Junpachi Kasai

Japanese: 笠井順八 - かさい・じゅんぱち

Year of death: December 31, 1919
Year of birth: Tempo 6.5.5 (1835.5.31)
A Meiji-era businessman. Founder of Onoda Cement. Born into a family of low-ranking samurai in the Choshu (Hagi) domain, he studied at the domain school Meirinkan for a time, but dropped out due to dislike of discrimination based on social status. He then studied on his own, and is said to have excelled in finance and mathematics. In 1858 (Ansei 5), he was called to the domain office, and by 1868 (Meiji 1), he had served as county magistrate and general manager of the Okuramoto government office. During this time, he is said to have been close friends with Takasugi Shinsaku and Maebara Issei. After the Meiji Restoration, he served as director of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Office's Industrial Promotion Bureau, but in 1874, he resigned from his position at the prefectural level and began working on industrial development projects on his own. It is said that this opportunity arose when Kasai's plan to use Yamaguchi Prefecture's accumulated financial reserves to establish new prefectural businesses was not accepted. He started paying attention to cement around 1895, and in 1897, encouraged by a proposal from Hiraoka Michiyoshi, head of production at the Ministry of Public Works, he established a cement manufacturing company (the precursor to Onoda Cement) in 1899 as a business to 'employ samurai'. Kasai served as president until 1901, and was in charge of the management of this cement company, the first from a private sector. <References> Kasai Junpachi O Shoden (Short Biography of Kasai Junpachi O), compiled by the Kasai Junpachi O Shotokukai; Onoda Cement's '50 Years of Founding'

(Hashimoto Toshiro)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：大正8.12.31(1919)
生年：天保6.5.5(1835.5.31)
明治期の実業家。小野田セメント創立者。長州(萩)藩の下級武士の家に生まれ,一時藩校明倫館に学ぶが,門地の高低による差別を嫌って退学し,以後独学で学び,理財,計数に長じたという。。安政5(1858)年藩庁に召しだされ,明治1(1868)年までに郡奉行,御蔵元役所本締役などを歴任した。この間,高杉晋作,前原一誠などとの親交が深かったという。維新後は山口県庁の勧業局長などを務めたが,7年山口県大属を辞し,自力で殖産事業に取り組む。この契機は山口県の積立金穀を投じて県営の新事業を興すという笠井のプランが受け入れられなかったためといわれている。8年ごろからセメントに注目し,12年工部省製作頭平岡通義の話に意を強くし,「士族授産」事業として,14年にセメント製造会社(小野田セメントの前身)を設立した。笠井は34年まで社長として民間初の,このセメント会社の経営に任じた。<参考文献>笠井順八翁頌徳会編『笠井順八翁小伝』,小野田セメント編『創業五十年史』

(橋本寿朗)

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