Goryo Hamaguchi

Goryo Hamaguchi (濱口 梧陵, Hamaguchi Goryō, June 15, 1820 – April 21, 1885) was the seventh business owner of current Yamasa Corporation in Japan.

He saved the lives of many of his fellow villagers of Hiro, Kii Province (current Hirogawa, Wakayama), when a massive tsunami struck the Kii Peninsula in 1854. He set fire to stacks of rice sheaves as landmarks to guide villagers to safety. Lafcadio Hearn wrote a story about him in Gleanings in Buddha-Fields: Studies of Hand and Soul in the Far East (1897), called "Inamura no Hi: The burning rice fields". The story chronicled Goryo's heroism and accounts of his efforts were introduced into Japanese textbooks.

Hamaguchi participated in recovery efforts in Hiro, including the construction of a seawall more than 600 meters long, 20 meters wide and 5 meters high, which minimized damage from tsunamis in later years. He spent his own money on the project (the equivalent of 1,572 ryō (gold coins)) and hired 56,736 villagers to work on it.

In the field of education, Hamaguchi established a private academy for learning kendo (Japanese fencing) and Chinese classics with Hamaguguchi Toko and Iwasaki Meigaku at the end of the Edo period. This private academy was later called "Taikyu-Sha" and became the current Taikyu Junior High School after a few changes.

Hamaguchi became the Minister of Post and Telecommunications at the behest of Ōkubo Toshimichi in 1871 before he was elected the first chairman of the Wakayama Prefecture Assembly in 1879. After resigning as chairman, he founded the Kinokuni Doyukai (Association) and developed activities that encouraged democracy.

Note: In July 1871, the abolition of the han system (feudal clan system) and establishment of the prefecture system was an act to replace the traditional han system and introduce new local government.

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