Daiwa House Group

Daiwa House Group

our founder A Profile of Nobuo Ishibashi

Nobuo Ishibashi was born in 1921 in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, a village surrounded by mountains of more than 3,000 feet in height. As a youth, Nobuo was noted for his perseverance and never-say-die attitude. During World War II he was seriously wounded and later interned in a Siberian prison camp as a prisoner of war. After returning to Japan, he found that his home village and the surrounding hillsides had been devastated by the war as well as by a major typhoon. On seeing this, he resolved to build homes whose structural framework employed robust steel pipes rather than the traditional wooden beams and columns. This was the start of the "industrialization of construction" for which Daiwa House would later become famous. Mr. Ishibashi founded the Company in 1955, and spurred on by his determination to build the things that society really needed, he initiated one "revolution" after another. First, he took a major step toward revolutionizing construction methods with his concept of steel-frame structures. This was followed by a revolution in housing construction that would make owning one's own home more affordable for the average family. Finally, he hit upon the concept of putting a more truly fulfilling lifestyle within the grasp of the average person through his "lifestyle revolution," in the course of which Daiwa House expanded its operations into a diverse range of new fields. Nobuo Ishibashi passed away in 2003 at the age of 81. Throughout his life he preached his dream of contributing to the creation of a healthier and more fulfilling society, and at the Daiwa House Group today, we continue to maintain his dream at the core of our corporate raison d'être.

The Chinese character shown above means “dream.” In Japanese, it is pronounced yume (yoo-meh). The word “dream” encompasses a wide range of meanings. When we go to sleep at night, we dream. We also often refer to the past as “seeming like a dream.” But for us at the Daiwa House Group, these definitions of the word can be put to one side. When we use the word “dream,” which to us is very important, we are referring to hopes for the future. Dreams are the driving force behind great achievements. Managers must be a good judge of the capabilities of their staff. Employees, too, must have a dream in their hearts. Companies grow along with the realization of such dreams. A company’s management and staff must all keep on trying to make their dream reality, and must never give up. October 1963: By Yoshino Lake

Personal History

1921
Born in the village of Kawakami in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture
1939
After graduating from the Yoshino Agricultural School (operated by Nara Prefecture), Nobuo Ishibashi worked at the Forestry Management Office at Dunhua (now in Jilin Province, China) in the Japanese-controlled state of Manchuria under the authority of the Manchuria Forestry Agency.
1942
Graduated from the Maebashi Army Officers' Academy; demobilized in 1948
1949
Appointed as a director of the Yoshino Chuou Mokuzai Co., Ltd.
1955
Founded Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd. and assumed post of Managing Director
Inspired by the ideal of the "industrialization of construction," Mr. Ishibashi developed first the Pipe House and then the Midget House, among other new products, opening up the way to Japan's first prefabricated housing.
1963
Assumed post of President and Representative Director of Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.
1971
Became a member of the board of Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations)
1978
Assumed chairmanship of Japan Prefabricated Construction Suppliers and Manufacturers Association
1979
Awarded Medal with Blue Ribbon by the Government of Japan
1980
Assumed post of Chairman and Representative Director of Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.
1982
Awarded Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon by the Government of Japan
1989
Assumed chairmanship of Association of Housing Construction Organizations
1992
Assumed post of Representative Director and Senior Adviser to the Board of Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.
1993
Awarded Second Class Order of the Sacred Treasure
1997
Assumed chairmanship of Japan Federation of Housing Organizations
2003
Nobuo Ishibashi passed away at the age of 81. He was posthumously awarded the First Grade of the Third Rank of Honor and the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure.

Nobuo Ishibashi's three revolutions, and his other achievements


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