User:Togir~enwiki/Monozukuri

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In February 2011, Chairman Fujio Cho said Toyota’s mission is to “preserve the Japanese Monozukuri[iii]”. But what does ‘Monozukuri’ mean? It is a word that captures the true spirit of Toyota in relation to the concept of sustainability. The literal meaning of Monozukuri is ‘production’. ‘Mono’ is the thing which is made and ‘Zukuri’ means the act of making but Monozukuri implies more than simply making things. It can be best compared to the word ‘craftsmanship’ in English.

However, in craftsmanship the emphasis is on the craftsman whereas in Monozukuri the person doing the making is deemphasized and the attention is on the ‘thing’ being made. This subtle difference reflects the Japanese sense of responsibility for using ‘things’ in production and their deep respect for the world around them both animate and inanimate. In the Japanese tradition of Monozukuri, the craftsman takes great care using resources not to be wasteful or futile. When an item or human effort is taken into use, there needs to be a benefit for the society as a result while, at the same time, the balance between production, resources and the society should be maintained.

Monozukuri, therefore, is manufacturing which is in harmony with nature and that is value adding for the society. You could even say Monozukuri is the older sister of sustainable manufacturing. Toyota’s official website says “Toyota has always sought to contribute to society through the Monozukuri philosophy – an all-encompassing approach to manufacturing. In its application of Monozukuri to the production of automobiles, Toyota has pursued a sustainable method of making its cars ever more safe, environmentally friendly, reliable and comfortable”[iv]. Taken from: http://leanandgreenbusiness.com/about-the-book/book-compendium/toyotas-monozukuri

Example: http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/by-design-impossibly-light-totally-sleek-handmade-bikes-built-by-a-tokyo-shipwright/?WT.mc_id=AD-D-E-OTB-INTSTY-1009&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_c=__CAMP_UID__&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1381809600000&bicmet=1385787600000&_r=0