was a Japanese businessman responsible for founding a number of companies, including what became today's

Sapporo Breweries is a Japanese beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo, the oldest brand of beer in Japan, was first brewed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 1876 by Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo. The co ...

Oki Electric Industry , commonly referred to as OKI, OKI Electric or the OKI Group, is a Japanese information and communications technology company, headquartered in Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo and operating in over 120 countries around the world. OKI produced the f ...

JFE Group is a corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It was formed in 2002 by the merger of and and owns JFE Steel, JFE Engineering and Japan Marine United. JFE is from Japan, Fe (the chemical element symbol of iron) and Engineering. In 2020, i ...

and

Taiheiyo Cement is a Japanese cement company. It was formed in 1998 with the merger of Chichibu Onoda (itself a merger of Chichibu Cement and Onoda Cement) and Nihon Cement (formerly Asano Cement). In July 2024, Secretary Alfredo Pascual and Mayor Mytha Ann ...

(formerly Asano Cement). Asano souichiro

He came from a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

family in the Toyama region. His Y-DNA is D1a2a1a2b1a1a8a (D-CTS4093). He was Doctor Asano Taijun's son. He was originally named Asano Taijiro. Although He studied medicine, he began business in his hometown and failed. He lost his money and did moonlight flit to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. He sold drinking water as a street vendor. Then he moved to

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, bought

coke (fuel) Coke is a grey, hard, and porous coal-based fuel with a high carbon content. It is made by heating coal or petroleum in the absence of air. Coke is an important industrial product, used mainly in iron ore smelting, but also as a fuel in stoves ...

, which a gas company threw away, sold it to Fukagawa Cement Works, and became very rich. He purchased Fukagawa Cement Works from the government in 1884 (Asano Cement), with help from

Shibusawa Eiichi was a Japanese industrialist widely known today as the "father of Japanese capitalism", having introduced Western capitalism to Japan after the Meiji Restoration. He introduced many economic reforms including use of double-entry accounting, ...

, founded Iwaki Coal Mine in 1884, Oriental Liner (Toyo Kisen) in 1896, Tsurumi Reclamation Company (Toa Construction Corporation) in 1913, Asano Shipbuilding and Engineering (

Japan Marine United (informally JMU) is a Japanese ship building marine engineering and service company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. It's Japan's second largest shipbuilder after Imabari Shipbuilding, with shipyard facilities in Kure, Hiroshima, Yokohama, Na ...

) in 1916, Nippon Chuya Bank in 1916, Oki Electric Industry in 1917, Asano and Company in 1918, Asano Holding Company in 1918, and diversified his business interests, which eventually became a minor

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 ...

(

Asano zaibatsu Asano zaibatsu 浅野財閥, one of the major second-tier zaibatsu ( conglomerates) in Japan, was founded in 1887 by Asano Sōichirō 浅野総一郎 with support from Shibusawa Eiichi 渋沢栄一, the founder of the Shibusawa zaibatsu 渋沢� ...

). His Nippon Chuya Bank was unsuccessful, so he sold it to

Yasuda zaibatsu was a financial conglomerate owned and managed by the Yasuda clan. One of the four major zaibatsu of Imperial Japan, it was founded by the entrepreneur Yasuda Zenjirō. It was dissolved at the end of World War II. Origins Yasuda Zenjirō moved ...

in 1922.

kept minor because it did not include a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and was ranked fifth in scale. Asano is called "the cement king." Asano also reclaimed Tokyo bay from 1913 to 1927, made a coastal industrial zone (Keihin Kogyo Chitai) and established the forerunner of the JR

Tsurumi Line The Tsurumi Line () is a group of 3 railway lines operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Originally built to service the port and adjacent industrial area, the lines provide passenger services (especia ...

there, located between Tokyo and Yokohama. Asano Station is named after him. He is called the "father of Keihin industrial area" now. He founded Asano High School in 1920, and Asano Institute of Technology in 1925.Asano Institute of Technology
/ref>

References

External links

- '' Toa Construction Corporation''
''Yokohama City Library''

SatoshiSaito ''Soichiro Asano''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asano, Soichiro Japanese businesspeople 1848 births 1930 deaths People from Toyama Prefecture Zaibatsu