Profile

Keita Morinobu

Born in Tokyo, he moved to Kansai when he was a child due to his father's job transfer, and grew up in Hyogo Prefecture. He attended Hibarigaoka Gakuen High School and went on to Kwansei Gakuin University, where he was a member of the university's Kendo club. After working for a trading company, he founded K. Ambiente Co., Ltd. in July 2015, and became its representative director. He has expanded his business, focusing on OEM/ODM custom production from apparel companies and import/export trading. Recently, he has also begun developing his own brand, aiming to strengthen his downstream strategy. He values ​​the bonds he has with his employees and customers, and aims to contribute to society from the textile industry. He began practicing Kendo in the third grade of elementary school and is currently a seventh-dan instructor.

What made you start kendo?

Morinobu"I started kendo in the third grade of elementary school. At the time, baseball was the mainstream sport, as Oh was setting world records with his one-legged batting style. I admired baseball and actually wanted to play it (laughs)." -Why did you start kendo? Morinobu"My father practiced judo, so I was forced to start kendo as there was no judo dojo nearby. To be honest, I wanted to play baseball, so I really didn't want to start kendo. However, when I went to visit the dojo for the first time, I thought the protective gear looked cool, and before I knew it, I was holding a bamboo sword. I had planned to continue kendo for a year and then switch to baseball (laughs)." -Did you actually enjoy practicing kendo? Morinobu"It was a big, strong dojo with around 20 to 30 students in each grade. I started kendo in the third grade of elementary school, but many of the kids around me had started in kindergarten or first grade, so there was a big gap in my starting level. I quickly became overwhelmed, realizing there was no way I could compete with those students. I wasn't very enthusiastic, and until I was in sixth grade, I only attended practice about once a week." -So you didn't really see the appeal of kendo when you were in elementary school? Morinobu"That's right. I wanted to join the baseball club in junior high school. I did join the baseball club, but I was too mischievous and was kicked out (laughs). A kendo club teacher saw me and invited me to join the kendo club. I felt a desire to follow in the footsteps of my mentor who had saved me, and I began to train hard. Before I knew it, I had won the individual championship at the city's junior high school athletics federation rookie tournament in the fall." -That's amazing! Did it start to become more fun from there? Morinobu"That's right. I went to a different junior high school than my dojo buddies from elementary school, but I felt like the gap in ability had narrowed considerably. The training at the school I went to was stricter, so I think the gap between me and my classmates naturally narrowed."

The first time I was able to put my kendo training to good use"Job hunting"

-How has practicing kendo affected your daily life? Morinobu"The strict instruction I received had a huge impact on the development of my character. Now, kendo is my whole life. Kendo involves offense and defense, and tactics, and there is conversation within that. I feel that this interaction is useful in business as well. Kendo has given me the ability to negotiate with others." -When do you pay particular attention to this? Morinobu"I felt this especially when I was looking for a job. The time I spent promoting myself was about the same as the time I spent in a kendo match. In both job hunting and kendo, the structure and the distance between you and your opponent are important. I kept these things I learned in kendo in mind when I went into job hunting." That's an interesting perspective. It's the first time I've heard of someone using it in their job search.

