Shand & Takahashi
A British banker contributed to modernization and westernization of the Japanese banking system newly established after the Meiji Restoration of the Imperial Authority and the fall of the last samurai regime in 1868.
It would be a shame to miss Shand out of this story, for his was an extraordinary career. Born in the Scottish village of Turriff in 1844, he went into banking, and at the age of 19 joined a bank in Hong Kong. By 20, he was managing a branch in Yokohama, Japan. There, he hired a local boy to run errands for him. This was his first encounter with Korekiyo Takahashi, who was to grow up to become Finance Minister, and later Prime Minister, of Japan.
In 1872 Shand was appointed an advisor to the Japanese Ministry of Finance. He wrote textbooks for them, and gave influential lectures on various aspects of banking practice. He is still recognised today as the father of Japanese bookkeeping.
Shand returned to Britain in 1877 to join NatWest constituent Alliance Bank, where he remained for the rest of his career, specialising in working with Japan. He maintained many Japanese friendships, not least with Takahashi, who by this time had risen to political prominence. These personal relationships were immensely important in cementing business ties. He was the only westerner that the Japanese government always consulted when raising loans on the international market.http://www.rbs.com/about-rbs/g2/heritage/rbs-history-100/themes/our-expanding-world/56.ashx
Korekiyo Takahashi also had a very distinctive career, including his experience of having traveled to the US when Japan was still under the Tokugawa samurai regime. The samurai boy Takahashi was however unfortunately victimized by a bad American in California and sold to a farm house in Oakland as a slave boy, though he could get out of the plight and return to Japan.
Before Takahashi was sent to the US for study by the samurai lord his house belonged to, Takahashi had been to Edo (Tokyo) and Yokohama to happen to be hired as a boy in a bank in the port city Yokohama by Shand (Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London & China) who managed it. Takahashi was taught by his master that depositors were important but borrowers were also very important. "Accordingly, you have to show your respect and kindness to borrowers. Based on this kindness, you have to check how your borrowers spend money," said Shand. "When you find they spend money in a wrong manner, you have to advise them against handling money in such a manner as would surely lead them into a failure."
After Takahashi returned to Japan from the US to grow up and advance well in society, he happened to be in charge of management of a major bank of Japan. Then one day he found a son of one of shareholders of the bank paying with checks so many times in a doubtful manner. Takahashi checked the situation to confirm that the young man indulged in gambling. So, he called the son of a shareholder to the bank to advise him to repent. The young man followed Takahashi's admonition to be saved from evil of society.
Further later, when Takahashi became the Vice Governor of the Bank of Japan to travel to London to raise funds for costs of the Japanese-Russo War, Shand introduced Takahashi to financial circles of England. Owing to help from Shand, Takahashi could sell enough bonds of the Empire of Japan to British, American, and even German bankers as Takahashi could get acquainted with Rothschild and Jacob Schiff.
However, whenever Takahashi tried to show his appreciation to his old boss Shand, saying that he owed so many things to Shand since he had worked as a boy in a Yokohama bank managed by Shand, Shand always broke in, saying, "Oh I don't know such a thing." Even when a daughter of Takahashi later met Shand in London and showed her appreciation to the old boss of her father, saying, "My father owed everything to you in a Yokohama bank," Shand broke in, saying, "Oh I don't know such a thing. It must be a mistake."
So, Korekiyo Takahashi (1854-1936) never lost feeling of thankfulness to Alexander Allan Shand (1844-1930).
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/sztimes/e/1adca3ad21fd3c479c5dedef21601b93
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takahashi_Korekiyo
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Mar 2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
Mar 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
Mar 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.