"True wealth" discovered while traveling around the world
To produce
Graduated College of Economics
OVERTURE
The field of study at university expands all over the world through internships and study abroad programs.
We will introduce students and graduates at Aoyama Gakuin University who are cultivating global ideas and thinking, and growing into talented people who are active on the world stage.
Enrich your life with "forest-creating furniture"
The more we work, the richer people's lives and the natural environment will be.
With this concept in mind, we run "Weiss-Weiss," a company that manufactures and sells furniture and household goods. All of our original brand furniture is made from Fairwood, which is wood that is respectful of the forest environment and local community in the harvesting area, and more than 50% of that wood is domestically produced.
Currently, Japan's forestry and lumber industries are in a critical situation due to the influence of timber imported from overseas. Forestry regions have timber, craftsmen, and processing techniques, but no jobs. Our "job" at Wise-Wise is to work with these regions and deliver jobs, profits, and income. If money circulates in the region, forests can be developed and the mountains can be kept healthy. In a sense, we are making "furniture that creates forests."
We founded Wise-Wise in 1996 with the aim of becoming a "lifestyle brand that creates a rich life." Although we were doing well, we were gradually swept up in the wave of deflation and profits began to decline. We wanted something cool, stylish, and affordable. As we continued to compete with other companies in the same industry, we were shocked to learn that furniture made from wood harvested in tropical rainforests and wood traded at unfairly low prices was being sold, and that such cheap wood from overseas was driving out domestic wood.
So let's make furniture using Japanese wood. Let's stop using wood that is destructive to the environment and society.
With this in mind, in 2008 we announced the "Green Company Declaration," a promise to society that we would protect the forests in our production areas and conduct business activities that take the environment into consideration.
One of the forestry areas we currently work with, Kurikoma Wood in Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, was also affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. After the disaster, we were asked if we could create jobs for the future, so we came up with a plan to have sawmill craftsmen make furniture from cedar from Mount Kurikoma. It took two years from conception to completion, and the furniture brand "KURIKOMA" was a big hit when it was released. Currently, in addition to the craftsmen, we also employ people from a nearby facility for people with disabilities, creating new jobs.
We work every day with the goal of existing as a company that connects people who use furniture with people involved in forestry and the local community, enriching each other's lives.
Penniless in America: The college years of "self-development"
I feel like my time at university was a time of "self-development." I was always searching for what to do after graduating and how to live my life after that. I experienced various part-time jobs and met many people. I went to many places hoping to find something that would support my life. The biggest experience was traveling around America for a year.
At the end of my third year of university, I took a leave of absence and went to the United States, leaving New York and traveling down the East Coast. When I reached Florida, a big incident happened. Everything I owned except my car was stolen. All my money, my return ticket, and the contact information of the people I was supposed to be helping along the way were stolen. I had no choice but to work part-time as a dishwasher in Key West, the southernmost point of the United States, to save up money and continue my journey.
Although I left Japan with a large suitcase packed with clothes and a music player, all I brought back was a newspaper. However, it was a great asset for me to learn that I have the strength to survive even if I am penniless in a strange land.
Then, a Japanese businessman I met while traveling gave me some advice: "If you haven't decided what you want to do, join a large company in a field that interests you," which led me to my next turning point.
"Wealth is not about money": A turning point in life after meeting an ethnic minority
The biggest turning point in my life was my encounter with the ethnic minorities living on the islands of Indonesia.
After graduating from university, he joined Nomura Co., Ltd., a leading company in the space production industry. Immediately after joining the company, he was assigned to open department stores and hotels in Japan, moving between Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and other locations. Feeling that his work was exhausting both physically and mentally, he began traveling to ethnic minorities to refresh himself.
The more I learned about ethnic groups far removed from civilized society, the more shocked I was, wondering, "What on earth have I been doing?" In Singapore, where I was based at the time, I lived in an apartment with a pool, traveling around the world with a suitcase in hand, but I was exhausted both physically and mentally. In comparison, ethnic minority people live in places without electricity or running water, drinking clean water and eating delicious food. "Aren't we richer?" It was a bolt from the blue.
What I realized clearly was that "money is not what is needed to be rich." I was overwhelmed by the idea that people can live such rich lives without money, without going to school, and without buying a lot of products.
At that time, the village chief of a tribe I had been to many times asked me if I would like to become his son-in-law. I went to sleep that night thinking, "Maybe I should just keep living here."
But when I woke up the next morning, I realized that this was not the case. Even if I was the only one living a prosperous life in this village, if my parents and friends were not happy, I would not feel happy. I clearly realized that I would not find happiness in this place. Then, the idea suddenly occurred to me: "I would return to Japan and do a job that would allow me to face the 'prosperity' I felt from the lives of ethnic minorities." At that moment, the path I was heading in may have opened up.
When I returned to Singapore from the village, I received an order to work at the head office. I was surprised, but it must have been fate. I returned to Tokyo and applied for an in-house venture, and Wise-Wise was born.
The origin of my work is the spirit of social contribution I encountered at Aoyama Gakuin University
Although I was not a very "serious" student, 30 years after my graduation, I feel that the teachings of "for the world and for others" that I was exposed to during my school days and the spirit of social contribution and service that runs through Aoyama Gakuin have been passed down to me, unknowingly. Aoyama I have been supported by many dedicated people, including John F. Goucher, who invested his private fortune to purchase the land for the campus, and alumni such as Ginjiro Katsuta and Tobihiko Mashima. I believe that the deeds of these predecessors, which I heard about while I was a student, have remained in the back of my mind for a long time, and over time have led to my current work.
I mentioned that money is not the only thing necessary for wealth, but it is not just material things either. Travel, music, art, food - there are many items that enrich life. Right now, we are providing furniture and miscellaneous goods, but that is only one-tenth of what we have set out to achieve. There are many things we want to challenge ourselves to do in order to deliver a richer life. It has been 22 years since we started our business, but it feels like we have only just begun.
I want all students to live for their dreams and hopes. Don't blame the times or society and give up before you even try. Even if you fail once, don't give up. Re-strategize and try four or five times. If you don't give up, you'll definitely get closer.
For the true prosperity of people and society, I would like to continue to do work that is like "the salt of the earth and the light of the world."
A day in Sato's life
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6:00AM
I wake up and make breakfast with my elementary school-aged children.
No matter how late I get home the night before, I cherish the mornings I spend with my children. -
8:00AM
Work at the office and showroom "Wise-Wise Omotesando"
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9:30AM
Morning assembly, meeting with employees
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0:00 PM
Lunchtime in Omotesando
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1:00 PM
Negotiating with customers and handling projects
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6:00 PM
Business hours have ended.
We rent out our showroom to individuals and groups who are involved in social activities, so we invite you to participate in their seminars and mini-symposiums. -
10:00 PM
Clean up and go home
Interview video
Graduated from
College of Economics
Since its founding, Aoyama Gakuin University 's Department of Economics College of Economics has had a long tradition of providing a curriculum for analyzing various socio-economic issues from all over the world and throughout history from a wide range of perspectives, including theory, empirical evidence, policy, and history, and for holding policy discussions. Meanwhile, Department of Public and Regional Economics has developed a curriculum for applying public, regional, and geography, as well as the geographic information system (GIS) that supports each of these, to contemporary issues.
