Shibusawa Eiichi, 1st Viscount Shibusawa (渋沢 栄一; 16 March 1840 – 11 November 1931) was a Japanese business magnate…
Shibusawa Eiichi, 1st Viscount Shibusawa (渋沢 栄一; 16 March 1840 – 11 November 1931) was a Japanese business magnate widely known today as the "Father of Japanese capitalism", having introduced Western capitalism to Japan after the Meiji Restoration. He introduced many economic reforms including use of double-entry accounting, joint-stock corporations and modern note-issuing banks. He founded the first modern bank based on joint stock ownership in Japan. The bank was aptly named The First National Bank (Dai Ichi Kokuritsu Ginkō, now merged into Mizuho Bank) and had the power to issue its own notes. Through this bank, he founded hundreds of other joint stock corporations in Japan. Many of these companies still survive to this day as quoted companies in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which Shibusawa also founded. The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry was founded by him as well. He was also involved in the foundation of many hospitals, schools, universities (including the first women's university), the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and charitable organizations including the Japanese Red Cross Society. Another notable aspect of Shibusawa's career is that, despite being the founder of hundreds of corporations, he refused to maintain a controlling stake in these corporations, effectively preventing himself from forming a zaibatsu. What is known as the Shibusawa zaibatsu was a holding company to look after his estate for his family. The Shibusawa Zaibatsu did not hold any controlling stake in any companies. Despite his humble origin as a farmer, he was granted the title of Viscount, while all other zaibatsu founders were awarded the title of Baron. He was also awarded Shōnii, Second Honour under the ritsuryō rank system, which is usually given to high-ranking nobility and prime ministers. Shibusawa is featured on the 10,000 yen note, one of the new designs that went into circulation on 3 July 2024. Shibusawa was also printed on bank notes issued by the Korea First Bank, which he owned, in 1902. The choice of Shibusawa has previously been criticised in South Korea.
Famous People Born in the Year of the Rat
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Arakaki Seishō (新垣 世璋; 1840–1918) was a prominent Okinawan martial artist and master of Tōde who influenced the…
Arakaki Seishō (新垣 世璋; 1840–1918) was a prominent Okinawan martial artist and master of Tōde who influenced the development of several major karate styles. He was known by many other names, including Aragaki Tsuji Pechin Seisho.
Asahidake Tsurunosuke (朝日嶽 鶴之助; 1840 – April 4, 1882) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tsuruoka, Yamagata…
Asahidake Tsurunosuke (朝日嶽 鶴之助; 1840 – April 4, 1882) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture. His highest rank was ōzeki. He is the fourth ōzeki from Yamagata Prefecture and the first promoted at this rank since Genjiyama in October 1825, 52 years earlier.
Nakazawa Koto (中沢琴, 1839–October 12, 1927) was a Japanese swordswoman and Onna-musha of the Bakumatsu period. She…
Nakazawa Koto (中沢琴, 1839–October 12, 1927) was a Japanese swordswoman and Onna-musha of the Bakumatsu period. She joined the Rōshigumi and later Shinchogumi forces, and worked as a pro-Tokugawa agent in the Boshin War.
Shinohara Tainoshin (篠原 泰之進; December 22, 1828 – June 13, 1911) was a Japanese samurai from Chikugo Province who lived…
Shinohara Tainoshin (篠原 泰之進; December 22, 1828 – June 13, 1911) was a Japanese samurai from Chikugo Province who lived during the late Tokugawa shogunate. He sided with Satsuma in the Battle of Toba–Fushimi. After the Meiji Restoration, Shinohara became a businessman and later, a devout Christian. In his memoir, Shinohara describes pivotal events and circumstances surrounding the Shinsengumi, Aburakōji Incident and his own assassination attempt on Kondō Isami.
Isaniwa Yukiya (伊佐庭如矢, Isaniwa Yukiya) (1828–1907) was the first mayor of Dogo Yunomachi (道後湯之町) which is famous for…
Isaniwa Yukiya (伊佐庭如矢, Isaniwa Yukiya) (1828–1907) was the first mayor of Dogo Yunomachi (道後湯之町) which is famous for Dōgo Onsen. He made today's Dōgo Onsen while he was the mayor. He thought the tourism era would come in the future, so he made a plan to make the city into a resort city.
Count Soejima Taneomi (副島 種臣; 17 October 1828 – 31 January 1905) was a Japanese diplomat and politician active during…
Count Soejima Taneomi (副島 種臣; 17 October 1828 – 31 January 1905) was a Japanese diplomat and politician active during the early Meiji period.
Oura Kei (大浦 慶, Ōura Kei; 1828–1884) was a Japanese businesswoman. She managed a successful tea-import business with…
Oura Kei (大浦 慶, Ōura Kei; 1828–1884) was a Japanese businesswoman. She managed a successful tea-import business with the help of her international foreign contacts. She acted as a patron of, among others, Sakamoto Ryoma. She was a figure of importance in contemporary Japan and a celebrity of sorts; during general Ulysses S. Grant's visit to Japan in 1879, she personally escorted him during an official visit to his ship.
