Iwasaki Yatarō Extended Biography
Iwasaki YatarōExtended BiographyYou may wish to share this biography with students, or just to read it for your own information.Iwasaki Yatarō was born in 1834 or 1835 (records are unclear) and grew up in a mixture of influences, both good and bad, old and new. His father was a low-level ronin, or masterless samurai, with an affinity for drinking and fighting. His mother worked and borrowed from relatives in order to provide for Iwasaki’s education. That education was largely centered on Han dynasty Chinese learning based on the teachings of Confucius. Despite the fierce nativism of the shogunate, a classical Confucian education was still considered the height of learning. But Confucian philosophy was not the only thing the insular Japanese of the time were willing to learn from by looking outward. Japanese scholars and leaders considered China’s defeat by Britain in the Opium Wars as evidence of the threat western powers could pose to the islands. The industrial revolution had given the West powerful technology and mass production. So, the threat of violence, like that perpetrated in the Opium Wars, was very clear. Japanese thinkers debated amongst themselves about how best to prepare for any attempts at invasion. Another potentially destructive western import the shoguns were wary of was Christianity. Aizawa Seishisai, who, like Iwasaki, was the educated son of a low-ranking samurai, wrote the following about western “barbarians” (the Japanese called outsiders barbarians; westerners were distinguished by being known as “hairy barbarians”):“Whenever they seek to take over a country, they employ the same method. By trading with that nation, they learn about its geography and defenses. If these be weak, they dispatch troops to invade the nation; if strong, they propagate Christianity to subvert it from within.” Arguments along these lines were common among Japanese thinkers broadly. They were so common in fact that a failed American missionary to Japan complained: “Their ideas of Christianity are, every one knows, of the most erroneous sort, considering it as another name for intrigue and lust of power; and a thing to be kept out of the empire at all risks, as one would drive a viper from a nursery of children.”In short, Christianity was seen in terms of a dangerous snake trying to sneak its way into Japan and wreak havoc on the innocent. As a result of this perspective Christianity was banned until 1873, well after the Meiji Restoration. This mistrust of religion in general, and Christianity in particular, represented an important difference from the West prior to the industrial revolution. As for trade, that’s where Iwasaki Yatarō’s story becomes really significant. Iwasaki was four or five years old during the first Opium War (1839) and eighteen or nineteen when Commodore Perry’s “black ships” arrived in Edo Bay (1853), opening Japan to Western trade. He experienced Japan’s struggle with isolation versus industrialization firsthand. He also continued to experience family drama. One year after Perry’s famous expedition, Iwasaki became a low-level samurai like his father. Shortly thereafter, his father got into a drunken brawl and ended up in jail. Iwasaki landed in jail right alongside his dad after accusing the guards of corruption. It would not be the last time he ended up in the midst of a squabble. After Iwasaki got out of jail, his benefactor (the high-level samurai he owed allegiance to), Yoshida Tōyō, returned to a powerful position and brought Iwasaki to the capital, Edo (now Tokyo). However, Yoshida, who wanted Japan to open up to and compete with the rest of the world, was assassinated in 1859 by hardline conservatives, who
2Iwasaki Yatarō - Extended Biographywanted Japan to stay closed off. According to tradition, Iwasaki was supposed to avenge his death. Whether out of cowardice or a kind heart, he failed to get revenge and had to return to Edo in shame.But only a few years later, 1863, the Meiji Restoration succeeded in ending the Shogunate. The hardline conservatives lost power and Japan embraced the possibilities of industrialization. Iwasaki, who had not been an especially successful samurai, proved to be a very successful, and ruthless, businessman. Acquiring some old ships via loans he started the Mitsubishi Corporation as a shipping line. Using his people skills and a fierce competitiveness, Iwasaki built his company into a monopoly. To do so, he would wine and dine investors, often to the detriment of important expenses like ship upkeep and employee payroll. He would also pay people to spread rumors about his competitors. But his company focused on customer service, which was not the norm at the time, and he was willing to do anything to win. Through price gouging, relentlessness, and luck he defeated first his American and then his British competitors. He was so ruthless when it came to the “religion” of money that he once sold a ship to someone right before its engine exploded. When the buyer tried to get a refund, Iwasaki refused. Iwasaki’s wheeling and dealing at all costs gained him a bad reputation. The press started to criticize his notorious methods and the public began to resent him. He became known as the “sea monster” and was even burned in effigy at “eliminate the sea monster” rallies throughout the country. He began to lose some government subsidies in favor of his competitors. One of his biographers described him as “the possessor of a cruel heart.” But goes on to say “there are many qualifications required of a capitalist, but nothing is more important than a cruel and cold heart. Yatarō in this regard, was amply qualified.” Whatever the condition of his heart, Iwasaki died in 1885 from stomach cancer. He had transitioned from the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji Restoration—from a lowly childhood to immense riches. He was a key figure in Japanese industrialization and his company, Mitsubishi, lived on after him. Through the changes that Iwasaki participated in and helped shape, Japan became an industrial power extremely quickly.