was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the corporate progenitor of the ''Ōkura-gumi'' ''

zaibatsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signifi ...

'', which later became the

Taisei Corporation is a Japanese corporation founded in 1873. Its main areas of business are building construction, civil engineering, and real estate development. Taisei's headquarters are located at Shinjuku Center Building in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo. ...

, 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.

Biography

Ōkura was born in

Echigo Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

, and moved to

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

and worked for three years before starting his own grocery store in 1857. After selling groceries for eight years, he became a

weapons A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

dealer during the turbulent years between the arrival of the

Black Ships The Black Ships (in , Edo period term) were the names given to both Portuguese merchant ships and American warships arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries respectively. In 1543, Portuguese initiated the first contacts, establishing a ...

and the eventual overthrow in 1867 of the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. Despite being born a peasant, he became an expert in Shindō Munen-ryū. He became one of the principal business investors of the original Imperial Hotel completed in 1890. Kihachiro's son, Kishichirō, is credited with introducing the

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

into

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Ōkura first went to Korea when he was around 40 years old. He visited soon after Korea was forcefully opened by Japan. In 1878, he established the First Bank of Japan in

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. He then worked in trade and supplies for the Japanese military. When Korea went under Japanese colonial rule, the colonial government began auctioning off buildings in the Korean royal palace Gyeongbokgung. Ōkura purchased the building and had it reassembled in his private home in Tokyo. Kihachiro, who made a fortune in his lifetime and lived in

Toranomon is a business district of Minato, Tokyo. History Literally meaning "Tiger Gate", Toranomon was the name of the southernmost gate of Edo Castle. The gate existed until the 1870s, when it was demolished to make way for modern developments. The ...

, was a collector of

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

antiques An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

. In fear of valuable artworks flowing out to other countries, he built Japan's first private

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

, the Ōkura Shukokan, in 1917 by donating many cultural assets he had collected, the land, and the funds. The 5-story building stood on a property of about , but it was damaged in the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (, or ) was a major earthquake that struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshu at 11:58:32 JST (02:58:32 UTC) on Saturday, 1 September 1923. It had an approximate magnitude of 8.0 on the mom ...

. The Ōkura Shukokan that now stands adjacent to the Hotel Ōkura was rebuilt in 1928; it was based on a design by Itō Chūta, who is known for his design for Tsukiji Honganji Temple, and is designated as a cultural asset of Japan. The museum houses 2,000 pieces of Oriental paintings and sculptures, including such national treasures as the wooden statue of Samantabhadra and 35,000 volumes of

Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202 ...

.Prominent People of Minato City
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Honors

Japanese

*Medal of Honor with Yellow Ribbon (6 November 1888) *Medal of Merit of the Japanese Red Cross (November 1898) *Baron (1 December 1915) *Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

(11 February 1924; Second Class: 26 September 1907) *Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

(20 January 1928; Third Class: 3 November 1902; Fourth Class: 28 October 1897)

Others

*Second Class, Second Grade of the Imperial Order of the Double Dragon of China (10 February 1912) *Grand Cordon of the Precious Golden Harvest of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(November 1917; Second Class: 26 January 1915) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Eight Trigrams of the

Empire of Korea The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Gojong of Korea, King Gojong of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty. The empire lasted until the Japanese annexation of Kor ...

(December 1908) *Grand Cross of the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

of Belgium (29 October 1926)

References

Sources

* **

External links

- Taisei Corporation History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okura, Kihachiro 1837 births 1928 deaths 19th-century Japanese businesspeople 20th-century Japanese businesspeople Businesspeople in retailing Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Kazoku Japanese art collectors Japanese chief executives Japanese company founders Japanese investors Japanese philanthropists People from Niigata Prefecture People of the Boshin War People of the First Sino-Japanese War Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class University and college founders