What SHIKIGAKU does

SHIKIGAKU is a Tokyo-headquartered, Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market-listed (ticker 7049) management consulting firm founded in March 2015 by Ando Kodai. The company commercializes a proprietary organizational management theory (Shikigaku Theory) reconstructed from 1990s-era Consciousness Structure Studies, applied through a three-component framework of organizational charts, role/responsibility rules, and evaluation systems. Its core product is the Shikigaku Master Training program — a 12-session, 3-month one-on-one management training course adopted by more than 2,000 companies — supplemented by group training, evaluation system construction services, recruitment consulting, marketing consulting, and hierarchical HR training modules. The firm has served 5,000+ client organizations spanning manufacturing, IT, healthcare, retail, construction, insurance, and food service, from two-person startups to listed corporates, with a customer base diversified across five regional offices in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sendai.

The business operates a hybrid monetization model: core consulting revenue from a ¥300,000/month base subscription plus customized training packages, supplemented by professional services fees for recruitment and marketing consulting, managed services revenue from the Shikigaku Fund and 新進気鋭 Startup Fund VC vehicles, licensing/royalty income from published books (1.84 million cumulative copies across titles including 'Leader's Mask' at 390,000+ copies), subscription revenue from the HYO-SHIKI businessperson community, and other revenue from the Fukushima Fire Bonds professional basketball team operated through subsidiary Fukushima Sports Entertainment. Distribution runs through direct enterprise field sales, inside sales via website forms and phone (03-6821-7560), in-person site visits within 1.5 hours of regional offices, web-based consultations, and an exclusive certified channel partner (P-UP neo). Marketing is content-led: manga, video libraries, published books, social media (Facebook, X, YouTube), seminars/webinars, and earned media coverage. The group also operates M&A and post-merger integration subsidiary Shikigaku Growth Capital Partners, which provides hands-on support to portfolio companies using the Shikigaku methodology. SHIKIGAKU held ISO 27001 certification (IS 776818) and reached IPO in approximately 3 years and 11 months from founding, cited as the fastest IPO in its management consulting category.

Name

SHIKIGAKU

Legal name

株式会社識学

Website

https://corp.shikigaku.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SHIKIGAKU is a Tokyo-listed management consulting firm that applies its proprietary Shikigaku management theory through one-on-one training, consulting, and evaluation system design for 5,000+ Japanese corporate clients across industries and company sizes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy, Decision-Making & Business Acumen Coaching (EDABANAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Thematic / Sector-Focused Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAH)

Keywords

• Management consulting
• Organizational development
• Leadership training
• Evaluation systems
• Recruitment consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. コンサルティング事業 (Consulting Business): Core revenue stream providing management consulting, training, and organizational design services to corporate clients. Delivered through one-on-one master training and group training formats with consulting support.
2. 採用コンサルティング (Recruitment Consulting): Recruitment system design, job description creation, recruitment team establishment, and ongoing growth mechanisms for client organizations.
3. マーケティングコンサルティング (Marketing Consulting): Marketing strategy development, implementation support, and marketing team building for clients.
4. ファンド事業 (Fund Business): Venture capital operations including 新進気鋭スタートアップファンド and 識学ファンド. LP investment from individuals and corporations with equity investment in unlisted companies for long-term returns.
5. ハンズオン支援 (Hands-on Support): M&A and post-merger integration services through 株式会社識学グロースキャピタルパートナーズ, providing practical operational support to investee companies.
6. 書籍出版 (Book Publishing): Publishing of Shikigaku-related books including 'リーダーの仮面', '数値化の鬼', 'とにかく仕組み化', and others. Series cumulative sales of 1.84 million copies.
7. コミュニティ運営事業 (Community Operations): HYO-SHIKI business person community providing Shikigaku-applied content to members.
8. スポーツエンタテインメント事業 (Sports Entertainment): Operation of professional basketball team 福島ファイヤーボンズ in Fukushima prefecture.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SHIKIGAKU provides management consulting and training services built on its proprietary Shikigaku Theory (識学), a systematic approach to organizational management based on Consciousness Structure Studies. The core offering is a 3-month, 12-session one-on-one Master Training program combined with implementation consulting, complemented by specialized services including evaluation system design, group training, hierarchical HR training, recruitment consulting, and marketing consulting. The firm also operates a venture capital arm (Shikigaku Fund), an M&A and post-merger integration subsidiary (Shikigaku Growth Capital Partners), a businessperson community (HYO-SHIKI), and a professional basketball team (Fukushima Fire Bonds).

