Special Exhibition“Shibusawa Eiichi and Oji Paper Co., Ltd:A Venture for the Good of the Country”
March 13, 2013

From March 16 to May 26, 2013, the Shibusawa Memorial Museum will present an exhibition entitled“Shibusawa Eiichi and Oji Paper Co., Ltd.: A Venture for the Good of the Country.” Eiichi believed that,
following the Meiji Restoration, “in order to ensure prosperity in various ventures it was necessary topopularize printed materials such as books and newspapers that could increase the knowledge of thepeople.” In order to do so, Eiichi felt it was necessary to introduce domestic production of Western paper,that made possible inexpensive mass printing. Thus, Eiichi established a paper manufacturing company,
Shoshi Kaisha, in 1873. This became the parent company of the later Oji Paper Co., Ltd. (today Oji
Holdings Corporation), which celebrates its 140th anniversary this year. This exhibition commemorates thisanniversary and examines the relationship between Eiichi and Oji Paper with a focus on how Eiichi built
the company into a long-standing leader in the field of paper manufacturing despite the various difficulties
experienced after establishment.
“Shibusawa Eiichi and Oji Paper Co., Ltd.: A Venture for the Good of the Country”
Organized by:

Shibusawa Memorial Museum

With support from:Oji Holdings Corporation, Paper Museum

Dates:

Saturday, March 16 – Sunday, May 26, 2013

Hours:

10:00 – 17:00 (last entry by 16:30)

Closed:March 18, 21, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22, 30; May 7, 13, 20

Venue:

Special Exhibition Hall, Shibusawa Memorial Museum(2-16-1 Nishigahara, Kita-ku, Tokyo)

Admission:

Adults 300 yen, children (up to 18 years) 100 yenGroup rates and other discounts available.

Exhibition Synopsis:
The exhibition uses valuable historical materials to showcase Eiichi’s relationship with Oji Paper, from theperiod of trial and error after it was established with the goal of the domestic production of Western paper,
through a period of corporate development through market expansion due to a focus on the research anddevelopment of paper making techniques and technology, to the modern period and Oji Holdings
Corporation’s placement of Eiichi’s ideal of the harmony between morality and economics as theircorporate ideology and the basis of corporate social responsibility.
Shibusawa Foundation

searchor visit www.shibusawa.or.jp/english for details.
Contact:
Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation
Public relations: Ruri Kato
Curator: Koichi Kuwabara
Tel. 03-3910-0005 Fax.03-5567-7289

Lecture:Title:

The Significance of the Shift from Japanese to Western Paper within the Modernization of Japan

Speaker: Fumihiko Onabe, professor emeritus, University of Tokyo; past president, Japanese Society ofPrinting Science and Technology
Date:

Saturday, April 20, 2013 13:30-15:00

Venue:

Shibusawa Memorial Museum

Attendance limited to 40 (reservations required).
No fee beyond regular museum admission is required.
The lecture is in Japanese only.
Gallery Talks
Dates:

Sunday, April 28, and Monday, May 6 14:00-14:30

Venue:

Special Exhibition Hall, Shibusawa Memorial Museum

No prior reservation required.
No fee beyond regular museum admission is required.
The talks are in Japanese only.
Images for Press Use:

Log Splitter (Wariki-ki)
Oji Paper Co., Ltd Nakabe Factory
From the collections of the Shibusawa Eiichi
Memorial Museum

Buyo Oji Asukayama Shinkei(True View of Buyo Oji,Asukayama)1888 (Meiji 21)
From the collections of the National
Printing Bureau Oji Plant