As a ``fan'' of the company where I worked for 42 years, I continue to convey its history and charm both inside and outside the company.

Atsuko Ishikawa has worked as a librarian supporting the creativity of NOMURA Co.,Ltd. She has dedicated herself to building information databases and creating new value for NOMURA Co.,Ltd. Ltd. that resonates with the world, and is also active as a "storyteller" who conveys the history of the company, aiming to build a fan base for the company. She will talk about the forward-looking work values that she has consistently held since joining the company.

From part-time worker to full-time employee. The appeal of working at a "company that doesn't feel like a company"

Ishikawa is currently working in the Knowledge Support Room of the Human Resources and General Affairs Department at NOMURA Co.,Ltd. 's Osaka office. She worked in the Information and Materials Room for 42 years before leaving the company in March 2023. Now, as an external collaborating staff member, she continues to be involved in tasks such as receiving, reorganizing, and managing donated materials related to the exposition.

Ishikawa: "My encounter with NOMURA Co.,Ltd. was purely by chance. At the time, I was a university student, and I was majoring in a seminar to become a librarian. It was around that time that a friend from university asked me, 'There's a company looking for people who aspire to be librarians to work part-time, would you like to give it a try?' That's how we met."

My job was to take the 7,000 to 8,000 books spread out on the floor and fill them into empty bookshelves.

Ishikawa: "I remember being surprised that the majority of the books were in the fields of architecture and concept design. There was a bias in genres, and there were also many foreign books, so the Nippon Decimal Classification system used in public libraries didn't work well to categorize the books. I consulted with the director and we decided on our own classification system."

During the winter break, Ishikawa received another offer for a part-time job. It was then that a female colleague in his room asked him, "If you haven't found a job yet, why don't you come work for NOMURA Co.,Ltd.?" This became the catalyst for Ishikawa's employment.

Ishikawa: "I was drawn to the company's atmosphere and the personalities of the employees, so I decided to join the company. However, at the time, I knew almost nothing about NOMURA Co.,Ltd. Ltd. I experienced the 1970 Japan World Exposition (Osaka Expo) when I was 12 years old and was deeply moved, but I had no idea that NOMURA Co.,Ltd. was in charge of the pavilion displays... I had absolutely no knowledge of their work, such as interiors design and other concept design related tasks."

However, even without a deep understanding of their work, they felt a vague attraction to NOMURA Co.,Ltd.

Ishikawa: "Looking back, NOMURA Co.,Ltd. at that time was, in a good way, an 'unconventional company.' There were people who didn't seem like typical office workers at all, but they worked with such passion that I was shocked to discover such a world existed. Even as a young person fresh out of university, I think it was quite rare at the time to be in an environment where people would listen to me on an equal footing."

As I was studying and trying to remember my work, something happened that turned on my consciousness. One day, an employee came into the information room and asked, ``Where is the book with the Center Pompidou in it?'' 'That's what he said. At that time, a senior colleague sitting next to me immediately replied that the book was on the middle page of the book in which row and shelf. At that time, I strongly felt that I wanted to be like this, and that I had to be like this."

Produced original content “Exposition Materials COLLECTION”

▲ “EXPO GALLERY” opened in January 2023 (*Reservation required)

Ishikawa says that the most important role in his job is to serve as a reference. In response to questions from employees who come to the resource room, we guide them to the most appropriate materials from among the 20,000 books available. At the same time, we collected photos of completed construction that show the results of the work at the Osaka Office. We have created an environment so that everyone at the Osaka Office can view it conveniently.

Ishikawa: "One day, regarding the collection of completion photos, the chief designer told me, 'Your work is half-hearted.' He said, 'You can find out what's happening at the Osaka office by asking the person in charge directly. More than that, I want to know what the Tokyo Head Office and the branches are doing.' That made me realize their needs, and I started exchanging information with the Tokyo Head Office and each branch." 

After a while, when the Internet became available, Ishikawa digitally managed photographs of completed construction and published them on the company's internal network. At the same time, Ishikawa created a database of book ledgers and created an easy-to-search system. Gradually, he says, people began to tell him, ``If you contact Mr. Ishikawa in Osaka, you will receive an answer.''

Ishikawa: ``However, we felt that it was difficult for indirect departments like ours, that is, departments that did not directly generate profits, to have people understand the necessity. I started thinking about what I could do to become a department that doesn't suffer."

In his quest to enhance the value of the information and materials room, Ishikawa arrived at the decision to create original content that could only be found at NOMURA Co.,Ltd.

Ishikawa: “In 1992, our company published a 100-year corporate history, ``Display 100 Year Journey.''The company history room happened to be part of the reference room at the Osaka Office. I was watching the production process.

