Masajirō Tazuke (田附 政次郎, Tazuke Masajirō) (December 15, Bunkyū Year 3 (January 23, 1864) – April 26, Shōwa's 8th Year…Masajirō Tazuke (田附 政次郎, Tazuke Masajirō) (December 15, Bunkyū Year 3 (January 23, 1864) – April 26, Shōwa's 8th Year (1933)) was a Japanese Ōmi merchant and businessman. He became director of Ōsaka Spinning. He participated in the founding of Toyobo, Nisshinbo Holdings and Gosho (currently Kanematsu). Moreover, he was called "General Tazuke" because he participated actively as a cotton yarn speculator. He was renowned as "Tazuke for Sale". He was the great-grandfather of Hiroko Kuniya, the News presenter.
Baron Ōkura Kihachirō (大倉 喜八郎; 23 October 1837 – 5 April 1928) was a Japanese businessman, investor, and…Baron Ōkura Kihachirō (大倉 喜八郎; 23 October 1837 – 5 April 1928) was a Japanese businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the corporate progenitor of the Ōkura-gumi zaibatsu, which later became the Taisei Corporation, and the Ōkura Shōgyō Gakkō ("Okura Commerce School") which later became Tokyo University of Economics in 1949. In contrast to most of the zaibatsu, the Ōkura zaibatsu was founded by someone from the peasant class.
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.
Tanaka Chōbei (田中 長兵衛) was a merchant and purveyor to Japan's military during the Meiji Period. He established Kamaishi…Tanaka Chōbei (田中 長兵衛) was a merchant and purveyor to Japan's military during the Meiji Period. He established Kamaishi Mine Tanaka Ironworks (Kamaishi Kōzan Tanaka Seitetsusho) in 1887, which was Japan's first modern private ironworks and remained the only one in the country until 1901, when the state-run ironworks was built again. A few years earlier, in 1874, Japan's Ministry of Industries (Kōbushō) had decided to build a modern furnace at Kamaishi . It appointed German engineers who went on to build a large-scale mill (with a railway system to carry the product and iron ore) utilizing two imported 25-ton furnaces. Local experts had advised a more modest method of learn-by-doing and gradual scale-up. The government, which never questioned the superiority of Western technology, overrode these objections and proceeded to construct the plant and operation started in 1890. However, within 196 days the plant had to be shut down and the government gave up- mainly due to the use of poor quality coke. Tanaka entered the steel business by taking over this loss-making government-run enterprise. He reverted to the earlier advise of building with smaller furnaces (5-6 ton), adapting the technology to local conditions, and then scaling up. Building on local knowledge, he adapted foreign technology through a process of trial and error – it took his people 22 months and 49 trial operations before they could finally produce iron. There was also help from Kageyoshi Noro. By 1894, Tanaka was in a position not only to repair but also redesign British-made furnaces and succeeded in restarting them using coke as fuel. Tanaka Chōbei owned mines all over Japan, as well as the Jinguashi mine in northern Taiwan. His ironworks in Kamaishi produced the majority of Japan's domestic pig iron in 1894.
