Saihei Hirose: Part 3 | Sumitomo Biographies: Director-Generals | About Sumitomo

Chronology

Seeking new challenges in steelmaking and chemicals

Saihei Hirose’s pseudonym Ento means a vision with a distant time horizon. The experience of touring Europe and North America in 1889 not only impressed on Hirose the importance of steelmaking and chemicals but also deepened his conviction that the House of Sumitomo should seize the initiative by undertaking projects beneficial to the nation from a long-term perspective. Sumitomo had already started a modern smelting business by 1888, with copper smelting at the Sobiraki Smelter in Niihama and reaching (production of cement copper and sulfuric acid) at the Yamane Smelter.

In 1890, while expanding sulfuric acid production at the Yamane Smelter, a pioneering steelmaking team established by Hirose attempted to recover pig iron from ore mined in Besshi, in addition to the copper and sulfuric acid already derived from the ore. In 1892, following receipt in July of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class, Hirose presented product samples from the Besshi Copper Mines to the Ministry of the Imperial Household: a copper ingot for export bearing the KS trademark (KS being the initials KS, the initials of Kichizaemon Sumitomo, the head of the Sumitomo family) as well as pig iron and chemical products, such as sulfuric acid, copper sulfate, iron sulfate, and cobalt oxide, produced at the Yamane Smelter. On February 14, 1893, Hirose opened a steel mill next to the Sobiraki Smelter in Niihama with a view to establishing a commercial steelmaking operation, seven years ahead of the founding of the Imperial Steel Works in Yawata by the government.

Saihei Hirose at the age of 87
Photo courtesy of Sumitomo Historical Archives

Statue of Kusunoki Masashige

産出品標本 — Hirose presented these products made from copper mined at Besshi to the Ministry of the Imperial Household in 1892. In the upper photo are a KS copper ingot, a *teido* copper block, a blister copper *arado*, and a round copper *marudo* (mislabeled as *teido*). Shown in the lower photo are non-copper products such as sulfur and pig iron.
Photo courtesy of Sumitomo Historical Archives

The statue of Kusunoki Masashige in the garden adjacent to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo expresses the values that animated Hirose in the closing years of the 19th century. Hirose’s actual first name was Mitsutada whose Chinese characters mean “overflowing with loyalty”. Kusunoki Masashige, a 14th-century samurai who fought for the emperor in an attempt to wrest rule of Japan away from the Kamakura Shogunate, is remembered as the epitome of samurai loyalty. As befitted his name Mitsutada, Hirose was a man of steadfast loyalty. The neglect and obscurity of Kusunoki Masashige’s tombstone, which he stopped to view in rural Minatogawa, Kobe, while traveling to the Ikuno Silver Mine as an official of the Mining Agency in 1868, saddened him. This tombstone, bearing the inscription “Grave of Nanshi (Kusunoki), a loyal retainer,” was erected by Tokugawa Mitsukuni of the Mito Domain in 1692. As commanded by the Meiji Emperor, Minatogawa Shrine was to be constructed to enshrine the spirit of Kusunoki Masashige. On hearing this news, Hirose wrote a poem expressing his delight: “As the steadfastness of the Land of the Gods was on the verge of disappearing, it is to be enshrined for ever.” Hirose’s thought took wing in 1890 when, having discussed the matter with the Ministry of the Imperial Household and other parties, it was decided to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Besshi Copper Mines by presenting a statue of Kusunoki Masashige made of copper from Besshi to the Imperial Household.

Saihei Hirose retires

In the course of his long career centering on the Besshi Copper Mines, Hirose always sought not only to benefit the House of Sumitomo through the business but also to offer products contributing to the prosperity of Japan and the Japanese people. In contrast to the copper business, steelmaking and the chemical business clearly failed to become profitable enterprises, largely because these commercial endeavors were premature. In 1879, Hirose had a bridge made of Besshi copper constructed at Sumitomo’s main residence in Unagidani, Osaka. It was Hirose’s way of exhorting everyone—the head of the Sumitomo family, Hirose himself, and all the people associated with the House of Sumitomo—to “accord prime importance to integrity and sound management in the conduct of business as if tapping on a sturdy bridge with your staff before venturing to cross it.” Despite mounting losses, Hirose was reluctant to withdraw from steelmaking and the chemical business. He was getting old.

親族写真 — This photo was taken when Hirose visited the Iba family in Omi-hachiman circa 1897. Hirose is seated in the middle with his wife Ko on his right and his elder sister Tazu on his left. Hirose’s nephew Teigo Iba is next to Tazu.
Photo courtesy of Shigeyasu Kitawaki

In September 1893, smoke pollution blighted the countryside around Niihama. With their crops spoiled by sulfur dioxide gas contained in the smoke from the smelter, the local farmers were in an uproar. In January 1894, amid mounting tension, a growing faction within Sumitomo accused Hirose of pursuing an old-fashioned business policy. In July, Hirose’s nephew Teigo Iba was the Minister and appointed general manager of the Besshi Copper Mines to resolve this conflict in the House of Sumitomo. It was concluded that only if Hirose retired could Sumitomo overcome this impasse. On August 22, Kinmochi Saionji, who was a biological elder brother of Tomoito, the head of the Sumitomo family, spoke to Hirose, counseling him to step down so as not to set a bad example for the future of the House of Sumitomo. Hirose acceded to Saionji’s recommendation, but on August 25 in a letter to Teigo Iba at Niihama he revealed his distress: “Although I do my utmost as an elderly man, I am frustrated and cannot sleep well. I am looking forward to seeing you in October in Osaka.” On November 15, having braced himself to take an unpalatable decision, Hirose resigned from his position as sorinin (director-general) of the House of Sumitomo.

