Kachō Kōsaku Shima

Kachō Kōsaku Shima (課長島耕作) is the first in a number of Japanese manga series, by Kenshi Hirokane, about a fictional salaryman named Kōsaku Shima. The series ran from 1983-1992 under this title, winning the 1991 Kodansha Manga Award in the General category. It depicts the life of a salaryman, a Japanese white-collar worker who devotes his life to his company. The manga have been translated from Japanese into English (partially; through Kodansha Bilingual Editions), French and German.

At the start of the long-running series, Shima Kōsaku is a kachō, or section chief, of a huge conglomerate, Hatsushiba Electric. He is later promoted to buchō (division chief) and eventually promoted to manager and executive-director, and with each promotion the title of the series changed as well. He is now promoted to the president of Hatsushiba Electric. And the title changed "Shachō" Shima Kōsaku, which means "President Kōsaku Shima".

The fictional conglomerate is modeled after Panasonic, or Matsushita Electric, where Hirokane worked before and is highly accurate in its portrayal of Japanese corporate culture.

Series names

 * Kachō Shima Kōsaku (課長島耕作) 1983-1992
 * Buchō Kōsaku Shima (部長島耕作) 1992–2002
 * Torishimariyaku Kōsaku Shima (取締役島耕作) 2002–2005
 * Jōmu Kōsaku Shima (常務島耕作) 2005–2006
 * Senmu Kōsaku Shima (専務島耕作) 2006–2008
 * Shachō Kōsaku Shima (社長島耕作) 2008–present
 * Young Kōsaku Shima (ヤング島耕作) 2001–present