Fusanosuke Kuhara
| Fusanosuke Kuhara 久原 房之助 |
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|---|---|
Fusanosuke Kuhara
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| Born |
July 12, 1869 Hagi, Yamaguchi, Japan |
| Died | January 29, 1965 (aged 95) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | entrepreneur, politician, cabinet minister |
Fusanosuke Kuhara (久原 房之助 Kuhara Fusanosuke?, 12 July 1869 – 29 January 1965) was an entrepreneur, syndicalist, politician and cabinet minister in the pre-war Empire of Japan.
Kuhara was born in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture into a family of sake brewers. His brother was the founder of Nippon Suisan Kaisha and his uncle Fujita Densaburō was the founder of the Fujita zaibatsu. He studied in 1885 at the Tokyo Commercial School (the predecessor of Hitotsubashi University) and went on to graduate from Keio University. After graduation, he joined the Morimura-gumi, but on the recommendation of ex-Chōshū politicians Inoue Kaoru, he joined his uncle’s company, the Fujita-gumi, and in 1891 was assigned management of the Kosaka mine in Kosaka, Akita, one of the largest lead, copper and zinc mines in Japan. He introduced new technologies and made the mine very profitable.
In 1903, he left the Fujita-gumi, and acquired the Akazawa Copper Mine in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1905, renaming it the Hitachi Copper Mine. He established Hitachi Seisakusho in 1910, merging his operations into Kuhara Kōgyō in 1912. The mine became the second largest producer of copper in Japan in 1914 through mechanization and improved production techniques.
During World War I, Kuhara expanded his operations into a vast array of enterprises, ranging from shipbuilding to fertilizer production, petrochemical, life insurance, trading and shipping, creating the Kuhara zaibatsu. However, the overextended company experienced severe financial difficulties in the post-war depression, and Kuhara turned to his brother-in-law, Yoshisuke Aikawa, who created a holding company called Nihon Sangyō, or Nissan for short. Kuhara went on to a career in politics, forging ties with future Prime Minister Giichi Tanaka and other political and military leaders, which Aikawa would later use to his advantage.
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