After the 100-year history was published, the person in charge of the company's history told me that there was an outside supervisor named Tsuyoshi Terashita, who had been collecting and storing Japan's leading exposition materials for 40 years. He also told me, ``Once you're done with your work, go and have a look at the materials.'' This really hit home for me. Materials from the expo are related to the foundations of the company's business. I thought it was something that should be developed as original content, so my boss and I asked to see the materials."

Ishikawa was deeply moved upon seeing Mr. Terashita's numerous valuable materials. After exchanging a memorandum of understanding, it was decided that Mr. Terashita would donate his collection, which amounted to two 2-ton truckloads, to NOMURA Co.,Ltd. as exhibition materials. This marked the beginning of our company's original content, "Exhibition Materials COLLECTION."

Ishikawa: "The collection was so huge that it was really hard to organize it. The catalog of materials was only in Terashita's head, so we started by understanding the whole picture. Official records, photo albums, postcards, medals. We couldn't decide on a category until we had checked all the materials once. So we checked everything and then started to create a database. It was only when we finished that we realized that there were just under 10,000 items in total.

The only condition given by Mr. Terashita when receiving the donation was that the materials be of use to the world. That's why I was determined to manage it as a highly convenient database and publish it in a format that could be accessed both inside and outside the company.

In the end, we received the kind words from Mr. Terashita, who said, "I couldn't have done this myself. I'm glad I donated it to you."

(Reference:Nomulog "Things that can be passed on -Domestic Expo, World Expo and Expo Materials Collection-"
 

I want to pass on the collection to future generations without letting it disperse.

Preparing the materials for the exhibition was a major milestone in Ishikawa's career.

Ishikawa: “Once we released the `` Exposition Materials Collection,'' we received more and more inquiries from outside the organization.We receive inquiries from domestic and international researchers who would like to see the materials, and we receive requests from the media to provide images. The information resource room has gone beyond its function as an in-house library and has changed into a point of contact outside the company, and I personally feel that the scale of the work I am involved in has greatly expanded. I remember"

The collection includes items that Terashita has collected over the last 40 years. Ishikawa will continue to work diligently with the mission of making these items useful to society.

Ishikawa: "One of the members of the 2025 World Expo team once told me something very memorable. He said, 'You can change the future, but you can't change the past. The fact that we've properly accumulated so many Expo materials in the past will never change.' Even if other companies in the same industry wanted to do something similar, they would have to start from scratch, but our company has already accumulated about 20 years of experience. That's a big advantage.

I think many of our current employees, especially the younger ones, are not familiar with exhibitions or world's fairs. First of all, I hope they will look at this material and learn more about NOMURA Co.,Ltd., the company they belong to. And I would be happy if they could take pride in the company. I want to make sure that the collection is not scattered and is properly passed on to future generations."

42 years of service. Words exchanged and connections with people are precious treasures

▲ Presentation at the event academic conference (2010)

Having more opportunities to interact with people outside the company, Ishikawa decided to obtain a curator qualification. I obtained my qualification when I was over 50 years old.

In 2012, during NOMURA Co.,Ltd. 120th anniversary, I joined the company history compilation department, gaining an even deeper understanding of the company's history. Since then, I have been regularly asked by the Human Resources and General Affairs departments to share the history of NOMURA Co.,Ltd. with newly hired employees and external directors. My goal is to "create fans of NOMURA Co.,Ltd."

Ishikawa: "I've been involved with NOMURA Co.,Ltd. for 42 years. And before I knew it, I had become a fan of NOMURA Co.,Ltd. myself. The founder, Yasushi Nomura, was the kind of person who would never say 'it can't be done,' even when given an impossible request. He would always come up with an alternative, saying, 'It seems like it could be achieved in this way.' When I joined the company, the fourth president, Eiichi Arita, was also a very creative person, closer to a designer than a manager. I still find the personalities of these successive presidents, who were full of curiosity, very appealing."

I believe that the president's personality has spread throughout the entire company. The employees here today are all people who can bravely overcome even the most difficult situations and see things through to the end. I feel that everyone is striving to do work at the "NOMURA Co.,Ltd. level."
 

I have worked in the resource room for a long time and have met many people. The words we exchange and the connections we make are the treasures of life. Words like ``Thank you'' and ``Thank you for helping me'' gave me the most encouragement. After participating in the Expo Research Group, I was asked to write a 20,000-word paper, which turned out to be more than I expected. I'm so grateful.
 

Compared to when I first joined as a part-timer, NOMURA Co.,Ltd. has become a much more established company. However, the fact that each individual has a strong personality and that this is respected remains unchanged. I will continue to work with pride as a fan of NOMURA Co.,Ltd.."

Looking back, Ishikawa joined NOMURA Co.,Ltd. through a rather unexpected turn of events. Now, having sincerely dedicated himself to the challenges before him, he feels his life has become vividly colored.

*The contents are as of December 2023.