workers can’t move forward. Therefore, improving my skills is my current goal, and by doing that, I think our “Weave team” will be able to go to the next stage, and it will probably make an exciting change in our company as a whole.

Ishizuka

The “Weave team” will acquire a broader view, possibly.

Fujimoto

I also think if each of us improves our skill, more interesting creations will be coming out. Both of us want to spread out the news about our company and be widely known.

Ishizuka

Because this company and brand fascinated me so much, I joined. I wish everyone out there to know.

—— With a far-sight, they were properly conveying the essence of tamaki niime, knowing their position firmly within the company as well as improving their skills. From the immediately required tasks to a corporate vision in mind, their firm and honest discussion reflected their characteristics.

Fujimoto

It turned out to be a serious interview, right.

Ishizuka

This man is serious, and he is a long-winded talker.

—— I think that the serious part is good of him.

Fujimoto

I can’t cut it short.

Ishizuka

It takes a very long time to get to the answer, simply put.

—— I think that is good not knowing everything.

Ishizuka

Not knowing too much. (laugh)

Ms Ishizuka and Mr Fujimoto became partners both at work and at home by repeatedly exchanging honest discussions about the best work methods. Now, they are about to welcome a new family member. Ms Tamaki is pleased about their new family and proclaims, “she or he will be our first grandkid.” I wish them to inherit tamaki niime’s DNA and wish them every success in their future endeavours.

Original Japanese text by Seiji Koshikawa.
English translation by Adam & Michiko Whipple.