My name is Nozomi Nakajima, and I sometimes visit Monosas and am involved in the management of the Monosas website. I usually work in interviews and other jobs, listening to people's stories.
Recently, we started a small in-house event where we gather on sofas in our Yoyogi office and listen to talks. It's called "Monosasu Radio."
It's a small gathering of people who come to sit on the sofa after finishing work and listen to conversations, or who just turn their ears towards us while at work or on their way home.
Our third guest is Manabe, who is the head of the production department, the design team that creates the working environment for the entire company, and the manager of the Food Hub Project based in Kamiyama, Tokushima.
We had a relaxed chat over a beer to find out what kind of person Manabe is, as he works in a variety of jobs.
I'll just give you a little bit of what we talked about.
Nakajima- Manabe-san, what kind of work are you doing now?
Manabe- For the past three years, I've been focusing on Food Hub, and everyone in the production department has helped me out a lot. Now, I spend about 1.5 weeks a month in the production department and design department at Monosus, 1.5 weeks in Food Hub, and the remaining week preparing for the next move.
- How did you end up working at Monosus?
- Where should I start? Well, I quit the production company and got a job at an American developer. But it was a black company and I failed miserably.
- Is that so?
- Before that, my family and I lived in Hayama, but my wife was pregnant with our son, so I decided to go alone. I sent all my belongings to the US, spending about 800,000 yen in total. After six months, I sent them back without opening the boxes. The delivery company returned them for 200,000 yen. I threw 1 million yen into the Pacific Ocean.
- I guess people thought he was quite a pitiful person.
- Right. After I came back, I was hired by a company that does spatial design for events. I didn't lose sleep, but it was a busy company. I met a lot of people there that I connected to my current job. After that, I moved to Monosus.
- What kind of work did you do before Monosus?
- The biggest one was working on food in 2011. Because I could coordinate events and speak English, I was put in charge of a three-week trip where we would travel around holding cooking classes and events.
- Is this the one where you traveled around the country with a chef from overseas?
- That's right. I drive a 10-seater Hiace and take about 20 chefs and artists on tours of the production areas. My job is to attract customers and create an environment for cooking.
- It seems difficult...
- I didn't really want to do it at all. Everyone was talking about the social significance and stuff, but in the end, I just wanted to come to Japan, right? That's what I was thinking. But when I finished the three weeks, I was so grateful.
- It was a job I didn't want to do.
- Right. I realized that if I did this, people would thank me. And then everything started to fall into place. The work I could do wasn't the work I wanted to do.
- It's strange, isn't it?
- My dream of being involved in all aspects of manufacturing has never changed. Basically, I want to work with creators. It's the same with chefs, but I guess my job is to improve the environment for their creations.
- Going back to the topic for a moment, did you join Monosus as a department manager?
- No no. At first, I was stationed at two companies by myself and wasn't really at Monosus. I was a ghost employee. A few years later, I was asked if I could look after the production and design departments. At first, I was like, "Why do I have to look after them?" What was it like for you as a member at that time, Onogi-kun?
(Onoki-san: Designer. The first guest on Monosasu Radio)
We had worked together on a project before and he had treated me rather harshly. I remember saying, "Well, he's a nice guy."
- That's right. Yes. I mean, even back then, or rather, in the past, he was a really harsh person. About 10 times harsher than he is now.
- So he was a nasty guy.
- When we work together, the pressure is so strong. He always says, "Why don't you do it? Don't make excuses, just do it."
- That may not have changed even now.
- The core hasn't changed. It's just the way you say it and the way you do it that has changed.
- Manabe-san is strict with people, but he really values "friends who eat the same pot." Once you become a friend, you look for a role that suits that person and think about how you can be together.
- He's a lonely person.
- …
- I don't want to travel alone. It's more fun to go with others.
- …
- As a producer, I gather professionals for each project. I'm naturally inclined to come together and get things done, and then exist apart. But it's a growth process, and young people join the team too. If we're heading in the same direction, we go together. I don't like being relied on or relying on others, but we all do our best together.
Well, Manabe is getting a bit talkative, so we'll end the radio show for today.
Surprisingly, not many people knew about Manabe's past. On the day of the event, many questions were asked by the members who had gathered, which made for a lively discussion.
The next radio episode will feature a director who is back in Japan from Thailand as a guest.
NAKAJIMA Kimi
Freelance, living in Ryukazaki, Ibaraki. I first encountered Monosus through an interview with “Nihon Shigoto Hyakka” and am now involved in several things, a bit outside of Monosus.