Matsumoto Joji

A representative scholar who established the study of commercial law in Japan. Born in Tokyo. After graduating from the Faculty of Law, Tokyo Imperial University in 1900 (Meiji 33), he joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, but was appointed assistant professor at his alma mater in 1903. After studying abroad in Germany, France, and the UK, he became a professor in 1911, teaching commercial law and civil law. From 1913 (Taisho 2), he also served as counselor of the Legislative Bureau, but left the university in 1919 to become director and then vice president of the South Manchuria Railway Co., Ltd. In 1923, he became director of the Legislative Bureau in the second Yamamoto Gonbei Cabinet, and was instrumental in the enactment of emergency legislation after the Great Kanto Earthquake. In 1934 (Showa 9), he was Minister of Commerce and Industry in the Saito Makoto Cabinet, and in 1945 (Showa 20), he was a central figure in constitutional reform as Minister of State in the Shidehara Kijuro Cabinet. He played a leading role in the enactment of the Bills and Notes Act, Cheques Act, and the Limited Liability Company Act, as well as the 1938 Commercial Code amendment, and made a great contribution to the development of commercial law through legislation. He also wrote many other books and papers, and it can be said that he established the interpretation of commercial law in Japan today. His sharp, quick-witted mind and broad-minded personality did not allow him to be confined to the laboratory as a mere academic, but he was active in many fields, including politics and the legal profession (as a lawyer).

[Toda Shuzo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

わが国における商法学を確立した代表的学者。東京生まれ。1900年（明治33）に東京帝国大学法科大学を卒業後、農商務省に入ったが、1903年に母校の助教授に迎えられ、ドイツ、フランス、イギリスに留学後、1911年教授となり、商法、民法の講座を担当した。1913年（大正2）以来法制局参事官を兼ねたが、1919年大学を去って南満州鉄道株式会社の理事、ついで副社長となる。1923年には第二次山本権兵衛(やまもとごんべえ)内閣の法制局長官となり、関東大震災後の非常時立法の制定に意を用い、1934年（昭和9）には斎藤実(さいとうまこと)内閣の商工大臣、1945年（昭和20）には幣原喜重郎(しではらきじゅうろう)内閣の国務大臣として憲法改正の中心的存在となった。手形法、小切手法、有限会社法の制定、1938年の商法改正などに指導的役割を果たし、立法を通じて商法学の発展に寄与した功績は大きい。その他著書、論文も多く、今日のわが国における商法解釈学は彼によって確立されたといえる。その鋭く回転の速い頭脳とスケールの大きい人柄とは、彼を単なる学究として研究室に閉じこもらせることなく、政界、法曹界（弁護士）を含めその活躍は多方面にわたっていた。

［戸田修三］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例