Notable Moments

As you enter the front door of The Inamori Library, you will see a piece of calligraphy that reads "Keiten Aijin," which translates to "respect the divine and love people," hanging on the upper part of the wall near the first-floor elevator. This is a replica of Nanshu Saigo's (Takamori's) calligraphy, which is currently displayed in Inamori's office and represents the overall concept of The Inamori Library.

Back in 1959, when Kyocera was founded, one of the investors who supported the company, Mr. Otoya Miyagi, the president of Miyagi Electric Company, returned from a business trip and presented this calligraphy to Inamori. As it was a phrase that Inamori had been familiar with since childhood, he immediately had it mounted and hung it in the reception room of the company, which at that time was the only meeting space they had.

"Keiten" or "respect heaven" means to abide by the correct path as indicated by heaven and to consider things according to reason. "Aijin" or "love people" refers to the act of loving others with a heart filled with gentle compassion that emanates from the soul. At that time, Inamori, as a young business owner, was unsure of what criteria to use to make decisions and was in constant distress. After pondering over this, he decided to guide his business based on one point: "What is right as a human being." Upon making this decision and looking at the calligraphy for "Respect the Divine and Love People" hanging in the reception room, he realized that Nanshu Saigo was saying the same thing with the words "Respect the Divine." He then reassured himself, saying, "This is the right thing to do. I'm not making a mistake," and decided to make "Respect the Divine and Love People" the corporate motto of Kyocera.

Furthermore, in the third year after Kyocera's founding, when high school graduate employees who were hired the previous year started a revolt demanding guarantees for their future security, the initial purpose of the company, which was "to test the viability of Kazuo Inamori's technology in the marketplace," transformed into "pursuing the physical and emotional well-being of all employees," which is Kyocera's current management philosophy. At that moment, Inamori happened to glance at the "Respect the Divine and Love People" calligraphy hanging in the reception room. And this time, it was "Love People." It was then that he truly understood the essence of Nanshu Saigo's preaching of "Love People," which means to love people broadly. The calligraphy for "Respect the Divine and Love People" has continuously given Inamori great insights. It now hangs in Kyocera's executive office, and he looks at it every time he visits the company.