Kojiro Matsukata

Japanese: 松方幸次郎 - まつかた・こうじろう

Year of death: June 24, 1950
Year of birth: December 1, 1866 (January 17, 1866)
A businessman from the Meiji and Taisho periods. The third son of Matsukata Masayoshi and Masako. Born in Kagoshima. After dropping out of the preparatory school of the University of Tokyo, he studied in the United States in 1884. He obtained a doctorate in law from Yale University and returned to Japan in 1890. After serving as vice president of Nippon Fire Insurance and other positions, he became president of Kawasaki Shipyard, founded by Kawasaki Masazo, in 1929, and implemented an aggressive expansion strategy, growing the company into the largest shipbuilding company in Japan at one time. His talents were at their best during World War I, when he traveled to Europe himself and led the company's famous stock boat policy and diversification from there. As a result, the company became a huge corporation with shipping and steelmaking divisions, but the aggressive measures failed during the postwar recession, leading to a management crisis, and he stepped down as president in 1928. During this time, he was involved in many companies, including Kobe Gas, as well as serving as chairman of the Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He then worked on importing oil from the Soviet Union in 1932, and served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1936 until Japan's defeat in the war. He is also famous for collecting art works known as the Matsukata Collection.

(Takao Shiba)

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

Japanese:

没年：昭和25.6.24(1950)
生年：慶応1.12.1(1866.1.17)
明治大正期の実業家。松方正義,満佐子の3男。鹿児島生まれ。東大予備門中退後,明治17(1884)年アメリカに留学。エール大学で法学博士号を取得し,23年帰国。日本火災副社長などを務めたのち,川崎正蔵の創立した川崎造船所社長に29年に就任し,積極的な拡張戦略を遂行して,同社を一時は日本最大の造船企業に成長させた。本領が最も発揮されたのは第1次世界大戦期で,自らヨーロッパに出向き,同地から著名なストック・ボート政策や多角化を指揮した。その結果,同社は海運,製鉄部門を擁する巨大企業になったが,戦後の不況期には積極策が失敗して経営が危機を迎えたため,昭和3(1928)年に社長を退任した。この間,神戸商工会議所会頭のほか,神戸瓦斯など多数の企業に関係した。その後,7年にソ連の石油の輸入に従事,11年から敗戦まで衆院議員を務めた。松方コレクションと呼ばれる美術品を収集したことでも有名である。

(柴孝夫)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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