Mitsubishi Zaibatsu

Japanese: 三菱財閥 - みつびしざいばつ

This zaibatsu was the second most powerful conglomerate after Mitsui in the Japanese economy before World War II. Founded by Iwasaki Yataro and his brother Yanosuke, who made their name in the shipping industry, the company was based on capital investments from the two Iwasaki families, and expanded into heavy industry, mining, finance, trading, and other areas, with many of its affiliated companies occupying oligopolistic positions in each of its industrial sectors.

[Takao Shiba]

The process of becoming a zaibatsu

Yataro Iwasaki was in charge of the Tosa clan's trading division around the time of the Meiji Restoration, but when the Tosa clan was forced to withdraw from the trading division in line with the Meiji government's policies, Yataro took over and made shipping his main business. Iwasaki named the company Mitsubishi, which is said to be a combination of the family crests of the Yamauchi clan, the feudal lord of Tosa, and the Iwasaki clan. This is a distinctive feature compared to other zaibatsu, which were named after the family names of their founding families.

Iwasaki Yataro's shipping business was renamed Mitsubishi Mail Steamship Company under the protection of the Meiji government, which planned to drive out foreign steamship companies from domestic shipping routes, and succeeded in forcing the withdrawal of the American Pacific Mail and the British PO Steamship Company, but a change in government policy in the political upheaval of 1881 forced the company into fierce competition with the newly established Kyodo Transport Co. Yataro died in 1885 (Meiji 18) in the midst of this turmoil, but his younger brother Yanosuke, who succeeded him as president, followed the government's recommendation and invested in the newly established Nippon Yusen Kaisha, putting an end to the competition.

As a result, the Iwasaki family withdrew from their main business of shipping, and under Yanosuke's direction, reorganized their business operations with the mining businesses already under their control, such as Takashima Coal Mine and Yoshioka Copper Mine, the 119th Bank, Nagasaki Shipyard, which was leased from the government, and Senkawa Waterworks, in which Yataro had invested. Yanosuke established Mitsubishi Co., Ltd. the following year in 1886 in order to effect this strategic shift from "Mitsubishi of the Sea to Mitsubishi of the Land." This Mitsubishi Co., Ltd. was merely the Iwasaki family's personal office, and it is said that the family's assets and finances were integrated with the family business, but in 1893, when the Companies Act came into force, Yanosuke established Mitsubishi Limited Partnership Company, transferred the business division to this company, and separated the family assets from the family business. Mitsubishi Co., Ltd. was abolished at this time, but many of the securities were managed as the assets of the Iwasaki family. This was also a point that differed from the Mitsui Zaibatsu. When Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha was established, Yataro's eldest son Hisaya (1865-1955) and Yanosuke invested 50/50 of the capital, with Hisaya becoming president. Yanosuke took on the role of supervisor and supported the president.

[Takao Shiba]

Mitsubishi as a financial conglomerate

In 1890, Mitsubishi was granted approximately 43,000 square meters of land in Marunouchi and began to develop it. Mitsubishi Limited Partnership took over this business, and also managed most of the mines under its control, as well as the Nagasaki Shipyard, which had been sold to them in 1887. In 1895, the company established a banking department and absorbed the business of the 119th Bank. In 1896, the company expanded its mining business by acquiring mines in Sado and Ikuno and the Osaka Smelter. The company also purchased farmland in Niigata Prefecture and operated as a landowner. The Iwasaki family was also involved in other businesses besides the business management of Mitsubishi Limited Partnership, with Hisaya managing Koiwai Farm and other businesses and investing in Mitsubishi Paper Mills, and Yanosuke's second son Toshiya (1881-1930) establishing Asahi Glass.