Saihei Hirose (June 16, 1828 – 1914) was a Japanese mining businessman and former head of the board of directors of…
Saihei Hirose (June 16, 1828 – 1914) was a Japanese mining businessman and former head of the board of directors of Sumitomo Zaibatsu from 1877 to 1894. Prior to that, he was manager of the Besshi copper mine, which he extensively modernised using Western technology. There is a museum dedicated to him in Niihama, called the Hirose Memorial Museum.
Nishimura Shigeki (西村 茂樹; 26 April 1828 – 18 August 1902) was a Japanese educator and leader of the Meiji Enlightenment…
Nishimura Shigeki (西村 茂樹; 26 April 1828 – 18 August 1902) was a Japanese educator and leader of the Meiji Enlightenment during the Meiji period. He also went by his pen-name of Nishimura Hakuo. He wrote more than 130 books and over 200 articles in his long literary career. Born to the family of the samurai chief administer to the daimyō of Sakura domain, Shimōsa Province (present-day Chiba Prefecture), Nishimura was originally a Confucian scholar, but he studied rangaku as well. He supported the Tokugawa bakufu against the Meiji Restoration, but was so highly regarded that the new Meiji government recruited him to assist in the movement to educate the Japanese public on the western world. He was a founding member of the Meirokusha with Mori Arinori, and contributed numerous articles to the Meiroku Zasshi journal, on a wide range of topics, including on the relevance of ethics to government, a comparison of world government systems and world economic systems. Nishimura established his own intellectual society in 1876 to stress moral values. This became the Nihon Kodoka (Japan Society for Expansion of the Way), which proved to be a great success. The society promoted the belief that a reassertion of Japan's traditional moral values was necessary to strength Japan in the modern world. Nishimura believed that the Meiji government should serve a purpose to the people of Japan. He thought the government was superficial and should be rigid and clear in its laws. (In comparison to the Meiji government constantly changing their policies.) He was appointed to the House of Peers in 1890.
Kanō Hōgai (狩野 芳崖; February 27, 1828 – October 5, 1888) was a Japanese painter of the Kanō school.
Yamamoto Kakuma (山本 覚馬; February 25, 1828 – December 28, 1892) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who went…
Yamamoto Kakuma (山本 覚馬; February 25, 1828 – December 28, 1892) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who went on to become an educator and politician in the Meiji era.
Kawatake Mokuami (河竹 黙阿弥; Japanese pronunciation: [ka.wa(ꜜ).ta.ke (|) mo.kɯ.a.mʲi, ka.wa.ta.ke mo.kɯꜜ.a.mʲi], 1 March…
Kawatake Mokuami (河竹 黙阿弥; Japanese pronunciation: [ka.wa(ꜜ).ta.ke (|) mo.kɯ.a.mʲi, ka.wa.ta.ke mo.kɯꜜ.a.mʲi], 1 March 1816 – 22 January 1893), born Yoshimura Yoshisaburō (吉村 芳三郎) was a Japanese dramatist of Kabuki. It has been said that "as a writer of plays of Kabuki origin, he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Japan has ever known". He wrote 150 or so plays over the course of his 58-year career, covering a wide variety of themes, styles, and forms, including short dance pieces, period plays (jidaimono), contemporary genre pieces (sewamono), tragedies and comedies, as well as adaptations of foreign (Western) stories, though he is perhaps most famous for his shiranamimono, plays featuring sympathetic or tragic rogues and thieves. For the greater part of his career he wrote under the professional name Kawatake Shinshichi, only taking the name Mokuami on his retirement from the stage in 1881.
Sendagawa Kichizō (Japanese: 千田川 吉藏; born Kumakichi Mera (目良 熊吉, Mera Kumakichi), 1793 – January 8, 1828) was a…
Sendagawa Kichizō (Japanese: 千田川 吉藏; born Kumakichi Mera (目良 熊吉, Mera Kumakichi), 1793 – January 8, 1828) was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Muro District, Kii Province (now Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture). His highest rank was ōzeki. As of March 1815 he is the only wrestler from Wakayama Prefecture to have been promoted to sumo's second highest rank.
Kume Eizaemon Michikata (Japanese: 久米 榮左衛門 通賢; 1780–1841) was a Japanese civil engineer, inventor, gunsmith, and…
Kume Eizaemon Michikata (Japanese: 久米 榮左衛門 通賢; 1780–1841) was a Japanese civil engineer, inventor, gunsmith, and scholar of rangaku.
Miyagino Nishikinosuke (宮城野 錦之助, 1744 – July 18, 1798) was a Japanese sumo wrestler. His highest rank was sekiwake. He…
Miyagino Nishikinosuke (宮城野 錦之助, 1744 – July 18, 1798) was a Japanese sumo wrestler. His highest rank was sekiwake. He was an active top makuuchi division wrestler at the age of 52, which is the all-time recognized record.