【亀井 敏裕】亀とよんでいる。親友、戦友、同士、相棒。なにかなあ？と考える。1998年。出会いは美術の専門学校。最初の会話は「このクラスかわいい子いねえな〜」だった。卒業後、俺は家具職人の修行に入り、亀井は独学で彫金の道に進んだ。ちょくちょくやり取りする仲が続いた。2003年。独立を考えて亀井に声を掛けた。お互い個人事業主で工房をシェアしないか？という誘いだ。何も知らない俺たちは今思えばどーでもイイが、見よう見まねで事業計画などを書いて準備した。それはそれで何か人生が進んでいる感じがして楽しかった。独立はアマくなかった。最初に持ち寄った300万はすぐに底をついた。亀井は彼女との間に子供がデキて結婚し横浜から通うことになった。俺には２人目の子供がデキた。無計画ここに極まり。仕事が無い。とにかく単価を下げて仕事にありつく。それでも、同業者からの下請けはしないと決めていた。やってもやっても金にならない。それでも徹夜でやらなきゃ終わらない。工房に行くガソリン代が無い日もあった。もらい物の汚ねえ1BOXの荷台で梱包用のホコリまみれの毛布にくるまって寝た。食べようかどうしようかと迷いに迷い２人でラーメンを食べた事を覚えている。あの一杯が今までのどのラーメンよりも一番美味かったな〜と今でも話題に挙るほど身体に染み渡った。半年あたりから亀井は体調を崩した。そして一年が経った頃、横浜から車で出勤中に事故を起こした。居眠り運転だった。搬送された病院に向かう途中、クシャクシャのボールの様に丸くなった亀井の車を見た。大きな怪我はなかったが、亀井の心は折れた。「もう続けられない」共同でシェアするはずが身勝手すぎるだろう？なに折れてんだよ？喧嘩になった。３０段くらいはあるだろうか？立川駅の階段のてっぺんから蹴り落とした。人だかりができた。救急車が来た。それで解散だ。俺は一人でKOMAをつづけた。一人になった分、家賃や光熱費の負担などで余計に苦しくなった。俺ももうダメかな？と思っていた。前にも書いたので割愛するが、多くの人に恵まれて首の皮一枚で浮上が始まる。あれからずっと亀の事が頭を巡っていた。言葉にすると陳腐になるが「夢半ば」だった。勝手に亀の復帰を目指し仕事をする様になる。担当してもらう仕事を想像して亀の分の仕事量の確保を目指した。その頃、亀は八王子で家具職人としての修行を初めていていた。解散から一年、亀を誘って酒を飲む。「もう一回一緒にやらねえか？」を言いたかった。「絶対にやらねえ」の返事は予想どおりだった。半年間、言い続けた。奥さんを説得して戻ってきてくれた。俺がアタマで亀はNO2。共同経営じゃない。責任は俺が持つ。まず一年で1000万の現金をつくる。工房の引っ越し、機械の入れ替え、従業員の雇用を最初の目標に走り出した。2007年。二人三脚がはじまった。現在に至るまでは、この場だけでは書ききれないので割愛するが目紛しい日々だった。苦しくもあったが楽しかった。しかしこの3年は俺と亀の間にミゾがうまれた。ありがたい事だが、外からの評価が一人歩きしていった。毎月の雑誌の取材。TVで特集。世に出る機会も増えていった。実際の実力よりも高い評価を受けている様な気がした。怖くなった。KOMAのメッキが剥がれる前に追いつかねえと。と錯覚した。俺がやらねえと。止まれねえ。あの頃には戻りたくねえの一心だった。俺は勝ち進む事に執着した。歴史の無い俺たちにとって勝ちを得ることだけが生き残る道だと思った。いつのまにか一人で戦うようになった。外ばかり見て会社の中は一切見る事がなくなった。人数も、機械設備も、俺たちの実力も、会社の中身は何も変わってないのに、対外的な評価に追いつく為にやらなきゃいけない事だけが大きく増えた。小さな会社は全ての業務を自分たちが担わなければならない。会社と社会の状況で自分たちが求められる役割は目紛しく変わる。会社にとって足りないスキルは自分が身につければならない。役割分担はただのなすり合いになった。頼り合うのではなく丸投げしあった。身のあるコミュニケーションは減り、何かを一緒に考え行動する事が無くなった。いつの間にか俺と亀の二人三脚はバラバラになっていた。俺の焦りは亀に実力以上を求めるようになった。俺が荒れる事も多くなった。亀のヤル気は少なくなった。上手くいかない事は互いに互いのせいにした。KOMAの成長に自分たちがついていけていなかった。とは言え、全てが悪かった訳じゃない。俺も悪かったし亀も悪かった。亀は悪くねえし俺も悪くねえ。といったところだ。もちろん反省すべき点は多々ある。反省があれば次に繋がる。現に今、こうしてKOMAは存在する。10年生き残る会社は3%と言われる中でちゃんと存在しているのだ。遠回りしたんじゃない。KOMAを生き残らせる為にお互いに必死でやってきた結果、生き残っているという事実がある。言い訳ではなく、ああなる他に無かったように思う。維持継続の為に経なければならない時間だったように思う。弱さを経験していない強さは無いのだ。強くなる為に気付けた弱さだ。今、KOMAは本当に強くなろうとしている。もう、今のKOMAが求めている事は俺と亀だけでは全然足りなくなっちまったって事に気付けた。だからこそ役割があるのだ。若い衆が定着し大きく成長してくれたおかげで気付きが得れた。あの頃の二人三脚を今のKOMAでやれるようになってきた。そして、今は二人じゃない。全員で肩を組んで一歩ずつ進むのだ。俺にとって亀井は、自分を映す鏡だ。親友、戦友、同士、相棒でもあるが、それらを超えた存在でもある。年の瀬に気付けて良かった。本当に新年が楽しみに迎えられるのは何年ぶりか。もちろん不安も多くあるけどね。とにかく、いろんな事と仲間達がありがてえ。よいお年を〜 I call him "Kame". Sidekick, the best buddy, fellow, partner. What would be best expression abut him for me ? 1998. We met for the first time at the art school. The first conversation among us was "There is no pretty girl in this class." After graduated from the school, I proceed training as craftsman of furniture and he proceeded on metal-craving. We continued to keep in touch each others. 