" seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain" - Iwasaki of Mitsubishi

Part of Tokyo

 Iwasaki of Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi is still a big name in the Japanese industrial sector.

There are the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, etc.

But who is the founder of the Mitsubishi industrial conglomerate?

Iwasaki Yataro (1835 – 1885) was a Japanese financier and shipping industrialist, and the founder of Mitsubishi... 

Iwasaki was born in a provincial farming family in Aki, Tosa province (now Kōchi Prefecture), the great-grandson of a man who had sold his family's samurai status in obligation of debts. Iwasaki began his career as an employee of the Tosa clan... 

He was promoted to the top position at the Tosa clan's trading office in Nagasaki, responsible for trading camphor oil and paper to buy ships, weapons, and ammunition. 

Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, which forced the disbandment of the shogunate's business interests, Iwasaki travelled to Osaka and leased the trading rights for the Tosa clan's Tsukumo Trading Company. The company changed its name to Mitsubishi in 1873.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwasaki_Yatar%C5%8D 

The key to Iwasaki's success is his association with Sakamoto Ryoma in Nagasak, a major port city in west Japan.  Sakamoto is still the most popular samurai even today.  He contributed to realization of the Meiji Restoration (of the Imperial Authority) in 1868 when the last samurai regime of Japan collapsed, paving the way for Japan toward modernization and Westernization.  Sakamoto is also known for his initiative to launch marine transportation business through his tie with a Scottish merchant who sold firearms to samurai lords.  Iwasaki learnt modern business when he worked for Sakamoto in Nagasaki.  However Sakamoto Ryoma was assassinated in Kyoto before the Meiji Restoration, though Iwasaki survived this dangerous days when a civil war was going on between the Tokugawa shogun government and the anti-Tokugawa/pro-imperial samurai clans.

In those days, most of samurai lords issued paper money which could be only circulated in their territories.  Though the Tokugawa clan governed all the samurai clans in Japan, economy of each clan's territory was exclusively and independently managed by each local samurai government.  So, in the turmoil days those samurai lords issued paper money in a large quantity, though the money system of Japan was based on gold and silver in addition to copper coins.  Accordingly, when a new central government was established after the civil war that demolished the feudalistic samurai regime governed by the Tokugawa shogun, central control of the money system became a great agenda as 200 local samurai clans were being disbanded.  

The Meiji imperial government decided to disband the samurai clan system to reorganize their territories into modern local municipalities called prefectures whose heads, namely governors, would be appointed by the central government in Tokyo.  In this process, the leaders in Tokyo had to put an end to circulation of money paper issued by local samurai lords.  So, they decided to buy up all the bills issued by local samurai lords at current market prices.  For this purpose, the central government issued its own paper money based on gold it has.

Iwasaki got this information beforehand from one of key politicians in the central government who was from the local territory Tosa as Iwasaki was also from the Tosa clan.  Iwasaki purchased local old paper money as much as possible at discounted prices, since their issuers, namely local samurai clans, lost their power and status as the central government was abolishing local samurai governments.   This transactions gave great fortunes to Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of the great Mitsubishi group.    

Put simply, the big insider information made Yataro Iwasaki the future founder of Mitsubishi.  So, Mitsubishi is rooted in the turmoil days of the Meiji Restoration (of the Imperial Authority) and the fall of the last samurai regime of Japan in 1860s (when Sakamoto Ryuma with progressive spirit became a samurai hero).

*** *** *** ***



Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.