In 1907 (Meiji 40), Yanosuke's eldest son, Koyata, joined the company, inheriting Yanosuke's 1 million yen stake and becoming vice president, which meant that Koyata came to actually manage Mitsubishi Goshi. In 1908, an organizational reform was carried out, and each business division, including shipbuilding, banking, mining and sales, was given significant authority and moved to an independent accounting system. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Goshi had its eye on iron ore resources in Korea, and in 1911 it purchased the mining area and surrounding iron mines in Kenjiho (now Shorin), and in 1913 (Taisho 2) decided to build a steelworks there. When World War I broke out the following year in 1914, Mitsubishi's businesses expanded rapidly, centering on shipbuilding, mining and banking. Amid this prosperity, under the management of Koyata, who succeeded Hisaya as president in 1916, Mitsubishi Goshi spun off each of its business divisions into independent companies. Starting in 1917, the steelmaking business in Korea became Mitsubishi Steel (now Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal), and the shipbuilding division became Mitsubishi Shipbuilding (now Mitsubishi Heavy Industries). In 1918, Mitsubishi Warehouse, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Mitsubishi Mining (now Mitsubishi Materials) were spun off, and in 1919 Mitsubishi Marine & Fire Insurance (merged with Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance in 1944; now Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance) and Mitsubishi Bank (merged with the Bank of Tokyo in 1996, and with UFJ Bank in 2006; now Mitsubishi UFJ Bank) were spun off into independent companies. In addition, during the booming period of World War I, the electrical machinery manufacturing business and internal combustion engine manufacturing business, which formed the basis of the shipbuilding division, were separated from Mitsubishi Shipbuilding as Mitsubishi Electric and Mitsubishi Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturing (which was renamed Mitsubishi Aircraft in 1928, and is now Mitsubishi Heavy Industries). In this way, a conglomerate was formed with Mitsubishi Goshi as the holding company, but as Mitsubishi Goshi still directly managed the real estate business, it was an operating holding company rather than a pure holding company.

After this, the company established Mitsubishi Trust (now Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation) in 1927 (Showa 2), and in 1931 added Mitsubishi Oil (now JXTG Energy), which was established with capital from Associated Petroleum Company, to its group. Mitsubishi Goshi called its direct affiliates "branch companies," and by 1930, the number had dropped to 10, with 11 collateral companies and 40 sub-subsidiaries over which the company had influence, and the total paid-in capital of these companies reached approximately 592 million yen. This was approximately 70% of Mitsui's businesses during the same period.

During this period, the long recession caused a downturn in Mitsubishi's businesses, especially in the heavy industry of shipbuilding, aircraft, electrical equipment, and steel, which were its defining features, but they were revived as the country moved towards a wartime regime after the Manchurian Incident. Mitsubishi Steel disappeared when it joined the steel industry merger in 1934, but the shipbuilding and aircraft businesses merged in the same year to become Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which expanded rapidly in scale amid a sharp increase in military demand, and Mitsubishi Electric also expanded its production. On the other hand, this created a huge demand for capital investment, and the affiliated companies increased their capital one after another. As a result, Mitsubishi Goshi was reorganized as Mitsubishi Co., Ltd. in 1937 to deal with this, and its shares were listed in 1940. In order to strengthen control over its affiliated companies, it was reorganized as Mitsubishi Honsha Co., Ltd. in 1943. However, the trend of the rapidly expanding affiliated companies becoming independent did not stop, and it is said that the role of the headquarters was limited to coordinating between these companies.

[Takao Shiba]

Dismantled by GHQ

After Japan's defeat in the war, in November 1945 (Showa 20), GHQ (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) issued an order to disband the zaibatsu. Koyata refused to voluntarily disband, but the trend was overwhelming, and the Iwasaki clan resigned, and Mitsubishi Head Office was dissolved on September 30, 1946. Mitsubishi Corporation was dissolved in July 1947, and Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Chemical Industries (now Mitsubishi Chemical), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Mitsubishi Mining (now Mitsubishi Materials) also became independent or were split up, completing the dissolution of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu. However, around the time of the signing of the peace treaty in 1951, the various Mitsubishi-affiliated companies began to grow again, and Mitsubishi Corporation was revived, with the main companies forming the Mitsubishi Group, centered around a presidents' association called the Friday Club, which continues to this day.

[Takao Shiba]

"Japan's Zaibatsu and Mitsubishi" by Hatate Isao (1978, Rakuyu Shobo)" ▽ "Japan's Zaibatsu Management History: Mitsubishi Zaibatsu" edited by Mishima Yasuo (1981, Nihon Keizai Shimbun)" ▽ "The Financial Structure of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu" by Asashima Shoichi (1986, Ochanomizu Shobo) ▽ "World War II and the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu" by Mishima Yasuo, Nagasawa Yasuaki, Shiba Takao, Fujita Masahisa, and Sato Hidetada (1987, Nihon Keizai Shimbun) ▽ "Modern Japan's Huge Mining Management: A Case Study of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu" by Hatakeyama Hideki (2000, Taga Publishing) ▽ "Real Estate Management of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu" by Hatate Isao (2005, Nihon Keizai Hyoronsha) ▽ "Mitsubishi Historical Archives Collection, edited and published by the Mitsubishi Research Institute, First Issue to Tenth Issue (2000-2009)" ▽ "The History of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu, by Yasuo Mishima, 2 volumes (Kyoikusha History Paperback)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

