Sumitomo Zaibatsu

One of the three major zaibatsu before the war. Based in Osaka, it was a general zaibatsu that developed mainly in the materials industry. Its origins date back to the copper smelting business of Soga Riemon at the end of the 16th century, but with the discovery of the Besshi copper mine in 1690 (Genroku 3) and the start of operations the following year, it came to account for the majority of copper produced in Japan, and prospered as the largest copper producer in the early modern period. At the same time, it also operated a money exchange business with its financial strength, and served as a kuramoto (brewery), kakeya (storekeeper), and fudasashi (paper dealer) for various families. However, during the late Edo period and the Meiji Restoration, production at the Besshi copper mine declined, various loans became unrecoverable, and the company suffered from poor management. Furthermore, when the Besshi copper mine was on the verge of being confiscated by the new government, it was able to be retrieved through negotiations by Hirose Saihei, the chief clerk of the Sumitomo family. Hirose promoted the modernization of the mine, succeeding in dramatically increasing production and restoring it to Sumitomo's cash cow. During the Meiji period, Sumitomo established Sumitomo Honten in 1875 (Meiji 8) as a governing body (renamed Sumitomo Sohonten in 1909) and expanded its business based on the Besshi Copper Mine, but camphor manufacturing, tea manufacturing, silk reeling, trade, and shipping did not develop and the company withdrew from these businesses. It was not until Iba Teitoku, who succeeded Hirose as general director of Sumitomo Honten, that the company began to diversify in earnest, expanding into banking, copper drawing, warehousing, steel casting, electric wires, and fertilizer. Sumitomo's diversification is commonly seen as an example of a chain reaction of expansion into related fields. On the other hand, as a result of the increase in refining volume and the start of wet copper refining, the smoke pollution from the Besshi Copper Mine smelter became more serious from the mid-Meiji period onwards, and local residents began to protest intensifying. In 1905 (Meiji 38), the refinery was relocated to Shisaka Island, far offshore, but this did not provide a fundamental solution, and compensation payments continued for a long time until a technical solution was found.

Sumitomo, which made huge profits during World War I, did not enter the trading business like other zaibatsu, and thus avoided losses during the postwar reactionary depression. In 1921 (Taisho 10), the privately run Sumitomo Sohonten was reorganized into Sumitomo Limited Partnership Company. Thereafter, it further promoted the independence and incorporation of its affiliated businesses, and expanded into new businesses such as trusts, life insurance, marine insurance, land development, buildings, and electricity, growing into a gigantic zaibatsu third only to Mitsui and Mitsubishi. Sumitomo's operations were controlled by the general director and directors, who were all professional managers, and a thoroughly centralized system was established, making it famous as a classic example of the "banto seigi" (management by a clerk). From the quasi-wartime regime, the company rode the wave of military demand and expanded greatly, with Sumitomo Metal Industries at its core. In 1937 (Showa 12), Sumitomo Limited Partnership Company was reorganized as Sumitomo Honsha Co., Ltd., a holding company, and by the time of Japan's defeat in World War II, the company had a total of 24 direct, quasi-direct, and special affiliated companies.

[Shoichi Asashima]

"A Study of the Business History of Sumitomo" edited by Miyamoto Mataji and Sakudo Yotaro (1979, Jikkyo Publishing)" ▽ "A History of the Sumitomo Zaibatsu" edited by Sakudo Yotaro (Kyoikusha Rekishi Shinsho)" ▽ "A History of the Business History of the Japanese Zaibatsu: The Sumitomo Zaibatsu" edited by Sakudo Yotaro (1982, Nihon Keizai Shimbun)" ▽ "A History of the Business History of the Sumitomo Zaibatsu in the Interwar Period" by Asashima Shoichi (1983, University of Tokyo Press)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

戦前の三大財閥の一つ。大阪を本拠とし、素材産業を中心に発展した総合財閥。発祥は16世紀末の蘇我理右衛門(そがりえもん)の銅吹き業にさかのぼるが、1690年（元禄3）に発見し翌91年に稼行に入った別子(べっし)銅山によってわが国産銅量の大半を占めるようになり、近世最大の産銅業者として栄え、かたわらその財力によって両替商も営み、諸家の蔵元(くらもと)、掛屋(かけや)、札差(ふださし)を兼ねた。しかし幕末・維新期には、別子銅山は生産が衰微し、諸貸付は回収不能となり、経営不振に悩んだ。さらに別子銅山が新政府に没収されかけたとき、住友家の大番頭広瀬宰平(さいへい)の交渉によって取り戻すことができた。広瀬は同山の近代化工事を進め、産出量を飛躍的に増加させることに成功し、住友のドル箱に復帰させた。明治期の住友は、統轄機構として1875年（明治8）に住友本店を設立し（1909年に住友総本店と改称）、別子銅山を基礎に事業を拡大したが、樟脳(しょうのう)製造、製茶、製糸、貿易、海運は発展に至らず撤退した。本格的多角化は、広瀬のあと住友本店総理事となった伊庭貞剛(いばさだたけ)以降のことで、銀行、伸銅、倉庫、鋳鋼、電線、肥料の各事業へ進出した。俗に、住友の多角化は関連分野への芋づる的進出の例とされる。反面、精錬量の増大と湿式製銅開始の結果、明治中期以降、別子銅山の精錬所から発生する煙害は深刻化し、地元住民の抗議行動が強まった。1905年（明治38）はるか沖合いにある四阪(しさか)島に精錬所を移転したが、根本的な解決にはならず、技術的解決に成功するまでの長い間、賠償金を支払い続けた。

　第一次世界大戦で巨利を得た住友は、他の財閥のように商社活動には進出していなかったため、戦後の反動恐慌による損失を免れ、1921年（大正10）個人経営の住友総本店を住友合資会社へ改組、以後、傘下事業の独立・株式会社化をいっそう進めるとともに、新たに信託、生命保険、海上保険、土地造成、ビル、電力などの事業に進出し、三井、三菱(みつびし)に次ぐ巨大財閥に成長した。住友の運営は、専門経営者である総理事および理事が掌握、徹底した集権制を敷き、番頭政治の典型として著名である。準戦時体制期から軍需の波にのり、住友金属工業を軸に大膨張を遂げた。1937年（昭和12）住友合資会社を株式会社住友本社に改組して持株会社化し、45年の敗戦時には直系、準直系、特殊関係会社合計24社を数えるに至った。

［麻島昭一］

『宮本又次・作道洋太郎編著『住友の経営史的研究』（1979・実教出版）』▽『作道洋太郎編著『住友財閥史』（教育社歴史新書）』▽『作道洋太郎編『日本財閥経営史　住友財閥』（1982・日本経済新聞社）』▽『麻島昭一著『戦間期住友財閥経営史』（1983・東京大学出版会）』

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