19 Facts About Iwasaki Yataro

Yataro Iwasaki was a Japanese industrialist and financier known as the founder of Mitsubishi, one of Japan's largest conglomerates.

Iwasaki Yataro was born on 9 January 1835 in Aki, Tosa Province into a provincial farming family.

Iwasaki Yataro's family had been members of the samurai warrior nobility, but his great great grandfather, Iwasaki Yataro Yajiemon had sold off his family's samurai status in obligation of debts during the Great Tenmei famine.

Iwasaki Yataro's family derived from Iwasaki clan that was a branch of Takeda clan of Kai Province .

The ancestor of Iwasaki Yataro clan was Iwasaki Yataro Nobutaka known as Takeda Shichiro who was the fifth son of Takeda Nobumitsu.

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The Iwasaki Yataro clan served Aki clan, and Chosokabe clan at the Battle of Sekigahara .

Iwasaki Yataro began his career as an employee of the Yamauchi clan, the ruling clan of the Tosa Domain which had business interests in many parts of Japan.

Iwasaki Yataro left for Edo aged nineteen for his education, but his studies were interrupted a year later when his father was seriously injured in a dispute with the village headman.

Iwasaki Yataro accused the local magistrate of corruption for refusing to hear his case, and was sent to prison for seven months after he was kicked out from his village.

Iwasaki Yataro returned to Edo, where he socialised with political activists and studied under the Yoshida Toyo, a reformist and modernization advocate from Tosa Province.

Iwasaki Yataro found work as a clerk for the Yamauchi government through Yoshida, and eventually bought back his family's samurai status.

Iwasaki Yataro was promoted to the top position at the Yamauchi clan's trading office in Nagasaki in Hizen Province, responsible for trading camphor oil and paper to buy ships, weapons, and ammunition.

Iwasaki Yataro travelled to Osaka following the Meiji Restoration in 1868 which overthrew the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate, abolishing the feudal system in Japan and forcing the disbandment of the shogunate's business interests.

In March 1870, Iwasaki Yataro became president of the Tsukumo Trading Company, a shipping company founded on behalf of the Yamauchi clan, and leased the trading rights.

From 1874 to 1875, Iwasaki Yataro was contracted by the Japanese government to transport Japanese soldiers and war materials.

Subsequently, Iwasaki Yataro invested in mining, ship repair, and finance industries in addition to shipping.

Iwasaki Yataro often held dinners for dignitaries, spending a huge amount of money on these occasions, but he made many friends who later helped him by doing favors.

Iwasaki Yataro died of stomach cancer on 7 February 1885, aged 50, and was succeeded as the head of the family business first by his brother, Iwasaki Yataro Yanosuke, and later his son, Hisaya.

Iwasaki Yataro serves as the secondary protagonist of the 49th NHK Taiga drama, Ryoma den, focusing on his activities during the Bakumatsu, and serves as the framing narrator of the story.