Arai Ryoichiro (新井領一郎) (August 31, 1855 April 10, 1939) was a Japanese businessman. He helped to build trade relationships between the United States and Japan, especially in the

silk industry Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtaine ...

Early life and education

Arai was born Ryosuke Hoshino on August 31, 1855, in what is now Kiryu, Gunma. He was adopted by the Arai family, and his given name was changed to Ryoichiro. His older brother, Chotaro Hoshino, had a silk production business. Arai studied English and accounting at several schools in Tokyo. After graduation, Chotaro encouraged Arai to go to the United States so that Arai could help his business.

Career

In March 1876,

Yukichi Fukuzawa was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and samurai who founded Keio Gijuku, the newspaper ', and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases. Fukuzawa was an early advocate for reform in Japan. His ideas about the or ...

advised Arai and five other men to go to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to promote trade. While living there, Arai studied English at the Plymouth Institute in

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south ...

. Later that year, Arai made a deal to sell B. Richardson and Sons, a silk importer, 400 pounds of raw silk from Chotaro's company for $6.50 per pound. However, that was far under the market value for silk in Japan at the time. Chotaro's company lost $2,000 after Arai refused to renegotiate the contract with Richardson. He didn't want to renegotiate so that he could keep Richardson's trust, because Japanese silk merchants had a bad reputation at the time. Richardson gave them a bonus when the silk arrived. This was the first direct shipment of Japanese silk to the United States. In 1878, Arai and Momotaro Sato, one of the other men Fukuzawa sent, started the Sato Arai Company. Arai also worked as the Doshin Kaisha's New York representative from 1880 onward. The Sato Arai Company dissolved when Sato returned to Japan in 1881. However, the company was successful enough that Arai was able to return to Japan and marry Tazu Ushiba. They returned to New York, then moved to

Riverside, Connecticut Riverside is a neighborhood/section in the town of Greenwich in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 8,843. The town of Greenwich is one political and taxing body, but consists of several ...

in 1893. They had two children. Arai resigned from the Doshin Kaisha and temporarily returned to Japan in 1893. While there, he started two companies: the Yokohama Kiito Gomei Kaisha, a silk exporter, and the Morimura Arai Company, which handled the former's direct sales in the United States. The latter was a partnership with Ichizaemon Morimura. By 1908, the Morimura Arai Company handled 30% of all silk exports to the United States and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

imports from the United States to Japan. Arai was elected to the board of governors for the Silk Association of America in 1901, and was the first Asian to hold that position. He also helped to found Japanese community organizations in New York, like the Nippon Club in 1905 and the Japan Society of New York in 1907. He was awarded 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 ...

in 1928. Arai died in Connecticut on April 10, 1939. Haru Reischauer and

Tane Matsukata Tane Matsukata (February 18, 1918 – June 8, 1989; 松方種子)(in kana まつかたたねこ), often written Tané Matsukata or Matsukata Taneko, was a Japanese educator and librarian, founder and principal of the Nishimachi International Sc ...

are his granddaughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arai, Ryoichiro 1855 births 1939 deaths Japanese businesspeople People from Kiryū, Gunma Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure