New-York tribune., 1902-08-17

TIE MITSUIS OF JAPAN.
THE REMARKABLE FAMILY WHICH
RANKS WITH THE ROTHSCIULDS.

subject in The Imperial Argus" some rCmdr klble
details are given of the Mitsui family, whose name
the people of Japan is familiar as is that OF
the Rothschilds the nations OF the West Rich
5 Mitsu' has indeed become a proVcrbial express
sion among the people OF the East. 1t is common
knowledge moreover that the house of Mitsui
stands upon a pedestal beneath and around which
other firms in Japan present intntesmaI i'm
portance. The Mitsuis today comprise eleven fam
cs having the common ancestor and bear
ing the same surname. The influence and credit Of
these families collectively form the firm of MltSui
& Co BY virtue however Of certain rules agreed on
between each family. they prevented ndiVid-
ualIy from enjoying the freedom Of aci!o" which -
their legal right according to the laws the
try. individuals for instance. They cannot "is-
pose, At pleasure. Of their private properties, and
further, their domestic affairs and their relations
between each other regulated by rules which
they have mutually pledged thcnselys under sol
contract to observe These controlled and
arranged by 4 board Of the family council It Is
here that have "a sovereign power OF the house.
the source o- its administration. Tho council. how
ever. does NOT necessarily interfere in the actual
business operations of tL. firm, nor exercise any
direct influence upon IT. 1t s nevertheless here that
the entire workings Of the Mits.is are controlled
Tho Mitsui families sprang from an ancient and
Nu-lrluls race. IL, I'm. comes clearly into yi..y
in the thirteenth century from a certain Nagglg..
who being made noble. established him=-f at
his domain Mlt-li-Iuur,l Hence the surname.
It was. however, in the middle Of the sixteenth
century that OF the family became merchant.
name who first land the foundation Of the present
firm. Takaioshi invented and introduced the sys-
OF cash retailing. further, he organized a sys-
ton for the collection and remittance of money,
and this. br rcm,uaor,d. when economic science
was but in very yudIm.ntaTy condition. when
monetary transactions were almost unknown II
the country. Later ne established in order 10
conduct a foreign trade. 4 branch house at Maya
salSi that time the only port at which foreign,'s
allowed to trade. Uuder TakatO tOshis able
ma moi he developed
nouriShcd. The name Of MsuI soon spread al
the country. In l6S1 the Mitsus were specially
appointed by the TokuEaWI Government IT'S
purycyor and public exchange controller. and were
conferred recognition OF their services. estate
in Yed3 Takatoshi died N I7o5 Ten years later
I his established what may be called the con
stitutiou OF the house Misui and from this time
dates the rc.rl consolidation OF the house. And 1t
is entirely tho fidelity to the rules by each
succ, odin generation that the long and prosperous
career Of the nrm has continued to the present
day.
! The members OF the house have a pedigree that
can be traced backed 10 the eleventh century.
their ancestors played important parts in the his
tory Of the medieval Japan; and they have !""l
among them men whose military exploits provide
u striking theme writer's in japan. II Is cvl-
dent therefore, that there must bc something III
the nature Of the organization OF the house ~
which it has been enabled to Withstand and over
its trials and the Obstacles to its proStr~N.
As a mercantile firm the Mtsui house was founded
nate first grasped the supremacy OF the state AMI
though the government Of the latter was Shatl'r'i
by Meijt Restoration which reEoiutlohized '''
| the principles which society rested, the h"i-'
of Mitsui withstood its shock and survived us
crisis 1t should be remembered that according 10
the social institutions of Jaran. the unit OF soc'y
is the family. not the individual as in West
ern society. The latter is wholly Suhservent To the
former; the interests of the former far out"eiIh
the rights of the latter Again. by laws and GUS
! Gf 1lpa-i he f
orally dcscends to the first born by primo6erlutc
| The younger must be adopted into another
| family or failing thIs, independently make their
! own fortunes. In the of the Mitsui house.
however, from the oldest to the youngest there IL
particular property to which each can enter his
| absolute claim. The properties of the MitSuiS ar"
| all their common properties The works OF the
| with the object Of public benefit rather than prl-
| vate gain Standing they do outside all poSIi-
| bility o rivalry they undertaken to set cX-
| ampIcs 20 others by projecting new enterprises
which might be beneficial to the country by EN-
| couraging the progress of industries by adopting
| in their works latest Inventions ana newest dis
| coytries. ana by creating new systems and meth
DDS in business transactions. Indeed. with every
| business enterprise of "A large magnitude with
every public orSaniZa ton IN the Industrial world
of Japan. with every large concern OF economic iW
| terest the of MSui is always identified.