Political businessman

Wealthy merchants accumulated huge wealth with the privileged protection of the Meiji government during the late Edo period, the Meiji Restoration period, and the formation of Japanese capitalism. They are sometimes called "political merchants" because of their early form of capital. However, "political merchants" is not necessarily a strictly academic term. Even today, it often refers to individuals or companies who pursue profits in close ties with the government, national power, or policies of the time. Since national finances were extremely weak in the early Meiji period, the government had no choice but to utilize donations from political merchants and their monopoly position in the distribution process in general. Good examples include Mitsui, Ono, Shimada, and Konoike, who were based in Edo (Tokyo), Osaka, and Kyoto and were active in buying and selling specialty products such as raw silk and silk fabrics, as well as rice tax and land tax due to the introduction of monetary payment, and accumulated wealth through their involvement in handling public deposits. Furthermore, through the process of promoting industry and the disposal of government-run businesses, they created the foundations for the later formation of zaibatsu, with industries such as transportation and mining as their bases. Among the political businessmen who transformed into zaibatsu in the early Meiji period were Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Yasuda.

[Kato Kozaburo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

幕末・維新期ないしは日本資本主義形成期における明治政府の特権的な保護を背景にして、巨富を蓄積した豪商。その前期的資本としての運動形態に着目して、政商資本という場合もある。しかし政商とは、かならずしも厳密な学問的用語ではない。最近でも、時の政府や国家権力、あるいは政策なりに密接して利益を追求する個人ないし企業をさす場合が多い。明治初期の国家財政はきわめて弱体であったから、政府は政商からの献金や、広く流通過程におけるその独占的地位を利用せざるをえなかった。三井、小野、島田、鴻池(こうのいけ)などがその好例で、彼らは江戸（東京）、大阪、京都を拠点に、生糸や絹織物などの特産物、および年貢米や地租金納化に伴う貢租米などの売買などに活躍、官公預金取扱いなどにも関係して富を蓄積した。さらに、殖産興業や官業払下げの過程を通じて、運輸業、鉱山業などを拠点に、後の財閥形成の基盤をつくりだした。明治初期の政商から財閥に転化したものに、三井、三菱(みつびし)、安田などがある。

［加藤幸三郎］

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