Product overview

SHIKIGAKU operates as a management consulting firm offering a unified methodology called 'Shikigaku' (識学), a theory of organizational management based on consciousness structure science. The core product is the Management Consulting service centered around the Shikigaku Master Training program—a 3-month, 12-session one-on-one training combined with consulting support, adopted by over 2,000 companies. This integrates with specialized modules including the Evaluation System Design Service, Group Training, Hierarchical HR Training, Recruitment Consulting, and Marketing Consulting. The company also operates complementary business lines: the Shikigaku Fund (venture capital), Shikigaku Growth Capital Partners (hands-on M&A/PMI services for SMEs), a HYO-SHIKI community for business persons, and the Fukushima Fire Bonds professional basketball team. Educational content spans manga comics, video courses, and published books including bestsellers 'Leader's Mask' (390,000+ copies), 'Numbering Devil' (230,000+ copies), and 'Systematize Everything' (220,000+ copies).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 福島ファイヤーボンズ: Professional basketball team operated by subsidiary Fukushima Sports Entertainment in Fukushima Prefecture
• HYO-SHIKI
• 識学ファンド
• 新進気鋭スタートアップファンド
• 新生識学ファンド

Products and services

• Management Consulting (マネジメントコンサルティング) Core consulting service using the Shikigaku methodology to improve organizational management, reduce employee turnover, and maximize performance through training and consulting support for business owners and managers across diverse industries.
• Shikigaku Master Training (識学マスタートレーニング) One-on-one management training program for business owners and managers, adopted by over 2,000 companies, combining 12 training sessions over 3 months with implementation consulting support.
• Evaluation System Design Service (評価制度構築サービス) Service to design and implement clear evaluation standards, establish measurable goals, and create salary and bonus calculation frameworks based on positions, addressing vague evaluation problems in organizations.
• Group Training (グループ研修) Group training sessions for managers and employees covering Shikigaku methodology themes, conducted in 3-hour lectures with maximum 10 participants per session.
• Recruitment Consulting (採用コンサルティング) Recruitment consulting service to build client-specific hiring systems, assist with recruitment activities, establish in-house recruiting teams, and create sustainable growth mechanisms.
• Marketing Consulting (マーケティングコンサルティング) Marketing strategy development and implementation support including building marketing teams and creating sustainable growth frameworks for client organizations.
• Hierarchical HR Training (人事向け階層別研修) Hierarchical HR training programs tailored to different management levels within organizations, providing role-specific training.
• Basic Service (基本サービス) Foundational Shikigaku consulting services for organizations seeking basic management improvements as a starting point.
• Shikigaku Fund (識学ファンド) Venture capital fund using the Shikigaku methodology to invest in startups with high growth potential, providing capital and management support.
• Shinkouki Startup Fund (新進気鋭スタートアップファンド) Startup investment fund supporting promising early-stage companies with capital and operational expertise.
• Shikigaku Growth Capital Partners (株式会社識学グロースキャピタルパートナーズ) Hands-on support subsidiary providing M&A services and post-merger integration using the Shikigaku methodology for SMEs, with some portfolio companies achieving approximately 1.5x revenue and 5x EBITDA improvement.
• HYO-SHIKI Community (HYO-SHIKIコミュニティ) Subscription-based businessperson community offering content based on Shikigaku principles, helping members develop decision-making and thinking skills independent of trends.
• Fukushima Fire Bonds (福島ファイヤーボンズ) Professional basketball team based in Fukushima Prefecture, operated as sports entertainment business using Shikigaku management principles through subsidiary Fukushima Sports Entertainment.
• Leader's Mask Book (リーダーの仮面) 2020 publication by Founder Ando Kodai (安藤 広大), exceeding 390,000 copies sold, addressing why leaders need to wear 'masks' and avoid being too sympathetic.
• Numbering Devil Book (数値化の鬼) 2022 publication exceeding 230,000 copies sold, teaching how to quantify work and avoid vague evaluation in organizations.
