View source for Kōnosuke Matsushita

{{Short description|Japanese industrialist (1894–1989)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Kōnosuke Matsushita
| native_name        = {{nobold|松下 幸之助}}
| image              = Formal Portrait of Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1929.jpg
| alt                = Black and white portrait. Head shot of Matsushita in front of a dark background, wearing a dark suit jacket with a light wing-collared shirt, dark vest, and dark striped necktie.
| caption            = Matsushita in 1929
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1894|11|27|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Wakayama (city)|Wakayama]], [[Empire of Japan]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1989|04|27|1894|11|27|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Moriguchi, Osaka]], Japan
| spouse             = Mumeno Matsushita
| children           = 2
| family             = {{plainlist|
*[[Hiro Matsushita]] (grandson)
*[[:ja:松下正幸|Masayuki Matsushita]] (grandson)
}}
| relatives          = [[Masaharu Matsushita]] (son-in-law)
| awards             = {{unbulleted list
|[[Order of the House of Orange]] ''Decorated Commander in the Order of Orange'' (1958)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/history/konosuke-matsushita/story3-07.html/|title= Decorated Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau by the Queen of the Netherlands: in 1958 at age 63}}</ref>
|[[Order of the Sacred Treasure]]
|[[Order of the Rising Sun]] (29 April 1981)
|[[Order of the Paulownia Flowers]] (29 April 1987)
|[[Order of the Defender of the Realm]] (Panglima Mangku Negara which carries the title "Tan Sri")
|[[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Order of the Crown]]
|[[Medals of Honor (Japan)|Medal with Blue Ribbon]]
|[[Medals of Honor (Japan)|Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon]]
|Honorary Commander of the [[Order of the Defender of the Realm#Commander|Order of the Defender of the Realm]]
|[[China Reform Friendship Medal]] (2018)
}}
| known for          = Founder of [[Panasonic]]
| other_names        = God of Management
| occupation         = Businessman and industrialist
| module             = {{Infobox Chinese |child =yes
 | kanji                      = 松下 幸之助
 | romaji                     = Matsushita Kōnosuke
}}
| signature          = Konosuke Matsushita Signature.svg
| signature_size     = 60px
}}

{{Nihongo|'''Kōnosuke Matsushita'''|松下 幸之助|Matsushita Kōnosuke|extra=27 November 1894 – 27 April 1989}} was a Japanese industrialist who founded [[Panasonic Corporation|Panasonic]], the largest Japanese consumer [[electronics]] company. Matsushita is referred to as the "God of Management" in Japan.<ref>{{cite news|title=The "God of Management" Explained How to Practice the Spirit of Capitalism|url=http://eng.the-liberty.com/2015/5649/|accessdate=24 September 2021|work=The Liberty|date=3 February 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kotter |first=John P. |title=Matsushita Leadership : lessons from the 20th century's most remarkable entrepreneur |date=1997 |publisher=Free Press |isbn=0-684-83460-X |location=New York |oclc=35620432}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Matsushita konosuke keiei no kamisama to yobareta otoko. |date=May 2014 |publisher=Pieichipikenkyujo |others=Yasutoshi Kita, 康利 北 |isbn=978-4-569-76176-3 |oclc=884755550}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Matsushita kōnosuke ni manabu jinseiron = Peace and happiness through prosperity : Keiei no kamisama ga kataru jinsei tenmei uchū |date=2008 |publisher=PHP Kenkyūjo |others=Fumihiko Iida, 史彦 飯田 |isbn=978-4569704821 |location=Tōkyō |oclc=1035905608}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Zhou |first=Lixia |title=Konosuke Matsushita, the God of Management |date=2017 |isbn=978-7-5451-4195-5 |location=[Place of publication not identified] |oclc=1152281546}}</ref>

==Early life==
{{Tone|date=November 2024|section}}
[[File:Kōnosuke Matsushita and Mrs. Godai.jpg|left|thumb|Matsushita and the wife of a bicycle shop owner. Matsushita worked in the shop. ({{circa|1904–5}})]]

Kōnosuke Matsushita was born on 27 November 1894 in Wasamura, now part of [[Wakayama Prefecture]].  His father was an affluent landlord in the farming village of Wasa (part of present-day [[Wakayama, Wakayama|Wakayama]] city) and was one of the wealthiest men of his community.

