Add small 1s

A reception on His Majesty the Emperor birthday was held at the Japan consulate general ambassador's residence in Florida on December 3. I was invited to participate this reception sequentially last year. This photo shows the pool side of the ambassador's residence.

I met no acquaintance at the reception last year, but this year, in the meeting place of the reception, I met several people to whom I instructed how to put on kimono, and I helped one person to put on a kimono on the day of the reception.

Before the reception, someone talked to me, “I had abandoned my hope to wear a kimono, but I get motivated to wear it thanks to Hiro.“ I was very happy. I always remember the words by the kimono Prof. Suzuki, a late great dean of Komagome Waso Academy: “Kimono need to be wore by heart.“

Last year I imagined that it was very hard to build a new business from scratch in the area which I did not know and where I had no acquaintances. But I accidentally met a person who had wanted to wear a kimono in Miami, gradually I had a wider circle of potential kimono lovers, and then, I added small 1 to my accomplishment.

Takafumi Horie, a former big Japanese IT company president, wrote a book “ZERO“. Its subtitle is “I will add small 1s to myself who don't have any ability.“ I have not yet read this book, but this subtitle directly reaches my heart.

I decided that I would continue to add small 1s. It takes a lot of courage to make a step. But this small step blooms a little flower one year later.

The photo shows Ms. Kubota, who created flower arrangement for the reception at the ambassador's residence, and me.