Yasujirō Tsutsumi
Yasujirō Tsutsumi (堤 康次郎 Tsutsumi Yasujirō?, 7 [1] March 1889-26 April 1964) was a Japanese entrepreneur, politician, and business tycoon who founded a dynasty which became the wealthiest, most influential family of 20th century Japan.
Yasujirō Tsutsumi was born on 16 March 1889 in the rural farming village of Yagisho, Shiga Prefecture. The Tsutsumi family were held in great respect and regard, serving as village elders and headmen. However, little is known about their antecedents or origins, and there is no evidence that the traditional extended family unit ever existed in their case. Yasujirō's father, Yujiro, died of typhoid fever in 1893, when Yasujirō was four, also leaving his wife, Miwo, and a daughter, Fusako, who had been born in 1891. Following his father's premature death, Yasujirō's mother left to return to her family, never to be heard from again, an event that haunted Yasujirō to the end of his days. After his mother's separation, both Yasujirō and his sister were raised by their paternal grandfather Kiyozaemon, a stern traditionalist who wished Yasujirō to take over the family lands and remain a farmer. However, Yasujirō had no such intentions. Since the Restoration, tremendous change had swept Japan, which was seeing a period of remarkable expansion and industrialisation. Though eager to be a part of this new era, he had little choice but to bide his time for the moment when he could break free.
Kiyozaemon died in 1907, creating the opportunity for Yasujirō to break free. In 1909, he mortgaged the family estate for 5000 yen. With this money, he married Nishizawa Koto and had a daughter, Shukuko, in 1909, then attended Waseda University investing in rough land and businesses. At the time, however, rough land had little value and was looked upon as a foolish investment. Still, Yasujirō persisted. In 1917, he purchased 650 acres (2.6 km2) of land for 30,000 yen from a village near the fashionable mountain resort of Karuizawa, and built several vacation houses and cottages. With this, he established a company, Hakone Resorts Ltd. Japan had prospered greatly during the First World War, initiating a period of prosperity and democracy the likes of which Japan had never experienced before. Yasujirō's wealth and empire expanded proportionally with this boom. Customers came, and by 1923, Hakone Resorts Ltd had a value of 20,000,000 yen.
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