Shortly after Matsushita left school, he was sent away to [[Osaka]] to become an apprentice for a Japanese barbecue restaurant. However, the business failed within a year, and Matsushita was left looking for other employment. He then applied for a job with the Osaka Electric Light Company, an electrical utility company, where he received several promotions over the next few years. During this period, he married Mumeno Iue, a friend of his sister. 

At the age of 22, he was promoted to the position of electrical inspector. It was during this time that Matsushita attempted to introduce his boss to the invention of a new and improved light socket that he had perfected in his spare time. His boss, however, was not enthusiastic.

==Matsushita Electric Industrial Company==
[[File:Members of Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works.jpg|thumb|Members of Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works. Back row from left, Kōnosuke Matsushita, [[Toshio Iue]], Mumeno Matsushita ({{circa|1918}})]]{{Tone|date=November 2024|section}}
In 1917, Matsushita left Osaka Electric Light Company to establish his own company.  Lacking capital, formal education, and experience in manufacturing, his company faced significant challenges. He set up his shop in the basement of his tenement where with his wife, his brother-in-law, and several assistants, he began producing product samples. However, he attempted to sell the samples to wholesalers but was unsuccessful because he did not offer more than one product.

As a result, most of Matsushita's assistants left the company, leaving only his wife and Iue, who played a key role as a salesman and manager. The company faced financial difficulties and was on the verge of bankruptcy until it received an unexpected order for a thousand insulator plates for electric fans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.panasonic.net/history/founder/chapter1/story1-04.html|title=Panasonic History: Setting up his own company)|access-date=17 August 2009|year=2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601161123/http://www.panasonic.net/history/founder/chapter1/story1-04.html|archive-date=1 June 2009}}</ref> From there, Matsushita was able to continue producing his light sockets. They became popular as wholesalers realized the product was better in quality and less expensive than comparable products in the market. The early years of the company were difficult: he once had to pawn his wife's [[kimono]] when he found himself short on money. Matsushita's products were originally marketed under the name brand of "National" and later moved on to the more recognizable names of Panasonic, Quasar and Technics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matsushita Konosuke {{!}} Japanese entrepreneur, businessman, inventor {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Matsushita-Konosuke |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

One of Matsushita's best products was the development of a more efficient battery-powered [[bicycle lamp]]. During the 1920s, bicycle lamps were candles or oil-burning lamps which were highly inefficient as they usually only lasted for three hours. Matsushita introduced an created an oval lamp that used a battery for power and a lightbulb for illumination. To promote the product, he personally marketed it to retail bicycle shops.

==Expansion==
{{Tone|date=November 2024|section}}
While attempting to introduce his bicycle lamp to wholesalers, Matsushita recognized the importance of sales in business growth. He realized that having a superior product was insufficient if there were no effective distribution channels. As a result, Matsushita began devising ways to create sales channels for his products by concentrating less on manufacturing and more on building a sales force, which led to the establishment of a retail store network and finally strengthened the company's position in Japan's electrical manufacturing and retail industry.

In 1929, he began setting up a new structure for his company, which was structured as a parent company and branches of divisions that specialized in a particular product were created. At this time, the company focused on three key products: bicycle lamps and batteries, electrical sockets, and radios. For each of these products, a national sales department was formed with regional offices established in strategic locations. These regional offices were responsible for the coordination of sales and manufacturing, ensuring that production was aligned with market demand. As a result, manufacturing became directly dependent on sales.

==Post-war period==
During the US occupation of Japan after World War II, General [[Douglas MacArthur]] decided to break up the ''[[zaibatsu]]'' business conglomerates of Japan. Matsushita was in danger of being removed as president but was saved by a favorable petition signed by 15,000 employees. In 1947, Kōnosuke lent his brother-in-law Toshio an underused manufacturing plant to manufacture bicycle lamps, a business that eventually became [[Sanyo|Sanyo Electric]].

