Yatarō Mishima

Viscount
Yatarō Mishima
三島 彌太郎
Viscount Yatarō Mishima
Born(1867-05-04)May 4, 1867
Kagoshima, Satsuma Province, Japan
DiedMarch 7, 1919(1919-03-07) (aged 51)
EducationKomaba Agricultural School
Massachusetts Agricultural College (now University of Massachusetts Amherst)
Cornell University (M.A.)
OccupationsBusinessman, banker, politician
Known for8th Governor of the Bank of Japan
TitleViscount
Spouse(s)Ōyama Nobuko (div.)
Shijō Kaneko
ChildrenMishima Michiharu
FatherMishima Michitsune

Viscount Yatarō Mishima (三島 彌太郎 (Mishima Yatarō); May 4, 1867 – March 7, 1919) was a Japanese businessman, banker, and politician best known for serving as the eighth Governor of the Bank of Japan from 1913 to 1919. During his tenure he helped stabilize Japan’s monetary system in the aftermath of the Russo–Japanese War and during World War I. He was also a member of the House of Peers.[1]

Early life and education

Mishima was born in Kagoshima Prefecture into a samurai family; his father was Mishima Michitsune, later governor of Tochigi Prefecture.[2]

He studied English and agriculture at the Komaba Agricultural School and then abroad at the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts Amherst), where he won the Clark Gold Medal and Grinnell Gold Medal for academic excellence.[3] He also earned a certificate from Harvard University’s summer chemistry school before returning to Japan in 1888. He later received a master’s degree in entomology from Cornell University in 1890.[1]

Career

Mishima entered government service with the government of Hokkaido and later worked for the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce and the Ministry of Communications. He was elected to the House of Peers in 1897 as a viscount member and joined the Kenkyūkai faction.

From 1911 to 1913 he served as president of the Yokohama Specie Bank, overseeing the opening of branches in Calcutta, Harbin, and San Francisco, and helped establish the Franco-Japanese Bank.[4][5]

On February 28, 1913, Mishima became the eighth Governor of the Bank of Japan, serving until his death in 1919.[6] As governor he pursued monetary restraint and price-stability policies during and after World War I.[7] He encouraged the government to use fiscal surpluses to purchase foreign currency for Bank of Japan reserves and helped establish Japan’s first inter-bank agreement on deposit interest rates.[8]

Mishima died suddenly in office on March 7, 1919, at the age of 51.[9] He was buried in Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

Personal life

In 1893 Mishima briefly married Ōyama Nobuko, eldest daughter of Field Marshal Ōyama Iwao. She contracted tuberculosis soon after marriage and was divorced in 1895. Their relationship inspired Kenjirō Tokutomi’s 1899 novel Hototogisu (The Cuckoo).[10] He later married Shijō Kaneko, daughter of Marquis Shijō Takataka.

According to family records, Mishima kept a small leather notebook containing a photograph of his first wife until his death.[11]

Legacy

Mishima’s life bridged Japan’s Meiji and Taishō eras of financial modernization. His governorship spanned the country’s transition through the First World War and laid groundwork for inter-bank coordination and overseas finance.

Honors

  • June 20, 1902 – Senior Fourth Rank (従四位)[12]
  • April 1, 1906 – Fourth Class, Order of the Rising Sun (旭日小綬章)[13]
  • July 1, 1910 – Junior Third Rank (正三位)[14]
  • November 10, 1915 – Third Class, Order of the Rising Sun (旭日中綬章)[15]
  • April 1, 1916 – Second Class, Order of the Rising Sun (旭日重光章)[16]
  • February 11, 1919 – Gold Cup award (金杯一個)[17]
  • March 7, 1919 – Senior Third Rank; First Class, Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (勲一等旭日大綬章)[18]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Masaoka, Naoichi (1914). Japan to America, p. 127. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. OCLC 256220.
  2. ^ Bank of Japan (BOJ). "8th Governor: Mishima Yatarō". Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  3. ^ 三島弥太郎の手紙 [Letters of Yatarō Mishima] (in Japanese). 学生社. November 10, 1994. p. 299. ISBN 978-4-311-50469-3.
  4. ^ "The History of the Yokohama Specie Bank" (in Japanese). Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  5. ^ Smitka, Michael (1998). The Interwar Economy of Japan: Colonialism, Depression, and Recovery, 1910–1940. Garland. p. 30. ISBN 9780815327066. OCLC 38270649.
  6. ^ BOJ. List of Governors. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Metzler, Mark (2006). Lever of Empire: The International Gold Standard and the Crisis of Liberalism in Prewar Japan. University of California Press. pp. 87–88. ISBN 9780520244207. OCLC 469841628.
  8. ^ "About the Bank of Japan: 8th Governor Mishima Yatarō" (in Japanese). Bank of Japan. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  9. ^ Metzler, Lever of Empire, p. 119.
  10. ^ Nimura, Janice P. (2015). Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back. pp. 241–243. ISBN 9780393077995. OCLC 891611002.
  11. ^ "The Ōyama and Mishima Families: The Truth of "Hototogisu"" (PDF) (in Japanese). Nasu-no-ga-hara Historical Society. 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  12. ^ Official Gazette No. 5688, June 21, 1902.
  13. ^ Official Gazette No. 7272, September 23, 1907.
  14. ^ Official Gazette No. 8108, July 2, 1910.
  15. ^ Official Gazette Extra Edition, November 10, 1915.
  16. ^ Official Gazette No. 1218, August 21, 1916.
  17. ^ Official Gazette No. 1982, March 14, 1919.
  18. ^ Official Gazette No. 1978, March 10, 1919.

References

  • Masaoka, Naoichi (1914). Japan to America: A Symposium of Papers by Political Leaders and Representative Citizens of Japan on Conditions in Japan and on the Relations Between Japan and the United States. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Japan Society). OCLC 256220.
  • Metzler, Mark (2006). Lever of Empire: The International Gold Standard and the Crisis of Liberalism in Prewar Japan. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520244207; OCLC 469841628.
  • Smitka, Michael (1998). The Interwar Economy of Japan: Colonialism, Depression, and Recovery, 1910–1940. New York: Garland. ISBN 9780815327066; OCLC 38270649.
  • Nimura, Janice P. (2015). Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 9780393077995; OCLC 891611002.
  • 三島弥太郎の手紙 [Letters of Yatarō Mishima] (in Japanese). 学生社. November 10, 1994. ISBN 978-4-311-50469-3.
  • "The Ōyama and Mishima Families: The Truth of "Hototogisu"" (PDF) (in Japanese). Nasu-no-ga-hara Historical Society. 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  • "About the Bank of Japan: 8th Governor Mishima Yatarō" (in Japanese). Bank of Japan. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  • "The History of the Yokohama Specie Bank" (in Japanese). Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yataro_Mishima