• Systematize Everything Book (とにかく仕組み化) 2023 publication about systematizing business processes to achieve consistent organizational performance.
• Perfect Decision-Making Book (パーフェクトな意思決定) 2024 publication by Founder Ando Kodai on achieving perfect decision-making through Shikigaku principles.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organizations typically see results within 3 months for both sales increase and turnover reduction
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• CRG Holdings Co., Ltd.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2026Co-hosting seminar on 'Success Created by Utilizing Foreign Human Resources' with Shikigaku and Mirail Co., Ltd. targeting companies facing challenges with foreign human resources recruitment and management.
• 株式会社P-UP neocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorP-UP neo is a certified partner company of Shikigaku, providing organizational consulting and human resources consulting services nationwide. As the only Shikigaku-certified partner enterprise, they support organizational expansion for companies across Japan using the Shikigaku methodology for organizational reform.
• Mirail Co., Ltd.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShikigaku subsidiary co-hosting seminars on foreign human resources utilization alongside parent company Shikigaku and CRG Holdings.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BayCurrent Consulting: Japan's largest homegrown strategy/management consulting firm, also TSE-listed. Closest direct peer: both are publicly listed Japanese management consultancies targeting executive-level management problems across large and mid-cap clients.
• Link and Motivation: TSE-listed Japanese firm combining management consulting, HR/organizational development, and motivation-engineering services. Directly comparable in target customer (Japanese executives), service mix (consulting + training), and public-company scale.
• ABeam Consulting: Major Japanese-origin management and IT consulting firm with deep enterprise client base. Comparable across consulting methodology focus, executive training, and broad industry coverage in Japan.
• Corporate Directions Inc (CDI): Long-established Japanese management consulting firm focused on mid-market corporate strategy and organizational design. Comparable in methodology-driven approach and Japanese SME/large-corporate customer profile.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company Japan: Japan office of the global strategic consultancy. Engages the same C-suite buyer for organizational and management topics at the high end of the market, though at meaningfully different scale and price points.
• Roland Berger: Global strategy and management consultancy with a substantial Japan office. Overlaps on organizational and executive-management consulting for Japanese enterprises but operates across a much broader strategic and operational portfolio.
• Accenture Japan: Japan arm of global management and technology consultancy. Competes for the same enterprise clients on management and digital transformation mandates but offers a wider technology-implementation portfolio.
• Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting: Big 4 advisory arm in Japan offering strategy, operations, and HR transformation services. Adjacent in HR and organization consulting at the enterprise tier but with a much larger service catalog.
• Nomura Research Institute (NRI): TSE-listed Japanese consulting and IT-solutions provider. Comparable as a Japanese publicly listed advisory firm targeting enterprise clients on management, operations, and digital transformation mandates.

Emerging players

• HRBrain: Japanese HR-tech SaaS vendor focused on evaluation, HR, and goal-management software. Emerging player in adjacent territory — competing for the same HR/organizational-management buyer but delivering software rather than consulting services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shikigaku_2015
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCThiMUsUPCeTVewO_WWPHwg
• Facebookfacebook.com/shikigaku2015
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shikigaku

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments8 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SHIKIGAKU