From 1950 to 1973, Matsushita's company became one of the world's largest manufacturers of electrical goods, sold under well-known trademarks including [[Panasonic]] and [[Technics (brand)|Technics]]. Matsushita stepped down as President of Panasonic in 1961 and was succeeded as president by his son-in-law, [[Masaharu Matsushita]].<ref name=ap>{{cite news|first=Yuri|last=Kageyama|title= Former Panasonic president Matsushita dies|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5huRLWgb5Sv5xplij62tqHZzFAg9Q?docId=e65fad42e800452b90a55c8c7ab75a74|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=17 July 2012|access-date=18 July 2012}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Konosuke Matsushita's two grandsons are Masayuki Matsushita, who is the current vice-chairman of [[Panasonic]], and [[Hiro Matsushita]], who is a former driver in the [[Champ Car]] series and owns [[Swift Engineering]], an aerospace firm and race car constructing company which he bought in 1991. Hiro Matsushita is also the chairman of {{ill|Swift Xi|ja|スウィフト・エックスアイ}}, which is located in Kobe, Japan.

Konosuke Matsushita remained active in Panasonic's operations until his complete retirement in 1973. Since 1954, Matsushita also gained a significant shareholding in manufacturer [[JVC]] by forming an alliance. It still retains a 50% share today. In retirement, Matsushita focused on developing and explaining his social and commercial philosophies and wrote 44 published books. One of his books, entitled "Developing A Road To Peace And Happiness Through Prosperity", sold over four million copies. In 1979, at the age of 84, he founded the [[Matsushita Institute of Government and Management]] to train the future politicians and businessmen of Japan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lam |first=Peng-Er |date=2006 |title=Nurturing Leaders for Government and Opposition: Political Schools in Japan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44483169 |journal=Government and Opposition |volume=41 |issue=4 |p=539 |issn=0017-257X}}</ref>

In 1987, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Paulownia Flowers]].<ref>[http://matsushita-library.jp/en/history/index.html Matsushita Memorial Library].</ref>

==Death==
Chronic [[lung]] problems led to his death from [[pneumonia]] on 27 April 1989, at the age of 94. He died with personal assets worth US$3&nbsp;billion, and left a company with US$42&nbsp;billion in revenue business.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

==Awards and honours==
[[File:Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty Presenting Matsushita Day Certificate to Mr. and Mrs. Kōnosuke Matsushita at Los Angeles City Hall.jpg|thumb|Los Angeles Mayor [[Sam Yorty]] presenting a certificate proclaiming 15 July as Matsushita Day to Kōnosuke and Mumeno at Los Angeles City Hall. Kōnosuke is holding a nine-inch Panasonic television, a gift to Los Angeles. (1963)]]

===National honours===
*{{flag|Japan}}:
**[[File:JPN Toka-sho BAR.svg|70px]] Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Paulownia Flowers]] (29 April 1987)
**[[File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR.svg|70px]] Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Rising Sun]] (29 April 1981)
**[[File:JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 1Class BAR.svg|70px]] Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Sacred Treasure]]
**[[File:Eremedaille Japan Blauw.jpg|70px]] Recipient of the [[Medals of Honor (Japan)|Medal with Blue Ribbon]]
**[[File:Eremedaille Japan Donkerblauw.jpg|70px]] Recipient of the [[Medals of Honor (Japan)|Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon]]
** [[List of Japanese court ranks, positions and hereditary titles|Senior Third Rank]] (27 April 1989; posthumous)

