Ippei Wakao

Japanese: 若尾逸平 - わかお・いっぺい

Year of death: September 7, 1913
Year of birth: 6th December 1821 (9th January 1821)
The head of the Koshu zaibatsu conglomerate during the Meiji period. The second son of a fallen old family from Zaikezukamura, Koma County, Koshu (Shirane Town, Nakakoma County). His father was Hayashi Uemon and his mother was Kino. He went to Edo once during the Tenpo era, but returned soon after, and from around 1841 he engaged in peddling tobacco leaves and ginned cotton, special products of the Nishigori region. In 1855 he moved to Kofu, and when the port of Yokohama opened, he and his younger brother Ikuzo succeeded in selling raw silk and crystal, making a huge profit. During this time, he invented silk-reeling machines and ran a silk-reeling factory. In 1872 he was appointed chief representative of silkworm egg manufacturers in Yamanashi Prefecture, and the following year he was appointed vice president of the Raw Silk Adjustment Company, and dominated the silk-reeling industry in the prefecture. For this reason, his house was burned down during the Daishogiri riots in 1872. He invested the largest amount in the establishment of the Tenth National Bank, and was appointed as a director. During the Matsukata deflationary period, he accumulated land and became the prefecture's largest landowner. In 1922, he became the first mayor of Kofu, and the following year, he was elected as a large taxpayer member of the House of Peers. Starting with an investment in the Tokyo Horse-drawn Railway in 1925, he took over Tokyo Electric Light Company in 1929, boldly moving into the central government with his financial strength. He is said to have said, "If you're going to buy stocks, buy ones with a future... that's vehicles and lights," and he actively invested in stocks, focusing on the growing industries of the time. He was a natural speculator, as seen in his raw silk trade in Yokohama and his wealth made through stock investments. As a result, his death hastened the fall of the Wakao Zaibatsu, which lost its centripetal force. <References> Naito Bunjiro, "Wakao Ippei"

(Saito Yasuhiko)

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

Japanese:

没年：大正2.9.7(1913)
生年：文政3.12.6(1821.1.9)
明治時代の甲州財閥の総帥。甲州巨摩郡在家塚村(中巨摩郡白根町)の没落した旧家の次男。父は林右衛門,母はきの。天保年間に一度は江戸に出るがまもなく帰国し,天保12(1841)年ごろから西郡地域の特産物の葉煙草や繰綿の行商に従事する。安政2(1855)年に甲府に転居し,横浜が開港すると弟幾造と共に生糸や水晶の売り込みに成功して巨利を博す。この間,自ら製糸器械を考案して製糸工場を経営する。明治5(1872)年に山梨県の蚕種製造人大総代に,翌年,生糸改会社の副社長に任命され,同県の蚕糸業に君臨した。このため5年の大小切騒動に際しては焼き打ちを受けた。第十国立銀行の設立には最高額を出資して取締役に選任された。松方デフレ期に土地集積を行い県内随一の巨大地主となり,22年に初代甲府市長に,翌年,貴族院多額納税者議員に当選する。25年の東京馬車鉄道への投資を皮切りに,29年には東京電燈株式会社を乗っ取るなど,財力を背景に果敢に中央進出を図り,「株を買うなら将来性のあるもの…それは乗りものとあかりだ」と語ったといわれるように当時の成長産業に着目して積極的な株式投資活動を展開した。横浜を舞台とする生糸貿易や,株式投資による致富にみられるように天性の相場師であった。ためにその死去によって求心力を失った若尾財閥は没落を早める結果となった。<参考文献>内藤文治良『若尾逸平』

(齋藤康彦)

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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