About work

-What kind of work are you doing now? Morinobu"I am currently the representative director of K.Ambiente Co., Ltd., a company that imports, exports, manufactures and sells textile products and fashion accessories. Previously, I worked in the textile division of a general trading company. During my time at the trading company, I traveled to many different countries. Because I practiced kendo, even when I was overseas, I was able to rely on my fellow kendo players whom I met at trading company tournaments." *K.Ambiente Co., Ltd. (http://www.k-ambiente.net/) *The company's brand "MR. & MRS. CHIEF" (https://mr-mrs-chief.shop-pro.jp/） -Kendo friends often help you in various ways. Morinobu"That's right. As soon as you pick up a bamboo sword, you instantly become friends. You can trust them strangely." -How many years has the company been in business? Morinobu"Our third term began in July. I think that things don't always go smoothly for a company, especially in the early stages of its launch. So I feel that now is a time of trial. If I can overcome this challenge, I will be able to grow as a manager. I think that the unwavering mental toughness I have developed through kendo, and I feel that it has also honed my fighting spirit." -Is there any way in which your kendo skills are useful in running your company? Morinobu"It may be the same for sports club activities other than kendo, but I think I learned about 'organizational management' through the university's sports club. There were about 60 members, so it was hard to bring them together. All of the members had entered through the general entrance exam, so there were beginners and advanced players. The difference in the length of kendo experience meant that motivation was completely different. Inevitably, it wasn't easy to unite the group." -What key points about organizational management did you learn at that time? Morinobu"It's about setting small goals one after the other. At the time, our big goal was to win the Kansai Tournament. However, for beginners, this is an incredibly high hurdle. It's easy to become discouraged. So we often talked about climbing small mountains together, one by one." -What does that mean specifically? Morinobu"We had a very serious discussion about what we could do to strengthen the kendo club at our alma mater. Our generation started planning invitational matches for high school students, with the aim of increasing our strength in the future. We had very thorough discussions at the time. I think it was great that we were able to share the idea that 'we all have to make our kendo club stronger, and that there are many roles beyond just being players.' Naturally, none of us were experts at running events. At the time, we were all scrambling, but I feel that the things we accomplished led to increased unity as we came together towards our goal." -So you've created a goal that everyone can relate to. Morinobu"That's right. We all worked together from the very beginning, creating the timetable for running the tournament, and with the help of our alumni, we were able to get everything on track. In a way, I think this tournament management created a sense of unity among not only the current players but also the alumni."

The reason why I started my business"bonds"

-Can you tell us why you decided to go independent? Morinobu"I entered the workforce after the bubble economy, so I experienced a lot of absurdity before starting my own business. I went through a fair amount of experiences, including downsizing and merging business divisions, as well as spin-offs and M&A. There were many hardships, but I think kendo gave me the toughness to overcome them. I learned a lot from those absurdities and have lived my life positively. In that sense, I am truly grateful to my previous job and all the people I have met through my work up until now. However, I just couldn't take that last absurdity in a positive light. I strongly felt that if we continued like this, my friends who had fought alongside me would not be happy, so I chose to go independent together." - It must take a lot of courage to go independent with your colleagues. Could you tell us the origin of the company name? Morinobu"Even after I started working, I have always valued teamwork. Above all else, I wanted to value bonds. The origin of the K in our company name is that we all assign various meanings to it. The universal meaning is 'bonds'. Ambiente means space and environment in Latin. So, the essential origin of our company name is 'bond space'." -How many people went independent? Morinobu"Twenty people." -A large number of people! That's a story on a grand scale. Morinobu"I guess I was overlooking my own limitations (laughs). But I wanted to cherish my friends. In human relationships, you should never behave in a way that belies honor and righteousness. This is also Bushido."

The goal is continued employment. Cherishing bonds

-Please tell us what you consider important when running your business. Morinobu"As the name of our company suggests, we value bonds. We are taking on the challenge of continuing employment, especially in this day and age." -That's an incredible determination. Morinobu"It takes determination, but I think the same goes for employees. We try to balance things out depending on how hard you work, but we're not yet in a position where we can offer all employees satisfactory treatment. But even so, some staff join us saying, 'I want to work for this company.' The textile industry is in a chronic recession, so I think it's very important that both management and employees are determined to take on challenges while cherishing their bonds." -What kind of company do you want to be in the future? Morinobu"We want to have a special skill as a company. A skill that no one can beat. I don't think it will be easy. We have to work hard, ceaselessly. But just like when I was in junior high school and I was able to win the city tournament, I believe that if we continue to work hard, we will one day see the light at the end of the tunnel. 'The sky is blue beyond the clouds.'" -You can't suddenly become strong in kendo. Morinobu"That's right. It's important to continue to put in effort in everything. I think I have the perseverance I've developed through kendo." - I'm sure there are readers out there who would like to work for a company run by such a manly man, Professor Morinobu. Thank you for your time today.