Episode 1 The story of husband and wife

Supported intellectual activities using the Japanese language
Developed “Ichitaro” and the handwriting input system

For the past decade, Tateshina in Nagano in summer, Tokyo in spring and fall, and Miyakojima in winter have been our home. A
vast expanse of the endlessly beautiful East China Sea is spreading before our eyes. We spend our time away from the hustle and
bustle of a city, but we are by no means living in seclusion. “We want to create something that supports people’s intellectual
activities.” That desire has remained unchanged since that day.

It was in 1979 that we put our end to our six years as company employees and set out to found JustSystems. At that time, my wife
Hatsuko and I were the only those on board. We could not afford to set up an elegant office, and our headquarters was in the
reception room of Hatsuko’s parents’ house in Tokushima City. We put up a signboard on our own at the parking lot of our house.
We have started our business from scratch, without anything that appeared like a company.

Looking back, it was also a beautiful stream of water that I gazed upon at that time. As I stood on the banks of the Yoshino River, a
mighty river also called “Shikoku Saburo,” along with the Tone River in the Kanto region, also called “Bando Taro,” and the
Chikugo River in Kyushu, also called “Chikushi Jiro,” I was lost in thought. “If I’m going to live anyway, why not take the plunge
into the river?” That was what came to my mind.

It was just after the second oil crisis hit the Japanese economy. The computer industry emerged at a time when the high economic
growth period known as the Showa Genroku period was already a thing of the past. It was, to my eyes, like a mighty river Shikoku
Saburo.

I am witnessing a major shift in the times. Will I jump into the flow and seize the opportunity, or will I remain a bystander standing
on the shore? After much self-questioning, I chose the former path.
Since then, our lives have been full of ups and downs. Still, I can proudly say that the decision I made at that time was never a
mistake.

At JustSystems, which Hatsuko and I founded together, we created a big hit product called “Ichitaro”. Until then, handwriting was
the norm. My wife and I are deeply proud of our achievement in making the task of creating Japanese texts on a computer easy for
everyone. We believe that we have contributed in our own way to a breakthrough in the intellectual productivity of the Japanese
people.

In the late 1990s, however, the company came under threat of the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation. Unfortunately, Ichitaro
gradually lost its market share, but my journey with Hatsuko did not end there.

We decided to start over again, this time with the same “President” and “Managing Director” duo when we founded JustSystems,
followed by the founding of the current MetaMoJi in 2009. Fortunately, the system we created, which allows users to input texts
by hand on a tablet, has been well received by many people and is still in use today.

Technology is completely different now than it was over 40 years ago. And yet, as I mentioned above, what we are doing is going
to remain the same through the ages. Another thing that has not changed is that Hatsuko is always next to me.

Over the next month, I would like to reflect on the journey we have been on at JustSystems and at MetaMoji. We have been
supported by many friends, but Hatsuko is the most special of all. Although we are sometimes called “lovebirds,” we of course got
in a fight many times. Today, as in the past, we are still “President” and “Managing Director” of the company.

Since the spring of our first year at university, when we first met on campus in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, we have tasted the
sweets and bitters of life together. I would like to take a moment to tell you the story of husband and wife.

With Hatsuko(left)