第二次世界大戦以前の日本経済において三井に次ぐ勢力を有した財閥。海運業で身をおこした岩崎弥太郎(やたろう)と弟の弥之助(やのすけ)を創始とする岩崎二家の資本出資を基礎として、重工業、鉱業、金融業、商事等に事業を展開し、それぞれの産業部門で傘下企業の多くが寡占的位置を占めた。

［柴　孝夫］

財閥化への過程

岩崎弥太郎は明治維新前後の土佐藩の商事部門を実質的に担ったが、明治政府の政策に沿って、土佐藩が商事部門から撤退を余儀なくされるとそれを引き継ぎ、海運業を主業とした。岩崎は、土佐藩主山内家と岩崎家の家紋を組み合わせたといわれる社章の三菱を社名とした。これはその他の財閥が創業家の家名でよばれたのと比べると一つの特徴をなしている。

　岩崎弥太郎の海運事業は、国内航路からの外国汽船会社の駆逐を企図した明治政府の保護を受けて郵便汽船三菱会社と改称し、アメリカのパシフィックメイルとイギリスのPO汽船会社を撤退させることに成功したが、明治十四年の政変による政府の方針転換で、新設された共同運輸との間で厳しい競争を強いられた。その渦中の1885年（明治18）に弥太郎は死亡するが、後を継いで社長となった弟の弥之助が政府の勧奨に従って、新たに設立された日本郵船に出資することで、この競争に決着をつけた。

　これによって主業であった海運業から撤退した岩崎家は、弥之助の指揮のもと、すでに傘下に収めていた高島炭鉱、吉岡銅山等の鉱山事業と第百十九銀行、政府から借り受けていた長崎造船所、弥太郎が出資していた千川水道会社をもって事業の再編を行った。弥之助はこの「海の三菱から陸の三菱へ」の戦略転換を行うために、翌1886年三菱社を設立した。この三菱社はあくまで岩崎家の個人事務所にすぎず、岩崎家の家産や家計と事業とが一体化していたといわれるが、会社法が施行された1893年に弥之助は三菱合資会社を設立し、事業部門を同社に移して家産と事業を分離した。このとき三菱社は廃止されたが、有価証券の多くが岩崎家資産として運用された。この点も三井財閥とは異なる点である。三菱合資会社設立にあたっては、弥太郎の長男の久弥(ひさや)（1865―1955）と弥之助が資本金500万円を折半で出資し、久弥が社長に就任した。弥之助は監務という役職で社長を支える立場にたった。

［柴　孝夫］

財閥としての三菱

1890年に三菱社は丸の内の土地約10万7000坪の払下げを受けて開発を始めており、三菱合資会社はこの事業を引き継いだほか、傘下にあった鉱山のほとんどと1887年に払い下げられた長崎造船所を直営した。さらに1895年に銀行部を設けて第百十九銀行の業務を吸収し、1896年には佐渡(さど)・生野(いくの)の鉱山と大阪製錬所の払下げを受けて鉱山事業を拡大させた。また、新潟県で農地を購入し地主的農業経営もしている。他方、岩崎家は久弥が小岩井農場等の経営や三菱製紙所等への出資をし、弥之助の次男俊弥(としや)（1881―1930）が旭硝子(あさひガラス)を設立するなど、三菱合資での事業経営のほかにも企業にかかわっていた。

