100 Stories1972 Company Anthem

Have you ever heard Asahi Kasei's company anthem?

In January 1970, Kagayaki Miyazaki announced the “Expectations of Employees.” The clarification of the guidelines for employee behavior triggered a call for lyrics for a company anthem in the company newsletter. Until then, Asahi Kasei had never had a company anthem, although there had been a number of corporate commercial songs, factory songs, and athletic club songs.

In November, the company began soliciting submissions in its in-house newsletter, Shahou Asahi. By the deadline at the end of January 1971, 106 submissions had been received. The result was that from among the entries, 23 were narrowed down in the preliminary selection, 6 were selected in the final selection, and 2 remained as finalists.

The lyrics for these two songs were written by Michio Yamagami (a lyricist) and composed by Taku Izumi. The recordings were shown to the employees and a questionnaire was conducted, and the work of Shigekuni Murakami, a member of the Osaka Textile Marketing Department, was chosen by a narrow margin. The reason was that the lyrics, with the first phrase “Wind, Light, and Power,” left a lasting impression, and received votes mainly from young employees at the time. Murakami spoke on his struggles, and the first line stating, “I didn't know what a company anthem was supposed to sound like, and I wasn't sure how to express the corporate image. In the end, I decided to use a soft tone, and I used 'fresh wind, warm light, and strong strength' as the base of the lyrics.”

The company anthem was performed at athletic meets, district events, employee gatherings, and new employee training sessions, and in the past, sonority sheets were also produced. In the Tokyo area, the Tokyo Mixed Chorus has sung the company anthem since the New Year's ceremony in 1987, the year after the company was founded (as of January 2022, the chorus has been suspended due to COVID-19)

These days, the company anthem is heard only about once a year at New Year's ceremonies and athletic meets. The company anthem was created to unite the hearts of employees in the desire to make a great company together. We would like to spotlight it once again on this major milestone of the company's 100th anniversary.

1
Wind, Light, Power
Aiming for the sky, the dove flies
Strong and bright, working together
Live in the now, seeking happiness
Aim for the Asahi of tomorrow with youth
Asahi, Asahi, Asahi Kasei

2
Wind, Light, Power
Sunshine to nurture life
With hope in every heart
Sing the songs of life, while working earnestly
Aim for tomorrow's happiness with youth
Asahi, Asahi, Asahi Kasei

3
Wind, Light, Power
Our hands are warm as we link them together
Green, gentle, protect this nation
Let's build our dreams in abundance
Aim for the Asahi of tomorrow with youth
Asahi, Asahi, Asahi Kasei