The Eighteenth National Bank, from 1897 the Eighteenth Bank (, ''Juhachi Ginko''), was a Japanese bank headquartered in

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

. Established in 1877, it was one of the

National Banks in Meiji Japan The National Banks in Meiji Japan were a system of organization of the Japanese banking system created in the 1870s, inspired by the U.S. National Bank Act of the previous decade. Under the system, national banks were individually chartered by th ...

which were numbered by chronological order of establishment. It was notable for its prominent activity in Korea from 1890 to 1936. It was eventually absorbed in 2019 by the

Fukuoka Financial Group is a Japanese multinational investment bank company that was formed in 2007 from the merger of the Fukuoka Bank and the Kumamoto Bank respectively. Based in Fukuoka, the company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Fukuoka Stock Exchan ...

, following a protracted process initiated in 2016.

Overview

The 18th National Bank was created in September 1877 in the turbulent context of the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in ...

, on the initiative of prominent local merchants including and . The 18th National Bank was the second significant Japanese bank, after the

Dai-Ichi Bank The Dai-Ichi Bank (, ), known from its establishment in 1873 to 1896 as Dai-Ichi Kokuritsu Bank () was a major Japanese bank headquartered in Tokyo. Founded and developed for several decades by Shibusawa Eiichi, it expanded into Korea as ear ...

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, ...

, to establish a significant presence in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. It started in 1882 by issuing bills of exchange and making loans to Nagasaki merchants active in the Korea trade. Around the same time, the 102nd National Bank, a small institution that had been founded in 1878 on Tsushima Island, established an office 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 ...

, followed in 1887 by an operation from the Hirata delivery store in

Wonsan Wonsan (), previously known as Wonsanjin (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwon Province (North Korea), Kangwon Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...

which acted from the start as an agent for the 18th National Bank. In 1890, the 18th National Bank obtained authorization from the Japanese Finance Ministry to establish a first branch of its own in

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

, which opened on .. That same year, the 18th National Bank took over the former operations of the 102nd Bank, bankrupted as a consequence of political frictions between China and Japan. Further branches of the 18th National Bank followed in Wonsan in 1894 and Busan in 1897. The 18th Bank absorbed Kuchinotsu Bank in 1919, Nagasaki Bank in 1927, Ariie Bank in 1929, Isahaya Bank in 1942, and Nagasaki Savings Bank in 1944. In 1936, its Korean branches were taken over by the

Chōsen Industrial Bank The Chōsen Industrial Bank ( ''Chōsen Shokusan Ginkō'', ''Joseon Siksan Eunhaeng''), also referred to as Chosen Colonization Bank or Joseon Industrial Bank, was a major financial institution in Korea under Japanese rule and its immediate afte ...

. By 2012, the Eighteenth Bank had 113 branches around Japan. File:Former Incheon 18 Bank 01.JPG, Former branch building in Incheon completed in 1903, repurposed as Incheon Open Port Modern Architecture Museum File:Former The Eighteenth Bank Gunsan branch.jpg, Former branch building in

Gunsan Gunsan (; ), also romanized as Kunsan, is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-t ...

completed in 1907, repurposed as Modern Art Museum File:Juhachi-Shinwa Bank Head Office ac (2).jpg, Former head office building in Nagasaki completed in 1969

References

Defunct banks of Japan Banks established in 1877 Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange 1970s initial public offerings {{bank-stub

Overview

See also

References