Thank you for your hard work in 2016!
Monosus Year-End Party Report

A year has passed in the blink of an eye and it is now the end of the year.
And at Monosus, the traditional end of the year ``closing day'', the day of the year-end party and end-of-year party, has arrived.
Following on from last year, the event will be held again this year on Thursday, December 22nd.
The aim is to complete the year-end party as early as possible to make it easier to take time off at the end of the year.
Dojo and Hamabata will report on what happened on Monosus' final day.

Looking back on the year
Monosus year-end party packed with content

First, I would like to send you some reports from our dojo about our year-end party.

This year's year-end party will feature a packed lineup of events, including "Monosus in Numbers," a look back at the past year in numbers, an awards ceremony for employees with 10 years of service, and the announcement of the "Monosus Awards," in honour of those who have made outstanding contributions to Monosus in 2016.

Monosus employees gathered together in a small space

Now, let's take a look back at Monosus' year-end party.

Everyone was serious about next year's plans and talking about numbers.

After some serious talk about annual budget achievement status and the like, we move on to a section looking at Monosus in numbers.
Rankings of clients who did the most work for us throughout the year, rankings of those to whom we paid the most money, etc. When I see the projects I was involved in ranked, I feel a deep sense of accomplishment that I worked hard this year.

A very interesting site key color distribution chart

One of the most interesting rankings was the one by the design department, where they ranked the websites they had designed by color.
The top spot went to blue, with purple coming in last.
Indeed, I have the impression that blue colors are often used in B2B projects.

Next was the award ceremony for employees with 10 years of service, which is usually announced at the monthly general meeting.
The third employee with 10 years of service, following Sakamoto from the Marketing Department and Kamimura from the Production Department, is Yukari Furuhat from the Marketing Department.
As has become customary, a figurine of the person in question will be presented.

Hayashi (left) looks back on when Furuhata became an employee, and Furuhata (right) has been with the company for 10 years.

Furuhat is a member who has contributed to Monosus in a wide range of fields, including transferring to Kamiyama in 2016 as a student and administrative officer of the Kamiyama Monosus School. For more information, please see this article .
He said he didn't really feel anything special about it, but I can see why that is certainly the case.

Now, it's time for the main event: the announcement of the Monosus Awards.
The Monosus Awards are in their seventh year. The traditional hosting duo of Tatsuta and Sakuyama is surreal and has a great feel to it.
The lineup for this year's Monosus Awards is as follows:

• My favorite article on the Monosasu site this year
• Project of the year
• Skill Improvement Award
• Rookie of the Year
• Best Monosasist Award
• Annual MVP

Now, I would like to present the results one by one.

My favorite article on the Monosasu site this year was actually written by me (the Dojo) - "Monosasu Company Trip 2016 in Yakushima: At the Mercy of the Weather"!

The dojo (right) that won the Monosas site's most favorite article of the year award

I never thought I would be selected, so I was very happy with the result.
When I wrote this article, I was scheduled to submit it two days after returning from a company trip, and on top of that I had a very tight schedule as I was going on a business trip to Tokushima the day after the company trip, so I only had the impression that it was extremely difficult, but having everyone evaluate it made me feel that all my hard work was worth it.

Next up was the announcement of the Project of the Year, which is given to the project that has been most meaningful this year in terms of the growth of the people involved, the growth of the team, and the growth of the company.

Representatives of the Project of the Year winners. From the right: Nakaniwa, Maruyama, Kurihara, and Iwaki

In 2016, the Project of the Year award went to both "Kamiyama Monosasu Juku" and "Monosasu Site."
Both are new endeavors that began in late 2015, and the second term of the Kamiyama Monosasu Juku has now been successfully completed following the first. I believe that both projects have made a great contribution to the growth of the members involved.
Nakaniwa, editor-in-chief of Monosasu Site, was brimming with joy in his comments, saying, "I wanted to win this award last year but unfortunately didn't win, so I'm glad I won it this year. I think my efforts over the past year were recognized."

Next, the Skill Improvement Awards were announced.

The Skill Improvement Award was awarded to three people at the same time.

The winners of the Skill Improvement Award are Oyabu, Komiya, and Sunami (from the right).

The award was given to Kakunami and Komiya from the Coding Factory Division, who are the first graduates of Kamiyama Monosasu Juku and have shown remarkable growth since joining the company, as well as Oyabu, who is in his fifth year with the company.
Oyabu used to work as a coder, but now he mainly directs B2B projects. He has now grown to the point where he is a director requested by clients, and there are many projects waiting for him to become available. He has even been selected as the monthly MVP.
For more information, please see this article .
It's a little funny that I won the award together with two first-year members.
I think it's wonderful that she continues to improve her skills, and I would like to follow her example.

