Hikoichi Motoyama

A newspaper owner. He went by the pen name Shoin. He was born on August 10, 1853 in Higo Province (Kumamoto). He studied at the Jishukan domain school, then moved to Tokyo to study at Mitsukuri Shuhei's Sansha school. He joined the Tax Bureau in November 1874 (Meiji 7), and around this time he became acquainted with Fukuzawa Yukichi. He then worked for Hyogo Prefecture, and in 1881 he became the principal of Kobe Normal School, but left the following year in 1882 and joined the Osaka Shimpo, moving to the Jiji Shimpo in January 1883. In 1886 he became manager of the Osaka Fujita Group, and was instrumental in the founding of the Sanyo Railway Company and the reclamation project of Kojima Bay. At the request of the Osaka business community, he became an advisor to the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun in June 1889 and was involved in its management, but in September 1898 he became an operations employee and took direct charge of the company's affairs. In November 1903 (Meiji 36), he became the company's fifth president, modernized the newspaper business, and presided over the Mainichi Shimbun Company for 29 years until his death, building the company into one of the two major newspapers in prewar Japan alongside the Asahi Shimbun. Motoyama's management philosophy was "newspaper merchandising," and his intention was that "the authority of a newspaper comes from independence. In order for a newspaper to be independent, it is necessary to maintain the management of the newspaper through merchandising."

He also devoted himself to social work, founding the Mainichi Newspaper Social Work Foundation in 1911 and the Fumin Association in 1927 (Showa 2) to promote rural development, as well as contributing to various academic promotion projects. The launch of the Braille Mainichi Newspaper (1922) was also a wise decision made by the temple out of sympathy for the blind. In December 1930, he was appointed a member of the House of Peers by Imperial decree. He died on December 30, 1932. He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, First Class.

[Akihiko Sunohara]

"Osaka Mainichi Newspapers, editor and publisher: Manuscript of the Biography of Hikoichi Motoyama (1929)" ▽ "The Biography of Shoin Hikoichi Motoyama, edited by the Biography Compilation Committee of the Late President of Hikoichi Motoyama, 2 volumes (1937, Osaka Mainichi Newspapers, Tokyo Nichi Nichi Newspapers)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

新聞経営者。松陰(しょういん)と号した。嘉永(かえい)6年8月10日肥後国（熊本）に生まれる。藩学時習館、上京して箕作秋坪(みつくりしゅうへい)の三叉(さんしゃ)学舎に学ぶ。1874年（明治7）11月租税寮出仕、このころ福沢諭吉の知遇を受ける。その後兵庫県に奉職、1881年神戸師範学校長となるが翌1882年退職し、『大阪新報』に入社、1883年1月『時事新報』へ移った。1886年大阪藤田組支配人となり、山陽鉄道会社の創立、児島(こじま)湾開墾事業に尽力する。かたわら大阪実業界の懇請により、1889年6月から『大阪毎日新聞』の相談役となり、経営に参画していたが、1898年9月業務担当社員となり、直接社務を担当することになった。1903年（明治36）11月、第5代社長に就任、新聞事業を近代企業化し、死ぬまで29年にわたり毎日新聞社を主宰、『朝日新聞』と並ぶ戦前日本の代表的二大新聞を築き上げた。本山の経営理念は「新聞商品主義」にあったが、その意図は「新聞の権威は独立が生む。新聞が独立するためには、商品主義を以(もっ)て新聞紙の経営を保持すること」というものであった。

　他方、社会事業にも力を入れ、1911年、毎日新聞社会事業団を創設、1927年（昭和2）には富民協会を設立して農村振興を図ったほか、各種学術奨励事業にも貢献している。『点字毎日新聞』の創刊（1922）も盲人に同情を寄せた本山の英断である。1930年12月貴族院議員に勅選される。昭和7年12月30日没。勲一等瑞宝章を贈られた。

［春原昭彦］

『大阪毎日新聞社編・刊『稿本本山彦一翁伝』（1929）』▽『故本山社長伝記編纂委員会編『松陰本山彦一翁』全2巻（1937・大阪毎日新聞社・東京日日新聞社）』

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