The Curious Case of Kenichi Koyanagi
If anyone man was responsible for the advance of quality of Japanese product dating from the year 1950, that man was Koyanagi - Dr. Deming
Kenichi Koyanagi's life is not well known. Dr. Deming wrote an obituary about Koyanagi in the American Statistician in 1965. As Deming noted, "the world of statistical methods lost a great leader in Kenichi Koyanagi on 16 January 1965." Koyanagi was a founder of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). The government of Japan created JUSE after the Second World War. JUSE brought together leaders from Japan's major industries to share best practices. The goal was to revitalize Japan's economy. In May 1946, Japan's Science and Technology Agency created JUSE. Koyanagi invited lecturers from the U. S. and elsewhere. He helped establish courses at every level, including top management, and began publishing different books and journals. As a result of his work, the Deming Award was created. Koyanagi was the one who specifically invited Deming to give talks at JUSE.
One could say Koyanagi's invitation to Deming was the nexus for the Japanese Economic Miracle. After World War II and until the end of the Cold War, Japan experienced an economic miracle. During this period, Japan experienced a three-decade economic boom. There is not much information about Koyanagi aside from the notes and references provided by Dr. Deming. Deming points out that Koyanagi studied at the University of Tokyo, but there is no information about what he did after graduating.
Furthermore, very little is known about his later years after working with Dr. Deming and the JUSE. Cecilia Kilian served as Dr. Deming's administrative assistant from 1954 to 1993. She compiled a vast array of Dr. Deming's notes and observations over many years in her book titled "W. Edwards Deming." Deming describes how Koyanagi formed a nameless group to help Japan win the war. No further information is available about this group of possible wartime engineers and statisticians. Intriguingly, Koyanagi may have played a similar role to Abraham Wald during World War II. David Halberstam talked about a group of engineers and scientists who would receive captured allied planes and were sickened by the difference in quality between the allied planes and the Japanese planes in his "The Reckoning." Koyanagi might have been on that team.
Nancy Mann documents some of her conversations with Dr. Deming in her book "Keys to Excellence." Deming pointed out that Koyanagi had been imprisoned for eight years after the war for being a communist. Deming believed Koyanagi might have been caught in the political crossfire between Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the Republic of China, and the United States during and after the war.
The biography of Kenichi Koyanagi is intriguingly incomplete. In English language resources, there is very little information about his work before 1947 and after 1965. I have made a few attempts to work with researchers in Japan to learn more about him in Japanese. We could not even find an obituary for him. It seems remarkable considering his role as a lynchpin for Japan, Dr. Deming, and the Economic Miracle. Kenichi Koyanagi's biography could be incomplete for several reasons. Records regarding his wartime activities may have been destroyed during the war. Given his unexplained imprisonment following the war, there may even be a conspiracy angle involved. In the end, we may never know the true story behind - The Curious Case of Kenichi Koyanagi.
UPDATE: I reached out to JUSE to see if they had any additional information regarding Kenichi Koyanagi. Heres what they sent me: Dear Mr. Willis,
Thank you for your inquiry.Unfortunately, no document containing his biography in detail is available.
Attached is his brief biography published in the publication called Engineers(No. 198, February 1965) when he died.
Here are the summary.
- Born on March 31, 1903.
- Dropped out from Wades University in 1928.
- Director of Nikkeisha Industry Research Institute from 1940 to 1941. (*translation of the title and name of organization may not be accurate.)
- Technical Research Director of Koseikai, one of the 3 organizations later merged and eventually became JUSE, from 1941 to 1946. (*translation of the title may not be accurate.)
- Became the Managing Director and Secretary General of JUSE upon its establishment in May 1946 and served until his death in 1965.
- Received the Deming Prize for Individuals in 1959.
- Received the Edwards Medal from ASQ in 1963.
- Died on January 16, 1965.
Best Regards,
PR & International Relations Group
Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers
juse@juse.or.jp
