The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-05-22
R0CkEFE[LERs
Of .DA| NIPPON
advertiser Correspondence, Copyright
by Frederic ]. Haskin.)


advertiser Correspondence, Copyrigh
by Frederic ]. Haskin.)
TOKIO-The Mitsui family of Japar
is one of the oldest and strongest
business concerns in the world. L
has a finger, in almost every kind oi
enterprise in the Island Empire, an6
its ramifications extend to all parts
of the globe. In financial strength il
is second only to the Imperial House.
hold. 1t has its own fleet of steamers
to carry its great commerce, which is
so extensive that it amounts to one.
seventh of the entire foreign trade Of
Japan. 1t mines one-third of the
whole annual coal production of the
country, and its trade in cotton yarn
constitutes one-third of the nation s
total output.
According to the historians of the
Mitsui family their early ancestors
were great warriors. But on one oc-
casion, several hundred years ago, the
leader of their clan was soundly
trounced by a vicious rival, where
fore he turned his back upon war
like pursuits and opened a drygoods
store. From that time on the ener-
gies of the clan were applied to COM
mercial pursuits with such success
that the business founded by the de-
feated brave is now one of the strong
pillars of the Empire. The early Nit
sui traders were the pioneers in the
idea of cash retailing; they organized
a plan for the collection and remit
tance of money. and established the
first carriers business in Japan.
AS early as 1857 the Mitsui family
was appointed by the government as
its purveyor and controller of public
exchange. In recognition of the SER
vices rendered at this time a vast
estate in Toxic was conferred upon
the clan. The Mitsuis have continued
to render valuable service to the state.
For two centuries they were loyal to
the Tokugawa Shogunate, and later to
the Emperor. In fact, when the pres
ent Emperor was restored to actual
power, the anti-Shogun party was
financed by the Mitsuis. For this SER
vice the head of the house was Great
ed a peer, and other members of the
family have been decorated and given
various kinds of honors.
The holdings of the House of Mitsui
are the common property of the men,
bers of eleven families and the con-
duct of affairs is under the direct con-
troll of a board made UP of the heads
of these family groups. According to
the social customs of Japan, the unit
of society is the family and not the
individual. Family" is a collective
word and does not necessarily mean
one household. 1t may consist of for
ty households with 200 members, but
in the eyes of the law it is one family,
it is ruled by a family council, and
the oldest son of an oldest son presides
over it. The individual is always sub
servient to the family, and when the
rights or interests of one person are
weighed in the balance against the
rights or interests of the whole body,
the decision is always against the in
dividual.
BY laws and customs of inheritance,
the estate of the father descends to
the first born son by primogeniture.
The younger sons must be adopted into
another family, or failing to do this,
must make their own fortunes indie
pendently. In the case of the Mitsui
family, however, from the oldest to
the youngest, there is no particular
property to which any individual can
enter his absolute claim. The proper
ties are the common holdings of all.
1t is a collective body or joint associa-
ton, working with combined, capital
and under joint liability.
The family rules under which this
great organization works were drawn
up in 1873, (when George washington
was one year old, and they continue
in force until this day, being only
slightly modified to conform to the
of the laws of the coun-
try under it's constitution. The origin
al rules We're left to the family in the
last will and testament of one Taxa
toshi, and were codified by his son,
Hachirobei Takahira. The many
in all these years have not
altered the principles of these rules,
and the business which owns its own
steamship lines and girdles the globe
is still governed by regulations origin
ally intended for a drygoods store in
ancient Yeddo, a city to which no
foreigner might come, and located in
a country from which no native might
journey.
The influence of the Mitsui family
in the economical affairs of Japan is
so extensive that it is difficult to give
anything like a comprehensive survey
of it. The undertakings may be divid-
ed into the four departments of bank
ing, foreign and domestic trade, min
ing and wholesale and retail dry
goods. Under these come innumerable
branches, such as home commerce,
foreign trade, shipping, fisheries, in
surance agencies, warehouses, retail
trade, iron and engineering works, and
many other enterprises which cover
practically the entire commercial and
industrial field.
The Mitsui banking business was
founded over two hundred years ago
and is deeply rooted in the soil of
Japanese finance. These banks financ-
ed the Restoration and in 1871 the Nit
suis decided to organize a Central
Bank of Japan. For that purpose they
erected a magnificent stone building in
Yokohama. But in 1872 the govern
ment decided to adopt the American
banking system and the First National
Bank of Japan was organized. This