In Topics, we will deliver not only the taste of sake but also the story and thoughts behind it through interviews with the sake producers handled by the sake select shop Mirai Nihonshuten .

From this time, we will divide the interview with Mr. Kazuma of Kazuma Sake Brewery in Ishikawa Prefecture into four parts.

In this first installment, we asked Mr. Kazuma about his background before entering the sake industry.

Admiration for management

- Nice to meet you again.

thank you.

-Mr. Kazuma, you inherited your family business at a young age, but at the time of your appointment, I think you will be the youngest company president in Japan.

Yes, That's right. It was said and said lol.

-In order to dig into such a person "Kazuma-san", before going to talk about alcohol, first of all, what kind of student life did you have, and at what timing did you become aware of taking over the family business? Can I ask you a question?

When I was a student, I really played. I majored in business administration and was interested in management, so I studied it, played sports, and joined circles. I was doing many things.

-Did you think about taking over the family business from the time you entered university?

I was thinking of becoming an independent manager, but I never thought of taking over. I was thinking of becoming a manager when I was around 30 and going independent.

-Does that mean it's not limited to alcohol?

Not limited. I was thinking that I wanted to do it on my own from scratch, so maybe I was thinking about something else.

-Is it a direction such as an IT venture?

No, I didn't think about the field at all. I had a vague idea that I wanted to start a venture.

-I see. You got a job at first.

At first, I assumed that I would have many opportunities to meet various managers, so I got a job at a management consulting company.

-How long have you been there?

It's been 8 months. After that, a group company that was mainly doing renovation business in Kansai opened a branch office in Kanto, so I worked as a start-up member.

-Was it a rewarding job?

It was already worth doing. Even though we had the know-how, it was a business that made everything from 0 to 1.

-Are you involved in the renovation business, including designer design?

No, it's really business. I sold everything from wallpaper to toilets to baths.

-There was originally a service menu.

Yes, that's the business. Since the designer was there, I will continue to focus on sales activities. It wasn't very well known, so it really felt like "Pimpon".

-So-called ditch board.

I agree. At the consulting company I worked at before that, I had to do 100 walk-in calls and 200 tele appointments a day.

-Are you the type of person who doesn't mind doing that kind of work?

I'm the type that doesn't mind.

-That's great.

Rather, I was competing with my sync about how many calls I made and how many appointments I got.

-I think some people might feel pressured, but you said you were the type to enjoy yourself.

I'm a strong person because I don't want to lose. It may not be good, but in that sense it was burning.

-I see, that's interesting. thank you.

Sudden phone call, sudden presidential business

-8+8 You said that you came to that company for about 16 months.

I agree. Suddenly my mother called me and replaced my father. So, over the phone, my father said to me, "Would you like to help me soon?"

-It's very, very smooth.

I've never been told that before. Take over or come back. I didn't have any at all, but at that time I was told just one word, "Come back." Ah, that's what it is, somehow I convinced myself and went home.

-I imagined that there would be a big conflict.

I didn't. Ah, I see.

-You said you didn't have any regrets in Tokyo.

No, it was a mess lol. I have some regrets, but that's about it. I think I'm going to make a comeback and do it as a sake brewery manager.

-So you came back when you were around 24, and after that you spent some time training before becoming president?

No, I became president in about four months.

-It is early.

I agree. Until then, I wanted to go around the business, so I was delivering. I sat next to the delivery employee and went around the business partners together to deliver the packages.

-I see. So you inherited the job of president from your father at a very early stage.

It was early, wasn't it? Especially during the transition period, suddenly without learning anything

- That's amazing.

That's amazing lol. It's better to leave it lol.

-Including the system and management policy of the brewery, there must be a kind of established way of doing things, and on the other hand, you also have experience from operating and looking at the outside world, right? When you took over, did you want to make use of your experience and actively change, or did you want to protect the way the house was done?

No, at that time I didn't have time to think about such things. It's all I can do to know the flow of the year, or to grasp the current situation. For example, I didn't know anything about what month I had to arrange for rice. I didn't know what I was doing at what timing, so it felt like I was just doing what was in front of me.

-There really was no handover. In general, there are many patterns in which a handover period of about one year is set up, and the flow goes through one or two laps.

So, to the employees who have already caused trouble.

-At that time, did you mean that the original clerk gave you some control over what you were doing?

I agree. The employees were solid, so it didn't really collapse. I don't even know how to calculate how much rice is needed to prepare this amount of liters, so there were times when I was late in arranging the rice. It was hard because I didn't know if I should order less or more. I was doing it because I thought it was something like this, so lol.

- You said you got over it positively lol.

It felt like shit, but lol. Laughing like I did it. Well, I was thinking that I have to do it next time.

Next time , I will ask about the big change of abolishing the toji system.