"Sanjū Hitome Sannin" Tetsuo Hosoda 7000-character interview "The Origin Story of the Ichimoku Kinko Hyo and the Portrait of Ikkyū Sannin"

Tetsuo Hosoda Profile

Hosoda Tessei. As the developer of the Ichimoku Kinko Hyo and a grandson of Ichimoku Sanjin, he continues his grandfather's wishes, vigorously promoting the Ichimoku Kinko Hyo and educating on its proper use. He not only holds monthly study sessions focusing on the original text of Ichimoku Kinko Hyo, but also distributes reports through various securities companies and investment media.

● Interviewer: Takeo Kachinai (Editorial Department)

The Life of Ichimoku Sanjin Is Not Well Known Even to His Family

Kachinai: Ichimoku Sanjin is your grandfather. Do you know his detailed profile?

HosodaHonestly, my father and I have not heard in detail what schools he graduated from or what kind of work he did. So I will share what I have researched and found out.

Born in 1898 (Meiji 31), from Yamaguchi Prefecture, in what is now Toyota Town. His family ran a private shop, lending and selling farming implements to local farmers. He also seems to have purchased agricultural products from farmers and shipped them to Osaka.

Regarding his education, it is not clearly known, and his career history is a bit vague until he joined Toshin Shimbun (the predecessor of Tokyo Shimbun). He likely spent about a dozen years as a reporter there. Details after resigning from the newspaper during World War II are unknown. My father and aunts also did not seem to know how they made their living.

Entering the Newspaper Marked by Cultural Figures as a Reporter

Kachinai: How old were you when you joined Toshin Shimbun?

HosodaI was 24 years old. Before that, I found out that I was conscripted for the Siberian Expedition at age 20, but what he did after returning home until joining Toshin Shimbun is unknown. He joined in 1922, right after World War I and just before the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Kachinai: Please tell us how he came to join Toshin Shimbun.

HosodaIchimoku Sanjin avoided clear statements himself, but since he was related to a family that became a powerful clan within the Choshu faction, I think the recruitment to Toshin Shimbun was largely due to the wishes of the Choshu faction.

Since he was born in Meiji 31, it was a time when the feudal lords’ factions were giving way to schools’ influence, and I imagine he was one of the last generations to leverage clan influence. He himself didn’t call it clan influence, but said he was headhunted by the company president. The president also seemed to be well-versed in the market.

Kachinai: Was Toshin Shimbun positioned as a business newspaper?

HosodaIt was a mass newspaper. It covered not only economic content like market conditions but also social and entertainment topics. It focused on reviving traditional performing arts such as Kabuki that had waned since the Meiji era, and on introducing new theater, which made it beloved by educated readers. Ango Sakaguchi described it as akin to Le Monde with satire, and Osamu Dazai even took the Toshin Shimbun entrance exam. It seemed to be an aspirational beacon for young would-be writers.

Learning the Dread of the Market and Awakening to the Market

Kachinai: After joining, he worked as a reporter covering business conditions and stocks, right?

HosodaHe became head of stocks from the time he joined. He apparently used two pen names. At first, the market section was smaller than the business conditions section, but over time the stock section grew larger due to changing times. Prices fluctuated greatly and people chased information. In a region with many merchants like Osaka, more than 60% of radio programming consisted of market news. In Tokyo it was less than 30%, and in Nagoya about half of Tokyo’s share.

Moreover, when Ichimoku Sanjin started handling stock commentary, major new financial magnates were growing. He had numerous connections with business leaders who would later become presidents of publicly traded companies after the war. He maintained relationships with the presidents of Kirin, Asahi, and Sapporo into his later years. He also had close ties with the management of Showa Denko and Nippon Steel.

Kachinai: As a newspaper journalist, he was extremely influential, wasn’t he? Did Ichimoku Sanjin awaken to the market after joining Toshin Shimbun?

HosodaProbably even earlier, it is said. His family and relatives were all large landowners, but they were ruined by the rice market.

Kachinai: Ruined by the rice market?

HosodaAt that time, cash income came only during harvest season, so many were drawn into the idea of trading the market to obtain cash income outside harvest seasons. Many large feudal landowners fell into bankruptcy in the Meiji era in this way. Ichimoku Sanjin himself was born in Meiji 31, so he did not directly face those events, but he heard such stories from adults around him and likely aspired to be a market expert.