If you’ve been in the entertainment industry as long as I have, you may be asking yourself, “What’s the secret to a hit?” I am often asked.

Hits are said to be mizumono. It is derived from the meaning of business that is as constant as flowing water.

It would be nice if the hits were as accurate as the weather forecast, but the odds are not that great. Marketing research is as much about looking at past weather maps as it is about predicting the future.
Now, what is the secret to a hit?

First, jump in, dive in, and sometimes drink a little seawater, and as you adjust yourself up, down, left, and right, you’ll think, “Oh, my God. Let’s start with the feeling that there is such a world out there.

P.S.: I was asked the other day in a conversation at Naoki Sakai’s salon what the secret of a hit is, and once again I am re-reading Shoichi Kotani’s book, ” Hittoran, Hittoran, Hittoran, Hittoran, Hittoran, Hittoran, Hittoran – Kassai no Jiken” (Demonstration of Kudos ) (Sanno Junior College of Business Publications, 1972).