Next, the Rookie of the Year award will be announced, which is given to the employee or contract employee who has been the most outstanding among those who became employees or contract employees in 2016.

Uehara (left), winner of the Rookie of the Year award

This year's Rookie of the Year is Ue, a project manager who joined the production department with much fanfare. At Monosus, the majority of employees are in their 20s and 30s, so it's a bit awkward to call veteran Ue, who is in his 50s and makes up only 1.4% of the workforce, a rookie. But when you consider how quickly he's managed to pull off a large-scale project and lead everyone else, you have to say that he's the only one who could win the Rookie of the Year award.
I'm sure he will continue to be a central figure at Monosus, leading everyone forward.

Next up is the "Best Monosassist Award," which is given to the member who exudes the most "Monosass-ness" and creates the most "Monosass-ness."

Iwaki (center), winner of the Best Monosasist Award

This year's Best Monosasist Award went to Kaori Iwaki. When I heard the results, I couldn't imagine anyone other than Iwaki being the perfect candidate for the award, and I wondered why she hadn't been selected before.
Okubo, who is a Best Monosasist Award Hall of Fame inductee, made a very passionate comment, "I think there is no one else like Iwaki, not even to my right or left, in the future or future." This comment was so moving that I was moved.
I hope that Iwaki will continue to have that unique Iwaki feel that makes Monosus what it is.

Finally, it was time to announce the annual MVP. The honorable winner for 2016 was Isao Kurihara.

On the left is CEO Hayashi, and on the right is Vice President and Creative Department Manager Nagai, flanking the annual MVP award winner Kurihara (center). All three are smiling broadly.

The award was given in recognition of his achievements as head of the Kamiyama Monosasu School for two terms, and for the fact that Kurihara, the leader of the operations team, has grown the operations team to the point where he has been able to leave the team for an extended period of time as head of the school.
Not everyone can grope their way through something they have never experienced before and see it through to the end, and I believe that Kurihara was chosen to be the principal of Kamiyama Monosasu Juku because he was trusted not to give up until the very end.
As a team member, I must confess that there were times when it was difficult due to Kurihara's absence, but I am very happy that our leader, Kurihara, received this award, precisely because we have overcome such difficult times together.

This concludes our 2016 year-end party report.
From here on, I'll hand the reins over to Hamabata Makoto, who loves alcohol, who will be bringing you a report on the exciting year-end party.

Rewarding them with takoyaki and drawing,
Monosus' year-end party

On behalf of the dojo, Hamabata from the Creative Department would like to provide a report on the year-end party.

This year's Monosus year-end party will be a takoyaki party for everyone.
As soon as the teams, determined by drawing lots, sat down, a toast was immediately raised, led by Iwaki, winner of the "Best Monosasist Award"!

Cheers! The moment of the toast at a year-end party is truly special.

This is your first time making takoyaki! Will you be able to do it well?

Struggling to make takoyaki... This team put in a bit too much batter lol

Thank you for your hard work in 2016! Everyone looks great!

And the man who continues to hand out alcohol is Monosus' intimidating alcohol boss, Tatsun, the head of the marketing department.

Once the atmosphere was in a good mood (although I had drunk a bit too much), the team-based drawing relay game began.
*The initial team division was for this game.

To briefly explain the rules:

1) The first person draws a picture of the given subject in 30 seconds.
2) The second person looks at the picture drawn by the previous person for 10 seconds, then has 30 seconds to draw a picture. *No explaining the content of the picture in words.
3) Repeat step 2 for the next 4 people. *Conditions such as "draw with your left hand" or "draw blindfolded" may be added.
4) The fifth person looks at the picture drawn by the fourth person and answers what the subject was.

Mr. Kanno from the Coding Factory looks great in a beret.

Here is "Sazae-san" drawn by Kanno. He has some impressive drawing skills.

The slightly dark Japanese archipelago was created by our Vice President, Nagai

There were some unusual answers, but the correct answer rate was quite high.

This is definitely not a BBQ. "Tokyo Dome" by Creative Department's Gota

The alcohol goes really well and it's fun all the same.

The game in which we discovered a new talent from Creative Department member Gota came to an end, and before we knew it, it was time for the party to end.

Finish with a "ippon-shime" (a traditional Japanese closing ceremony).

Thank you to all the Monosus staff and clients for 2016.
And we look forward to your continued support in 2017.