was a Japanese businesswoman, banker, college founder and late in life, a Christian speaker and writer.

Early life

Mitsui Asako was born in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, the daughter of merchant Mitsui Takamasu. She recalled, as a girl, feeling left out of the education her brothers enjoyed, and being determined after marriage to find a way to learn mathematics, economics, and literature, among other topics. She hired tutors and read independently. "I set myself to the task with the consent of my husband, who was skeptical of my ability and indifferent to my ambitions."

Career

After an economic crisis, Hirooka Asako moved beyond her traditional life as a wife and mother to rebuild her husband's family's lost fortunes. She took charge of a coal mine, started a savings bank, started a life insurance company, and invested in Korean agricultural properties.George Gleason
"Can Japanese Be Christians?"
''The Missionary Review of the World'' (June 1921): 460-461. In 1911, Hirooka Asako converted to Christianity. She wrote for popular women's magazines, with the signature line, "nine times falling, nine times rising again." She spoke at church-run events. She was one of the leaders of the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

Summer Conference in 1912, with

Kawai Michi was a Japanese educator, Christian activist, and proponent of Japanese-Western ties before, during, and after World War II. She served as the first Japanese National Secretary of the YWCA of Japan and founded Keisen University. Early life Kawai ...

, Emma Kaufman, and several others. At her summer home near

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

, Hirooka kept a retreat house for Christian preachers. Raicho Hiratsuka, a student at

Japan Women's University is the oldest and largest of private Japanese women's universities. The university was established on 20 April 1901 by education reformist . The university has around 6000 students and 200 faculty. It has two campuses, named after the neighbo ...

, which Hirooka helped to found, recalled her scolding the students for studies she deemed too "theoretical"; she thought the young women should pursue a more practical education.

Personal life and legacy

Mitsui Asako married Hirooka Shinjirō in 1866. They had a daughter, Kameko. Hirooka Asako died in 1919, aged 69 years, in Tokyo, from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, during the worldwide epidemic. A period drama based on the life of Hirooka Asako, ''

Asa ga Kita is a Japanese television drama series which was broadcast by the 93rd Asadora (morning drama) six days a week on NHK between September 28, 2015 and April 2, 2016. It is based on the life of Asako Hirooka. It was followed by ''Toto Neechan'' on A ...

'', appeared on Japanese television in 2015 and 2016. It starred Haru as Hirooka Asako."Haru Cast in NHK's Next Asadora Drama, 'Asa ga Kita'"
''Arama Japan'' (2015).

References

{{authority control 1849 births 1919 deaths Converts to Christianity Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic Japanese bankers Japanese Christians Japanese feminists Mitsui family People from Kyoto Sojitz people 19th-century Japanese businesswomen 19th-century Japanese businesspeople 20th-century Japanese businesswomen 20th-century Japanese businesspeople