Tanaka Ichibe (田中市兵衛)
Ichibe Tanaka (September, 1838 - July, 1910) was a businessman and statesman during the Meiji Period and also a grand person in the economic world of the Kansai region. He conducted many businesses such as fertilizer dealing, banking, spinning, trading, shipping, dock management, and railway management, and built the foundations of today's many prestigious companies. He served as kaito (society president) of Osaka Prefecture Chamber of Commerce and Industry, administrative director of Osaka Fertilizer Exchange, councilor of Osaka City and Osaka Prefecture, and a member of the House of Representatives, and also he was awarded the rank of Shorokui (Senior Sixth Rank), the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays in 1903, and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 1906.
Backgrounds
In September, 1838, he was born to Hachiro TANAKA. The Tanaka family were wealthy merchants for several generations, originating in Osaka, and their family business was a dried sardine dealer, that is, a manure dealer through generations. In 1868, he succeeded his grandfather's business and broadened the market of his manure sales from Osaka to the whole Kinki region, so that he could establish the solid footing.
Forty Second National Bank
TANAKA showed his enthusiasm into the business not only for protecting his family business, but he also did for establishing Forty Second National Bank at 3-chome, Edobori along with Jinbee KANAZAWA, and he became president of it and showed leadership. Forty Second National Bank opened business at 3-chome, Edobori, Nishi Ward, on October 18, 1878. The capital was 20 thousand yen. This bank expired out in October 1898. TANAKA developed his business on the basis of this bank.
Kansai Boeki Gaisha (Kansai Trading Company)
He had been paying attention to the trend of the world and went to Hokkaido in 1881. Going to Hokkaido at that time was a long-distance exploration travel, exceeding the level of going to the United States in later years, and this travel was for Kansai Boeki Gaisha (Kansai Trading Company). In June, 1881, Tomoatsu GODAI established Kansai Boekisha (Kansai Trading Company) with the capital of one million yen along with Goichi NAKANO, Saihei HIROSE, Hikotaro SUGIMURA, Denzaburo FUJITA, and other interested members, and set up its headquarters at 3-banchi, 1-chome, Utsubo Kita-dori, Osaka. The government at that time was trying to abolish Hokkaido Development Commissioner and dispose of all the government-run businesses to the private sector, and in connection with it Tomoatsu GODAI went to Hokkaido with Goichi NAKANO and Ichibee TANAKA to carefully inspect various places, and planned to receive the Iwanai coal mine and the Akkeshi forest as disposals from the government and export coals and wood to foreign countries to increase the national wealth, and also planned to harvest the marine products from the coasts of Hokkaido to answer domestic demand, and they applied to the director general of Hokkaido Development Commissioner for it in July, 1881. This company dissolved in December, 1890.
Kobe Sanbashi Kabushikigaisha (Kobe Dock Company)
TANAKA, who returned from Hokkaido, had an idea that the future Japan would need a port in or near Osaka, the economic center, to trade with foreign countries. GODAI wanted to build a dock in Japan to make trading easier, and so established Kobe Sanbashi Kabushikigaisha (Kobe Dock Company) with KONOIKE, SUMITOMO, and FUJITA in November, 1884. TANAKA became an adviser of the company in July, 1885, and a president in 1893. In 1909, the Kobe Port finally started to be built and Kobe Sanbashi (Kobe Dock) was to be bought. The price said to be 550 thousand yen, but TANAKA wrote to the prime minister Taro KATSURA and raised the price by 50 thousand yen, and succeeded to sell it for 600 thousand yen. He sold its warehouses to Mitsui, and carried out the repairing works of Minatogawa River in Kobe, and also changing Shinkaichi into downtown was one of TANAKA's great achievements.
Achievements as an Influential Person in the Financial World
In 1885, he established Hankai Railway with Jutaro MATSUMOTO, and also participated in the establishment of the following railway companies: Sanyo Railway, Kyushu Railway, Buzen Railway, Hankaku Railway, Kyoto Railway, Nankai Electric Railway, and Hanshin Electric Railway. Also, he was involved in these companies: Nippon Life Insurance Company, Nipponkoa Insurance Company, Osaka Warehouse Company, Naniwa Spinning Company, Unitika, Sojitz Corporation, and Kisha Seizo Kaisha (Train Production Company), and yet the involvement was based on Forty Second National Bank as mentioned before, and also on separately managed Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK Lines). TANAKA overwhelmed the business world in the Kansai region with the success of these two businesses.
Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK Lines)
In May, 1884, Saihei HIROSE and several other members consolidated a number of ship owners and established a grand company with 93 vessels and a capital of 1.2 million yen, Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK Lines). About one year later, in October, 1885, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) was established as a result of the merger of Mitsubishi Kaisha (Mitsubishi Company) and Kyodo Unyu Kaisha (Kyodo Transport Company). TANAKA became an auditor in 1894, and a president in 1895. His presidency was short but he made great achievements. In 1898, he selected Tokugoro NAKAHASHI, who was a director of the Railway Bureau in the Ministry of Communication, as his successor, and made a foundation of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.
Management of Japan Cotton Corporation
Soon after Japan Cotton Corporation started its business, despite the increase of the trading volume of cotton, it made a great loss for that time in 1894 due to the heavy decline in the foreign exchange rate, and in 1895 TANAKA became a president and tried to recover the loss. TANAKA built the foundations of the company's inaugural period, and in October, 1898, he resigned from the presidency in favor of Jiemon TAKEO. In January, 1901, succeeding TAKEO, TANAKA's heir Ichitaro TANAKA was promoted to president, but in 1908 he died from a disease. Then, in an extraordinary meeting of stockholders held in November, 1908, Ichibe TANAKA and Jiemon TAKEO were added into the board members, and TANAKA took the position of president again and held it until September, 1910.