2003. When I consider to become independent, I asked him to join. It was an offer to share a factory keeping the status of the owner of small business each other. Given no experiences to run business, we prepared the business plan watching and imitating samples, which does not seem to make valuable when reviewing from now. It was fun to feel we proceeded our own lives. Owning independent small business was never easy at all. JPY3,000,000, as the initial invested amount of money we put together, run out in short period of time. Kamei got married with her girl friend pregnant and commutate from Yokohama. I got second child. It was the extreme case of the no plan. There was no order. We discounted prices and got jobs. However, we committed to decline subcontracts. We were not able to make money how much work we had done. However, we could not complete tasks without working whole through the night. I had no money to buy gasoline in order to commute to the factory. I slept on the dirty platform of one-box car presented by someone with blanket for packing our products covered in dust. I remember that we shared a bowl of ramen noodle after spending significantly long time before decide whether eat or not. It was the best ramen noodle in our life even now so that we are able to recall it clearly as if it has penetrated into each cell of our body. Kamei had gotten suffering from health problems after 6 months since we had established the factory. About one year later after the establishing the factory, he had a traffic accident during his drive from Yokohama. He fell a sleep at the wheel. On the road to the hospital, I saw his car completely crashed as if a piece of paper crumple into a ball. He did not have big damages, however, he heart was broken off. "I cannot continue the factory." It is too selfish to walk away from the contract sharing the factory. How is your heart broken off ? We got a fight. I kicked him off from the top of the stair in the Tachikawa station, which would have 30 steps. A crowded with people emerged. Ambulance came. Then, we have dissolved. I continued KOMA by myself. Economically, it became more difficult given my sole obligation to the rent, utility costs. I thought I would be almost done for. I would avoid further descriptions given detailed described before, thanks to helps from many people, KOMA has revived from the situation something like hanging by a thread. Since then, I always had thought of Kame. It would be obsolete when expressed in words, we have not achieve our goals. Then, I selfishly started working with assumption of re-join of Kame. I try to have adequate jobs for Kame with imaging his role in KOMA. At that time, Kame started training as craftsman of furniture at Hachioji. After one year since our dissolution, I invited Kame for drinking alcohol. I would like to say "Shall we work together again ?" "I will never work with you" was in line with my expectation. I continued it 6 months. He came back to KOMA with persuading his wife. I would be the head of KOMA and Kame takes No.2. It is not co-managed. I take the responsibility. First of all, we made JPY10,000,000 cash in one year. We started running the company prioritizing relocation of the factory, replacing machines, employment as first goals. 