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Chapter 94 part 2 – 1929 Executive Meeting

If you take too strong a leadership stance, you get ostracized.

In the worst-case scenario, if you stand out too much waving your flag and shouting “Follow me!” you won’t just be ostracized—you’ll be stabbed in the back or pushed off a cliff. Taking strong leadership simply isn’t worth the cost.

It’s a different country, but ending up like Joan of Arc is essentially the default outcome.

Setting that aside, trying to do something innovative in Japan comes with an enormous communication cost—in other words, groundwork.

And since decisions are effectively made during the groundwork phase, by the time anything reaches a formal discussion, the conclusion has already been decided.

Moreover, in Japan, even doing something innovative requires groundwork. Even Oda Nobunaga, who’s often talked about in later generations, must have done it that way.

So then, in order to avoid ending up like Joan of Arc or Oda Nobunaga in Japan, is it enough to just lay sufficient groundwork?

That’s not quite right either. The moment you decide to do something innovative, you must be prepared to be stabbed in the back or be on high alert.

Then, what can you do?

If you want to do something innovative in Japan, the only real option is the “black ships.”

Using external pressure as a trigger—in short, using the “black ships” as an excuse—everyone moves together to implement something innovative all at once.

If everyone does it together, even something innovative becomes relatively normal.

But that kind of action can’t be taken unless there’s a rare and significant opportunity. It’s essentially a wartime or emergency measure.

That’s why in peacetime Japan, the only path forward is through gradual progress and incremental improvement. It’s not because that’s what Japan is good at—it’s simply because those are the only available options in times of peace.

And so the Ootori heirs prepared an overwhelming victory through Dow Index stocks and the dollar—a pseudo “Black Ship.” Or rather, they are still in the process of doing so, but for now, it’s succeeding.

On the other hand, when it comes to leadership, the way the Ootori heirs handle things isn’t ideal.

Most likely, the best approach would be to cautiously bring in as many people as possible, build up improvements bit by bit, and earn a certain level of consensus—this would be the equivalent of scoring a waza-ari (a minor point).
Keep racking up those waza-ari. 

That’s the optimal strategy.

However, you must never go for an ippon (a full point). If you aim for that recklessly, you’ll end up getting pushed out.
Even if you do go for an ippon, it has to come as part of groundwork after waza-ari—a follow-up grappling move.

Whether you’re right or not is secondary—what matters is steadily building consensus and consistently exercising leadership that feels soft and gradual.

That’s the kind of leadership style that tends to create stability.

And in this case, Uncle Zenkichi excels at demonstrating that kind of Japanese-style leadership.
It doesn’t work within the Ootori family itself, which leans strongly top-down, but looking at it this way, it becomes clear why Uncle Zenkichi was brought into the Ootori family.

Originally, Uncle Zenkichi was welcomed into Ootori to serve in a role like the Chief Cabinet Secretary in a Japanese cabinet.

He was expected to be the lubricant and intermediary between the family and the zaibatsu, and he accepted that position with a clear understanding of that role.

On the other hand, the central figures of the Ootori family—those who created the strange entity known as the “Ootori Group”—occupy a position so far removed that even the presidents within the group can’t reach them, let alone ostracize them.

Great-Grandfather, after doing all he wanted to do, has entered his end-of-life phase. At least, that’s how he’s perceived.
In Japanese society, pushing a quiet elderly man enjoying his remaining years any further would carry too great a reputational cost.

Grandfather is the head of the family, but he belongs to an entirely different world, the army.
Moreover, he never appears at financial or corporate gatherings. So he’s also out of reach.

And then there’s me, but I’m the unclear entity known as the “Miko of Ootori,” and might even be seen as the one instigating everything.
However, I’m still a child, not even ten years old. 

No one can raise their hand against a child. 

Even if someone wanted to eliminate me, it’s not even a matter of whether they should—it’s just not feasible.
More likely, people see me as a child being manipulated by the adults around me.

Even if someone wary of the Ootori family’s internal politics, like Zenkichi-san, tries to raise concerns, they’ll just be told that it was a decision made by Grandfather.
In that case, my existence might as well not count at all.

Because of all that, when the Ootori Group was first formed after swallowing up Suzuki, things were quite chaotic.
I heard that Uncle Zenkichi had a very hard time persuading and negotiating with people. 

However, the people within the Ootori Group eventually arrived at one unspoken understanding.

The wave of innovation has passed, so let’s forget it as something of the past and focus on what we can do under the current circumstances—that’s the conclusion they reached.

And the ones who led things in that direction were Uncle Zenkichi and his close aides who acted under his instructions.

It was a feat only Uncle Zenkichi, who came into the family from the outside, could pull off within the Ootori clan—a move that truly deserves to be called a waza-ari.

I used to think of Uncle Zenkichi as a conservative person and didn’t rate him very highly.
But little by little, my view changed, and now I see him as someone amazing—able to do things we simply can’t.

I still think he lacks “charisma” in terms of appearance and presence, but that’s beside the point.
Uncle Zenkichi is someone absolutely essential to the Ootori Group.

That said, it doesn’t mean there are no problems at all.

“Uncle Zenkichi is really a ‘peacetime’ person, isn’t he?”

“What brings that up so suddenly?”

“Oh, sorry. I was just lost in thought and blurted it out.”

“I see. But would you really call keeping the Ootori Group together a ‘peacetime’ task?”

“Yeah. The one who decided what to do was Great-Grandfather. Uncle Zenkichi is the one coordinating and smoothing things over. He’s not the one making the decisions, right?”

“That’s true. But since he doesn’t have the authority to make decisions as part of Ootori, isn’t it just a matter of role distribution?”

“That’s part of it. But the turmoil that’ll start in half a year will definitely be a time of crisis. Do you really think Uncle Zenkichi can keep steering the ship then?”

“I’m afraid I cannot say.”

She invoked her right to remain silent as someone who serves the Ootori family.

Still, her composed expression was already half an answer in itself.

Seeing that, I let out a small sigh.

“Anyway, I guess I need to consult Great-Grandfather.”

“Please do.”

“Yeah… though it’s kind of depressing.”

At those words, Shizu gave no reply or agreement.

She simply bowed.