===Foreign honours===
*{{flag|Belgium}}:
**[[File:BEL_Kroonorde_Commandeur_BAR.svg|70px]] Commander of the [[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Order of the Crown]] (1972)
* {{flag|Malaysia}}:
**[[File:MY Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara (Defender of the Realm) - SMN.svg|70px]] Honorary Commander of the [[Order of the Defender of the Realm#Commander|Order of the Defender of the Realm]] (P.M.N.) (1979)<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.istiadat.gov.my/index.php/component/semakanlantikanskp/|title=Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat}}</ref>
*{{flag|China}}:
**Recipient of the [[China Reform Friendship Medal]] (18 December 2018; posthumous)<ref>{{Cite web |last1=An |first1=Baijie |last2=Cao |first2=Desheng |date=19 December 2018 |title=10 foreigners given medals for roles in reform, opening-up |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201812/19/WS5c194335a3107d4c3a001816.html |website=China Daily}}</ref>

===Professorships and Directorships===
Konosuke Matsushita was honoured at [[Stanford University]] by endowing a Professorship in International Strategy and Management. The official name of the course is ''The Konosuke Matsushita Professorship in International Strategy and Management''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://professorships.stanford.edu/content/Graduate%20School%20of%20Business?page=2/ |title=Stanford Endowed Professorships and Directorships |work=Standford |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-date=25 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825031536/https://professorships.stanford.edu/content/Graduate%20School%20of%20Business?page=2/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-51545-4_2 |title= Humanistic Management in Practice|journal=[[Springer Nature]]|series= Humanism in Business Series|date= 2021|doi= 10.1007/978-3-030-51545-4_2|last1= Kuriyama|first1= Naoki|chapter= Konosuke Matsushita's Humanistic Management|pages= 11–30|isbn= 978-3-030-51544-7}}</ref>

== Published books ==
* [[Michi wo hiraku]] (1968) '''Open the path''' and often translated as '''''The Path'''''
* Japan at the Brink (1976)
* Thoughts on Man (1982)
* Not for Bread Alone: A Business Ethos, A Management Ethic (1984)
* Quest for Prosperity (1988)
* As I See It (1989)
* Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: And 101 Other Dimensions of Leadership (1991)
* People before Products: The Human Factor in Business (1992)
* The Matsushita Perspective: A Business Philosophy Handbook (1997)
* The Heart of Management: Konosuke Matsushita's Enduring Insights (2002)
*My Way of Life and Thinking (2011) (Originally published in 1954)
*Practical Management Philosophy (2011) (Originally published in 1978)
*Nurturing Dreams – My Path in Life – An Autobiography by the Founder of Panasonic (2014) (Originally published in 1998)

== Appears on the cover of ==
* [[Life (magazine)|Life]], Sep-1964, DETAILS: Meet Mr. Matsushita
* [[Time (magazine)|Time]], 23 February 1962, DETAILS: Industrialist Matsushita <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://content.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601620223,00.html|title= Industrialist Matsushita|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Times]]}}</ref>

==Further reading==
* ''Matsushita Leadership'' by [[John Kotter|John Paul Kotter]], [[Simon & Schuster]] (1998)
* ''Matsushita Konosuke (1894–1989) His Life & His Legacy: A Collection of Essays in Honor of the Centenary of His Birth'' by Kōnosuke Matsushita, PHP Research Institute (1994)
* ''The Matsushita Perspective'', A Business Philosophy Handbook, Published by PHP Institute, Inc. (1st ed., 1997).
* ''Jinsei mondō'', dialogue with [[Daisaku Ikeda]] published in Chinese (traditional), Chinese (simplified), Korean, and Japanese; Published by Ushio Shuppansha, Tōkyō (1st ed., 1975).
* ''The Matsushita Phenomenon'' by Rowland Gould published by the Diamond Publishing Company, Japan (1st edition, 1970).
* ''The Path'', by [[Konosuke Matsushita]], Published by [[McGraw Hill Education|McGraw-Hill]] (2010)
* ''Konosuke Matsushita Memorial Foundation''<ref>http://matsushita-konosuke-zaidan.or.jp/en/ Konosuke Matsushita Memorial Foundation</ref>

