Iru

2025/04/17

Yoshihiro Yamagishi

President of Okumusashi Mita-kai, 1969 Commerce

In Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, there is a steamed bun with a slightly playful name called "Irumanju," which features a filling made by kneading powder from the local specialty, Sayama tea, into the bean paste.

In 2012, "Irumanju" appeared as a fictional specialty in the collaborative work "Koro-sensei VS Saiki Kusuo: The Final Battle in Iruma City," created by a popular manga artist from Iruma City for Weekly Shonen Jump NEXT!. As fans from across the country who saw the work sent requests to the city hall to commercialize it, a passionate letter written by a local junior high school student moved the mayor. However, when the city negotiated with Shueisha, the response was that commercialization would be difficult... But Iruma City didn't stop there. They decided that if they couldn't use the name, they would just change it, and after 10 months of development, they managed to release it as "Iruma no Manju." Shueisha contacted them later after learning about this, and it was decided to officially commercialize it as "Irumanju," which became a huge hit.

If you challenge yourself without giving up, the path will open! That's our town, Iruma City! Please come visit Iruma City and enjoy it along with some Sayama tea.

Masumi Hirakoshi

Secretary of Nara Mita-kai, Nara Mahoroba Sommelier, Head of Sanskrit Juku, 1972 Letters

Soga no Iruka, who was labeled a traitor in the "Nihon Shoki" and killed during the Isshi Incident (645), is solemnly enshrined at Iruka Shrine in Shoko-cho, Kashihara City. This area is said to be the birthplace of Iruka's mother, and Iruka has been worshipped here to this day. It is said that Iruka was beheaded at the signal of a rooster's crow, and legend has it that people in Shoko-cho used to refrain from keeping chickens.

There is also a legend that his severed head flew to various places. Interestingly, it is said that Nakatomi no Kamatari, who was chased by Iruka's head, fled from the Ishibutai to Kitsuwaki Shrine on the mountain path leading to Tanzan Shrine and said, "It probably won't come anymore" (Mou konai darou), which is why the area is called "Moko no Mori" (The Forest of No More).

As a Nara resident who favors Iruka, I suspect that Iruka, the loser, was recorded as a villain in the official history. In the "Toshi Kaden," the monk Min, who was Iruka's academic mentor, evaluated Iruka as being the most talented "after Kamatari."

This year's zodiac sign is exactly "Isshi" (Wood Snake), and I would like to keep Iruka in my thoughts.

Ryosuke Saito

Director and Executive Officer COO of White Plus Inc., 2007 Economics

I founded White Plus Inc. in 2009 with the vision of "Creating a New Everyday" to bring innovation to the field of "Lifestyle Services x Technology." We operate "Lenet," a service where you can order via smartphone and have your laundry done without leaving home. To launch a new service that has never existed before and spread it to the world, you need colleagues with the same aspirations. To ensure that each employee can play an active role, we put great effort into our hospitality during the onboarding process.

The welcome kit we provide on the first day—which includes a hoodie with the company logo, a T-shirt designed with our values, a company history, and business cards—is well-received for raising expectations upon joining. We also hold orientations for each department and welcome lunches. These promote interaction with senior employees and contribute to early team building.

"Who you work with" affects work performance and determines the success or failure of a business even more than "what you do." We will continue to spread innovative value to the world by deepening the bonds between employees and creating an environment where they can quickly excel.

Takeshige Nishiyama

Teacher of Information Studies, Keio Yochisha Elementary School

At Yochisha, there is an Information class for students from 1st to 6th grade. The overall themes of the class are expressive activities using information devices and programming learning. The first term of the 1st grade serves as the introductory phase.

Back when we used computers in class, we could see innocent scenes typical of an introductory phase. Many students were touching a computer for the first time in class and seemed to struggle even with moving the mouse as intended. Being able to move the mouse as intended and click was the goal for the first term.

When the use of one tablet PC per person began in 2018, the nature of the introductory phase changed significantly. Operations that used to be done with a mouse can now be easily executed by touching the screen directly. The goal for the first term became mastering methods such as drawing pictures, inputting text, viewing class materials, and submitting assignments using a classroom app. First graders master these in no time and become able to use tablet PCs as one of their stationery tools in classes other than Information.