Made in Japan
by Akio Morita · first published 1986
62% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Autobiography of Sony's founder on the company's early postwar years, including its first tape recorder and improvised steps taken without domestic suppliers; recommended for founders, business readers, and Sony fans.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The chairman of the Sony Corporation discusses the rise of Sony, his extraordinary career as a businessman, and his views on the United States, Japan, and the world economy.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2009–2025The logic of failure
Dietrich Dörner
Recommended by 15 · mentioned by 1715 recommend · 17 mention15 recommend · 1715 recommend
2011–2026Prime Obsession
John Derbyshire
Recommended by 22 · mentioned by 2622 recommend · 26 mention22 recommend · 2622 recommend
2016–2025Shoe Dog
Phil Knight
Recommended by 77 · mentioned by 10377 recommend · 103 mention77 recommend · 10377 recommend
2007–2026How to Get Rich
Felix Dennis
Recommended by 65 · mentioned by 7965 recommend · 79 mention65 recommend · 7965 recommend
2010–2026The Emperor of All Maladies
Siddhartha Mukherjee, Nessa Carey
Recommended by 77 · mentioned by 9877 recommend · 98 mention77 recommend · 9877 recommend
2007–2026Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut
Recommended by 58 · mentioned by 13558 recommend · 135 mention58 recommend · 13558 recommend
2009–2026The Beginning of Infinity
David Deutsch
Recommended by 77 · mentioned by 9177 recommend · 91 mention77 recommend · 9177 recommend
2007–2026The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Stephen R. Covey
Recommended by 73 · mentioned by 13073 recommend · 130 mention73 recommend · 13073 recommend
I urge every one in HN to give this masterpiece a read - "Made in Japan". It's an autobiography of the founder of Sony himself and there is a section in the book where he talks about the engineering and spirit that went behind these TVs. In fact, he talks a lot about the…
on “Trinitron: Sony's Once Unbeatable Product [video]” ↗…Miracle Morning (Hal Elrod) 3. Business Model Generation (Aelxander Osterwalder) 4. The Art Of War (Sun Tzu) 5. The E-myth, why most businesses don't work and what to do about it (Michel Gerber) 6. Made In Japan (Founder of Sony, Akio Morita) 7. How to win friends and influence people (Dale Carnegie) Probably I missed a few more, but I think these ones are a good start.
on “Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?” ↗My recommendations (stick almost exclusively to autobiography): - My Father Marconi (degna marconi) - Made in Japan (sony founder) - Made in America (walmart founder) - How to win friends and influence people (though I hear all 4 of N Hill's books are worth their weight in gold). Alternatively I read "Never Eat Alone"…
on “Books recommended by profitable founders” ↗how to get rich by Richard dennis. Softwar - A bio on Larry Ellison, one where he writes footnotes responding to the biographer's text Made in japan - Akio Morita and sony - written by Akio Morita - founder describes early days of the company
on “Ask YC: What are some the best business books?” ↗Obligatory reference to "Made in Japan" by the founder of Sony: https://www.amazon.com/Made-Japan-Akio-Morita-Sony/dp/045115... TL,DR: Japanese went through this cycle as well. And I would say Chinese too, by now.
In no particular order... 0. Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony, by Akio Morita, Edwin M. Reingold, Mitsuko Shimomura 1. The Practice of Programming (TPOP) , by Brian W. Kernighan, Rob Pike 2. Wings of Fire, by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Arun Tiwari
on “Ask HN: What nonfiction books do you keep rereading?” ↗…motivating and therapeutic, especially when facing a difficult task myself! I’ve enjoyed all of these; they were all recommendations from HN. Showstopper - Windows NT Losing the Signal - BlackBerry Made in Japan - Sony Piloting Palm - Palm Sweating Bullets - PowerPoint Folklore.org - Early Apple. The “Mac Folklore Radio Podcast” [0]. Has a few interesting stories of people innovating and solving challenges.…
on “Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things” ↗…after hit that Jobs did. My guess is that like a moon landing I'll be lucky to see that again before I die. PS For those of you who don't know about Mr. Morita and the story of Sony I recommend the book "Made in Japan" which inspired me very much back in the 80s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Japan_(biography) http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelpinto/sets/7215762682198...
on “Steve Jobs, Superman” ↗I also recommend "Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony" where Morita recounts the early days after the war of what became Sony. They decided early on to develop a tape player and it is interesting to read the crazy things they tried,…
on “Bing Crosby and the Tape Revolution (2016)” ↗…fear of the Soviets - the > fear that they might invade the home islands or partition the country, as > had been done to Germany - as by the horrible events at Hiroshima and > Nagasaki. > > - MADE IN JAPAN AKIO MORITA and SONY (c) 1986 (any typos are mine) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1008101.Made_in_Japan
on “'Phantom' A-bomb film 'Hiroshima,' with 88,000 extras, set for July 30” ↗…"Japan's main modern megacorps largely are the same entities that were major business from the time of the Meiji Restoration". But the story of Sony is interesting regardless of that. I had read the book Made in Japan by Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony, a while ago. It's mostly about Sony, not that much about his personal life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Japan_(biography) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akio_Morita
on “Doing Business in Japan” ↗…jackets and tags are being used everywhere, even where class distinctions made people hesitant to wear them at first. Many of us liked our blue jackets, and I still wear mine occasionally." Akio Morita, Made in Japan
on “Why American Workers Now Dress So Casually” ↗…etc. I would say, a much bigger factor is economics. In the 1980s, the Soviet Union government could not make a TV better than the tiny island of Japan. (Akio Morita observed it in his auto-biography, Made in Japan.) You would have more competition in Japan than in the Soviet Union. So companies would have an incentive in advancing science through investment, regardless of faith. The payoff would be bigger and…
on “Ask HN: How many entrepreneurs are also atheists?” ↗>Also, a similar great science education happened in Japan at some point (50's, I think ) Interesting comment overall, and also the part I excerpted above. I had read Akio Morita's (Sony co-founder) book, Made in Japan, some years ago. Wonder if that (what you said about science education in Japan) was part of the reason for Sony's success. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akio_Morita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Japan_(biography)
on “The Hungarian Approach and How It Fits the American Educational Landscape (2015)” ↗…imagined that number. This new data deepened by appreciation for the Japanese Spirit. It helped me clearly understand where the grit and resilience of the Japanese people come from. In his Autobiography, "Made In Japan,"* Akio Morita talks about this. In the context of how the Japanese approached the post-WW2 phase, the Sony's co-founder explains: But in both eras, after natural and man-made disaster, the city was…
on “Learning Resilience the Japanese Way” ↗