== Matsushita family tree ==
{{Tree chart/start|style=font-size:80%;}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MHS |MHS=Matsushita Uemon}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | HKI |~| HTE |y| MMS | | HTS | | | | MTA | | | | | | MTM | | |HKI=Yasuda Koichiro|HTE=Tokue Matsushita|MMS= Masakusu Matsushita|HTS=[[Hirata Tosuke]]|MTA=Maeda Toshiaki<br/>([[:ja:前田利昭|前田利昭]]|MTM=[[Mitsui Hachirōemon|Mitsui Takamine]]10th head of the Mitsui family}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |!| | | | | |!| | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|^|-|.| }}
{{Tree chart| NTJ |~| NYS | | IKA | | IYU | | ITO | | MMN |y| MKS | | | | HEJ |y| SZK | | MTS | | KIK | | MHR |ITO=[[Toshio Iue]]|IYU=Yurou Iue|IKA=Jun Iue|NYS=Yasue|NTJ=Tetsujiro Nakao|MMN=Mumeno|MKS=Kōnosuke Matsushita|HEJ=[[Hirata Shodo]]|SZK=Shizuko|MTS=[[Maeda Toshisada]]|KIK=Keiko|MHR=[[Mitsui Hachirōemon|Mitsui Takakimi]]11th head of the Mitsui family}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | |!| | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|.| | | | | | | |!| | | | | }}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | IUT | | | | STK |y| MSJ | | | | | | HKM |~|~|~|~|~| NRK | | | | |IUT=Satoshi Iue|STK=Matsushita Sachiko|MSJ=[[Masaharu Matsushita]]|HKM=Hirata Katsumi|NRK=Nobuko}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | |,|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | }}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ITM | | | | HMS | | MMY | | AKK | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |ITM=Iue Toshimasa|HMS=[[Hiro Matsushita]]|MMY=[[Masayuki Matsushita]]<br/>([[:ja:松下正幸|松下正幸]]|AKK=Atsuko}}
{{Tree chart/end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Japan|Business|Biography}}
*[[Panasonic]]
*[[Masaharu Matsushita]]
*[[Hiroyuki Matsushita]]
*[[Konosuke Matsushita Museum]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Matsushita Konosuke}}
*
*[https://www.php.co.jp/en/ PHP INTERFACE] – PHP Institute, Inc's Official Website
{{Wikiquote}}
*[https://konosuke-matsushita.com/ Konosuke Matsushita.com], – Konosuke Matsushita Official Website by PHP Institute, Inc. 
*[https://matsushita-library.jp/en/ Matsushita Memorial Library] – Located in PHP Institute, Inc.'s building in Kyoto, Japan.
*[https://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/history/konosuke-matsushita.html The Founder, Konosuke Matsushita] by Panasonic
*[https://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/history/panasonic-museum/konosuke-matsushita-museum.html Panasonic Museum – Konosuke Matsushita Museum] 
*[https://www.mskj.or.jp/en/ The Matsushita Institute of Government and Management] 
* 
{{s-start}}
{{s-bus}}
{{s-new|rows=2}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of [[Panasonic]]|years=1935–1961}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Masaharu Matsushita]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of [[Panasonic]]|years=1961–1973}}
{{s-aft|after=Arataro Takahashi}}
{{s-npo}}
{{s-bef|before= [[:ja:中野種一郎|Taneicho Nakano]]}}
{{s-ttl|title =Chairman of [[Ise Grand Shrine]] Worshippers' Association|years=1974–1983}}
{{s-aft|after =[[Gen Hirose]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Kōnosuke Matsushita}}
{{Panasonic}}
{{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsushita, Konosuke}}
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:Japanese billionaires]]
[[Category:Japanese inventors]]
[[Category:Japanese company founders]]
[[Category:Panasonic]]
[[Category:People from Wakayama (city)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers]]
[[Category:20th-century Japanese inventors]]
[[Category:20th-century Japanese businesspeople]]
[[Category:Japanese industrialists]]
[[Category:20th-century Shintoists]]
[[Category:Member of the Mont Pelerin Society]]
[[Category:20th-century industrialists]]
[[Category:Matsushita family|Konosuke]]