　1907年（明治40）に弥之助の長男小弥太(こやた)が、弥之助の持分100万円を引き継いで入社し副社長に就任した結果、三菱合資の経営の実際は小弥太が行うようになっていく。1908年には組織改革が行われ、造船、銀行、鉱山、営業などの各事業部は、大幅な権限を与えられて独立採算制に移行した。一方、朝鮮での鉄鉱資源に着目した三菱合資は、1911年には兼二浦(けんじほ)（現在の松林(しょうりん)）の鉱区と周辺の鉄山を買収し、1913年（大正2）には同地での製鉄所建設を決定した。翌1914年に第一次世界大戦が勃発(ぼっぱつ)すると、三菱の各事業は造船業と鉱業・銀行業を中心に急拡大した。そうした活況のなか、1916年に久弥にかわって社長に就任した小弥太の経営のもとで、三菱合資は各事業部門を独立の株式会社として分離していった。1917年に朝鮮の製鉄事業を三菱製鉄（現、新日鉄住金）とし、造船部を三菱造船（現、三菱重工業）として分離したのを手始めに、1918年には三菱倉庫、三菱商事、三菱鉱業（現、三菱マテリアル）を独立させ、1919年には三菱海上火災保険（1944年に東京海上火災保険に合併。現、東京海上日動火災保険）、三菱銀行（1996年に東京銀行と合併、2006年UFJ銀行と合併。現、三菱UFJ銀行）を株式会社として独立させたのである。このほか、第一次世界大戦期の活況のなかで、造船部門の基盤を得た電機機械製作事業と内燃機製造事業も、三菱電機と三菱内燃機製造（1928年から三菱航空機と改称。現、三菱重工業）として三菱造船から分離された。こうして三菱合資を持株会社とするコンツェルンが形づくられたが、三菱合資は地所事業をまだ直営していたため、純粋持株会社ではなく事業持株会社であった。

　この後、同社は1927年（昭和2）には三菱信託（現、三菱UFJ信託銀行）を設立し、1931年にはアソシエーテッド石油会社の資本を導入して設立された三菱石油（現、JXTGエネルギー）を傘下に加えた。三菱合資は直系の企業を分系会社とよんだが、その数は1930年には10社となり、その他同社が影響力をもっていた傍系会社は11社、孫会社は40社で、それらの払込資本金総額は約5億9200万円に達した。これは同じ時期の三井系事業の約70％にあたった。

　この時期、長期の不況で、三菱の事業とくにその特徴をなしていた造船・航空機・電機・製鉄の重工業各社の経営は低迷したが、満州事変以後の戦時体制への進行のなかで息を吹き返した。三菱製鉄は1934年の製鉄合同に参加して姿を消すが、造船と航空機は同年に合併して三菱重工業となり軍需激増のなか規模を急速に拡大させ、三菱電機も生産を拡大させていったのである。他方で、それは膨大な設備資金の需要をよび、傘下各社は続々と増資を行った。その結果、三菱合資はそれに対応するため1937年に株式会社三菱社に改組し、1940年には株式を公開、また分系会社の統制を強化するために1943年に株式会社三菱本社に改組された。しかし、急速に膨張する分系会社の自立化傾向は止まらず、本社の役割はそれらの企業の間の調整機能にとどまったといわれている。

［柴　孝夫］

GHQによる解体

敗戦後の1945年（昭和20）11月にGHQ（連合国最高司令部）は財閥解体指令を発し、小弥太は自発的解体を拒否したが、大勢には抗しがたく、岩崎一族は退陣し、1946年9月30日に三菱本社は解散した。三菱商事は1947年7月に解散し、三菱電機、三菱化成工業（現、三菱ケミカル）、三菱重工業、三菱鉱業（現、三菱マテリアル）の各社も独立または分割され、ここに三菱財閥の解体は完了した。しかし講和条約の締結（1951）のころから三菱系の各企業は再成長するとともに、三菱商事も復活し、主要企業が金曜会という社長会を中心に三菱グループを形成して今日に至っている。

［柴　孝夫］

『旗手勲著『日本の財閥と三菱』（1978・楽游書房）』▽『三島康雄編『日本財閥経営史　三菱財閥』（1981・日本経済新聞社）』▽『麻島昭一著『三菱財閥の金融構造』（1986・御茶の水書房）』▽『三島康雄・長沢康昭・柴孝夫・藤田誠久・佐藤英達著『第二次大戦と三菱財閥』（1987・日本経済新聞社）』▽『畠山秀樹著『近代日本の巨大鉱業経営――三菱財閥の事例研究』（2000・多賀出版）』▽『旗手勲著『三菱財閥の不動産経営』（2005・日本経済評論社）』▽『財団法人三菱経済研究所編・刊『三菱史料館論集』創刊号～第10号（2000～2009）』▽『三島康雄著『三菱財閥史』全2冊（教育社歴史新書）』