Frugality, Emotional composure, and the Heavenly Void — Philosophy : “Live with Frugality at the Core”

This time, Inamori* spoke about the above motto in Kyocera philosophy.

What Inamori said is quoted with “”.

 

“ When I first founded Kyocera, we had no money—no resources at all. So it was only natural for us to instill the principle of ‘living with frugality at the core’ in my employees.

But why, even after 40 years of growth, with Kyocera becoming a global company generating over 700 to 800 billion yen in annual revenue and nearly 80 billion yen in profits, do I still say, ‘We must live with frugality at the core’? Why is that mindset still actively practiced within the company today?

The answer is this: human thinking constantly changes. As people become successful and their environment transforms, so too do their values—and often, this leads to moral decline. That change in mindset can eventually cause a once-thriving business to collapse.

In other words, the philosophy of a company’s leader inevitably shapes the destiny of the company itself. As the leader’s thinking evolves, so too does the state of the business.

The phrase ‘live with frugality at the core’ may sound plain—perhaps even stingy—for a modern global company like Kyocera. But this mindset is something that must never change, no matter how large the company grows. The core philosophy of a business should never shift according to external circumstances. That is what I firmly believe. ”

This teaching is deeply relevant to our new advisory business, which is grounded in the ancient science of ‘Sanmei-gaku’, or Chinese destiny analysis.

‘Sanmei-gaku’ helps us understand our innate destiny, fortune cycles, and life path through the lens of birth date and cosmic patterns.

Inamori himself often referred to stories from ancient China—especially those of “Yuan Liaoben”—to illustrate a core message:

Even if you are born with difficult fate, your destiny can be transformed through the right mindset, consistent effort, and right and positive actions.

Sanmei-gaku teaches exactly that. It offers a structured and logical framework to explain how one’s thinking and behavior shape one’s life.

Within Sanmei-gaku lies the concept of ‘Tenchu-satsu’, or “Heavenly Void Periods.”

During these periods, ‘things don’t go the way you want’. You may face setbacks and obstacles that feel beyond your control.

But through these periods, we are taught to cultivate humility, patience, and emotional composure.

We learn to “surrender control, live with grace”, and “maintain emotional composure” despite adversity.

In connection with today’s motto—“live with frugality at the core”—there are three key practices we aim to cultivate and embody:

 

 

 

Let us explore each of these ideas in more depth.

 

1. “Think deeply about appropriate pricing” for products and services

“ In other words, developing a profitability mindset begins with understanding exactly how much a single screw or a single nut costs. If you waste just one, how much financial loss does that represent? Unless you grasp these details, you cannot possibly improve the profitability of your operations. ”

→ When purchasing any good or service, you must always consider the following three points:

1. How much revenue will this good or service potentially generate for us?
2. How much cost will it help us reduce or avoid?
3. If it provides us with value or utility, how much would that utility be worth if converted into monetary terms?

These considerations must be front and center in every business decision.

Our firm specializes in “real estate appraisal“, and I believe these three questions represent essential principles in appraising economic value. They form the foundation of how we assess the worth of real estate in an economic context.

Ultimately, we must always ask ourselves:

“Is the price we pay justified by the satisfaction or benefit we expect to receive?”

This constant awareness is what enables sound and sustainable business judgment.

 

2. “Own only what is truly needed”, in the right quantity (dan-sha-ri, or mindful decluttering)

“ There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to afford dinners that cost 5,000 to 10,000 yen every night for ten years. And yet, the very idea terrifies me—as if I’d rather die than do such a thing.

It’s not that I fear it because of a lack of money.

What frightens me is the mindset that can indulge in such extravagance without a second thought. ”

→ Human taste is, in truth, highly unreliable.

Scientific studies have even shown that unless we occasionally eat something unpleasant, our sense of what is “delicious” becomes numb and desensitized.

And yet, people often continue to chase after ever-new culinary experiences and rare, exclusive ingredients—even when they are already eating delicious food.

Such behavior often leads to homes filled with unused ingredients.

We buy things we don’t need, don’t finish, and eventually throw them away.

This pattern doesn’t apply only to food—it applies to all our possessions.

We chase after the newest, the most convenient, and we keep buying, even when we won’t ever truly use them.

That’s why we must pause and reflect:

Are we engaging in such wasteful behavior?

What do we already have? What do we truly use?

It’s time to “re-evaluate our belongings”, dispose of what we don’t need, and cultivate the habit of “owning only what is essential”.

 

3. “Maintain emotional composure” in all circumstances

” That person, too, must have started their company with frugality at the core.

But once a taste for luxury becomes ingrained, a person’s mindset gradually begins to shift.

That’s how the downfall begins. ”

→ In Sanmei-gaku, there is the concept of “Heavenly Void.”

There is a special 20-year period called “Long term heavenly void”, during which one’s mindset is tested in unique ways.

According to this philosophy, if a person experiences a streak of good fortune during the first five years of this 20-year phase, then even greater success—beyond imagination—may follow during the next fifteen years.

However, this is also the time when people are most likely to “lose sight of themselves” and fall into self-indulgence and extravagance.

Take, for example, the famous composer Tetsuya Komuro.

During his Long-term heavenly void, he experienced extraordinary success and accumulated nearly 10 billion yen in his personal wealth.

He chartered entire first-class cabins, started companies, and listed them on foreign stock exchanges. His lifestyle grew more and more excessive.

But it all came crashing down.

In the end, he was left burdened with billions in debt.

A stunning fall from grace.

In contrast, consider the example of Ichiro Suzuki, the legendary Japanese baseball player.

During his own Long-term heavenly void, he moved to Major League Baseball in the U.S. and became a globally recognized athlete.

During that time, he was offered the prestigious People’s Honor Award on multiple occasions.

But he humbly declined, saying, “I’m just a baseball player.”

As you may know, even after his retirement, Ichiro has remained active in nurturing the next generation and is living a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Ichiro never lost his composure.

He remained grounded, level-headed, and humble—even in the midst of massive success.

This kind of inner discipline is incredibly rare.

As these two examples show, the “Long-term heavenly void “ is essentially a spiritual trial, where we are tested by the heavens:

1. Can we endure prosperity without losing ourselves?

2. Can we maintain emotional composure, even under the highs and lows of fortune?

3. Can we stay truly humble, no matter how successful we become?

In this way, Sanmei-gaku teaches us how to govern the heart and our mindset.

And the philosophy of “living with frugality at the core” is directly tied to this question:

“How do we carry ourselves when good fortune comes our way?”

 

To conclude—

 

 

* Mr. Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, KDDI (one of the top tele communication companies in Japan) and the top of revitalization project of JAL. As a well-known Japanese entrepreneur, he has been sharing his experiences and management know-how with managements of small to middle companies in Japan.

 

Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com

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