2007. We started three-legged race. We have spent kaleidoscope changes, which I would not like to describe here given inability to write them completely. It was tough at the same time fun. Within recent 3 years, there has emerged a gap between Kame and me. Although it is appreciated, higher evaluations by third parties have spread like wildfire. Cover from magazines every month. Special TV programs. KOMA has become more exposed to media. I felt higher evaluation than real. I have gotten scared. I have been under illusion that KOMA needs to catch up to the image before the true color is revealed. I need to complete it myself. I cannot stop it. I just would not like to go back to tough time in KOMA. I have sticked to continue to win. Given no history, I thought of continuous wins would be only way for KOMA to survive. Unconsciously, I fought by myself. I turned to take care of only outside of the company without considering of inside of the company. With no changes in business infrastructures for KOMA including number of employees, machinery facilities, and our real ability, in order to match to external evaluations for KOMA, there significantly increased what we are supposed to. In small company, every single aspect of operations must be done ourselves. Roles required to us have changed very rapidly and dramatically. I needed to fill the gaps when anything were missing in the company. The allocation of roles and responsibilities have become just passing the buck each others. We tried to leave everything to each other instead of relying on each others. Effective communications have been decreased and we seldom think and act together. Unconsciously, the three-legged race between Kame and myself has come apart. My impatience has ask Kame for more than what he is able to. I have tended to become mad. Kame has gotten less motivated. We have blamed each other when we have encountered anything went well. We were not able to match the growth of KOMA. Anyway, everything may not necessarily bad. Both Kame and myself were bad, Neither Kame nor myself were bad. It would be more appropriate description. Of course, there are many points we need to improve. Reflections would result in improve. It is indeed real that KOMA exists now. KOMA has survived 10 years, whose survival ratio is said to be 3%. It has not been detour. We both desperately have made efforts in what are supposed to make KOMA to survive, and, in fact, KOMA still exists. It is not excuse, while, we have no choices other than what we have experienced. We have spent time necessary to run KOMA as sustainable business. Weakness to become more strong in the futures would be inevitable. It would be weakness to be aware of in order to be more strong. Now, KOMA is about to become really strong. Now, we have become aware of what KOMA requires and which Kame and myself would be able to cover. That is why roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined and allocated. We have been aware of them due to growths of younger employees retained longer than before. We have become able to run operations like three legged-race at that time. And, more importantly, we are no longer two any more. We all together go forward step by step wrapping arms around members' shoulders. For me, Kamei is mirror reflecting myself. He is a sidekick, the best buddy, fellow, partner, at the same time, something beyond all of them. I am really lucky to become aware of it ahead of the next year. I cannot remember last time I was really looking forward to beginning of the next year. Of course, I have many concerns. Anyway, I really appreciate everything and every colleague. A happy new year ! Written by Shigeki Matsuoka
