Kokichi Mikimoto

Japanese: 御木本幸吉 - みきもと・こうきち

Year of death: September 21, 1954
Year of birth: January 25, 1858 (March 10, 1858)
A pearl farmer during the Meiji and Taisho periods. The eldest son of a udon manufacturer and distributor in Toba, Shima Province (Mie Prefecture). Following in the footsteps of his enterprising grandfather, Kokichi focused on the seafood trade, taking advantage of the location's advantages, and while dealing in dried abalone, he became interested in pearls. In 1893, he succeeded in cultivating pearls on Shima's Ainoshima Island, and opened the Mikimoto Abalone Farm in Ago Bay, Tokushima (later known as Tatekushima). From the end of the Meiji period to the Taisho period, he was intent on expanding his fishing grounds outside the prefecture. What led to the success of his business was securing good fishing grounds, monopolizing the farming technique by obtaining numerous patents, starting with a patent for a farming technique in 1954, establishing a pearl processing factory, and active PR activities. In 1959, he opened a store in Ginza, Tokyo. Around that time, he exhibited at overseas expositions almost every year, and from the end of the Taisho period onwards, he established his position as "Mikimoto of the World." <References> Iwazo Ototake, "Biography of Kokichi Mikimoto"; Hideo Oide, "Kokichi Mikimoto"

(Hatsu Nishimura)

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

Japanese:

没年：昭和29.9.21(1954)
生年：安政5.1.25(1858.3.10)
明治大正期の真珠養殖業者。志摩国(三重県)鳥羽のうどん製造販売業者の長男。進取的な祖父の血を受けた幸吉は,地の利をいかした海産物取引に着眼し,干しアワビを取り扱ううちに真珠に関心を寄せていった。明治26(1893)年志摩相島において養殖に成功し,英虞湾田徳島(のちの多徳島)に御木本養殖場を開設,その後も明治末から大正にかけて,県外にも漁場を拡大することに意を用いた。事業を成功に導いたのは,優良漁場の確保とともに,29年の養殖技術に関する特許取得を手始めとする数々の特許獲得による養殖技術の独占,真珠加工工場の併設,および積極的なPR活動である。32年東京銀座に開店。その前後からほぼ毎年海外博覧会に出品し,大正末以降,ロンドン,ニューヨーク,パリなどにも直販店を開設して「世界のミキモト」としての地位を確立した。<参考文献>乙竹岩造『伝記御木本幸吉』,大出日出雄『御木本幸吉』

(西村はつ)

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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