Under Hirose’s outstanding leadership, as the Meiji Restoration was consigning the Tokugawa Shogunate to history, the House of Sumitomo overcame the crisis and modernized the Besshi Copper Mines. At a time of dynamic change, the House of Sumitomo was indeed fortunate to have a person of Hirose’s caliber at the helm. In recognition of all that Hirose had accomplished in the course of his long career, the House of Sumitomo accorded him a status superior to that of any other members of a cadet family, honoring him as sorinin to the end of his life. “57 years have passed like a dream,” Hirose remarked upon retiring. His nephew Teigo Iba best appreciated Hirose’s feelings. In a letter from Niihama to his parents in Omi-hachiman dated December 4, 1894, Iba wrote: “57 years of devoted service despite great difficulties resulted in wonderful achievements and renown and he is retiring like the setting sun. He must now savor tranquility.” As the curtain came down on Hirose’s career, Iba offered heartfelt congratulations to his uncle who had devoted himself to development of the House of Sumitomo and the Besshi Copper Mines for 57 years.

Saihei Hirose and his family

In November 1894, Hirose retired from the House of Sumitomo at the age of 67. He visited the Iba family in Nishijyuku, Omi-hachiman, with his eldest son Mansei and his family. Teigo Iba’s mother Tazu was Hirose’s biological elder sister and Mansei’s wife Yone was Teigo Iba’s sister. As Hirose was sent to Besshi alone at the age of nine in 1836 to be apprenticed, the elder sister in his hometown was like a mother to him, someone with whom he could relax and be himself. In a letter dated November 26, 1894, addressed to the Iba family, Hirose expressed his great appreciation of his sister: “My recent visit to Omi was a source of great pleasure to me. My sister was so considerate. Please do convey my affectionate regards to her.”

85歳の宰平と90歳の田鶴 — Saihei Hirose aged 85 and his sister Tazu aged 90. This photo was taken on October 24, 1912 at the residence of the Iba family in Omi-hachiman.
Photo courtesy of Sumitomo Historical Archives

Although Hirose is known for the dynamism of his career in the business world, his personal life as a young man was marred by tragedy. His bachelor years ended at the age of 27 when he married Ai. The Hirose family adopted the newlywed couple. However, misfortune struck when Ai died in childbirth together with their baby. Hirose’s second wife Machi gave birth to Mansei, Hirose’s first son, but died of an illness when Hirose was 35 and Mansei four. Just as Japan was transitioning from the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji Restoration, Hirose placed his young son in the care of a foster mother in Niihama and devoted himself to the House of Sumitomo and the nation. Hirose was 48 when he married his third wife Ko in 1875. An active woman 20 years his junior, Ko accompanied Hirose on his trips to Hokkaido and to Europe and North America and even had her own business card. They were a devoted happy couple.

半世物語 — Saihei Hirose’s autobiography, published in 1895, with a foreword by Kinmochi Saionji and Tomoito Sumitomo.
Photo courtesy of Sumitomo Historical Archives

In his autobiography published in March 1895, Hirose drew on his experience as a leader responsible for a major enterprise to offer precepts to aspiring young people pursuing careers in business. This book is still highly regarded as one of the very first autobiographies written by a business executive.

From 1897 onward, Hirose resided in Suma (near Kobe). He chose to live in Suma rather than in Niihama where his main residence was located, so as to be close to Tomoito, the head of the Sumitomo family, who resided with his household at a villa in Suma. Such was Hirose’s steadfast loyalty that throughout his life, even after retiring, Hirose served the House of Sumitomo.

In Suma, Hirose lived free from worldly cares, spending his time in cerebral pursuits such as reading, calligraphy, and gidayu recitation. Whenever his grandchildren or great grandchildren visited him, Hirose would try to spot a ship of Osaka Shosen (O.S.K. Lines) out at sea and, if he found one, would hand them a telescope so that they could see the mark on the ship’s bow, which Hirose himself had devised. Hirose passed away on January 31, 1914 in Suma at the age of 87. His ashes were interred in cemeteries in Osaka, Niihama, and Omi-hachiman.

Boenro (Smoke Viewing Observatory) of Hirose’s Residence in Niihama

Hirose’s residence still stands in a park on a hill in Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture. Hirose named a room on the second floor of the main building of his residence Boenro (Smoke Viewing Observatory). From this room a panorama of Niihama City and the Seto Inland Sea unfolds before one’s eyes. At the foot of the hill, in Sobiraki, is a stone monument commissioned by Hirose to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Besshi Copper Mines, which has a plaque outlining the history of Niihama’s industrial development. In effect, this is monument commemorates the start of the modern Sumitomo Group.

Around 100 years ago, Hirose composed a poem titled Boenro on the development of Niihama. “I wish to hand over this observatory to future generations in the hope that it will endure far into the future together with the copper mines. From this vantage point, they should not just appreciate the view of the city with its smoke but cherish the Besshi mountains, long the wellspring of industrial development.” From a contemporary perspective, “future generations” would seem to refer to the inhabitants of Niihama and the people associated with the Sumitomo Group who ventured out to the world from here.

The Besshi Copper Mines closed in 1973. But Sumitomo’s successful pursuit of modernization remains imprinted on the landscape, which is full of interest to anyone fascinated by the history of mining and industrialization. Through his poem Boenro, Hirose reminds us that the development and prosperity of the Sumitomo Group began in the Besshi mountains.

Hirose Memorial Museum in Niihama City

To find out more about Saihei Hirose, please visit the Hirose Memorial Museum in Niihama City.

広瀬歴史記念館 — Hirose Memorial Museum in Niihama City.
Hirose’s residence is also on this site.
Photo courtesy of Hirose Memorial Museum in Niihama City

Address: 2-10-24 Uwabara, Niihama-shi, Ehime Prefecture 792-0046, Japan

TEL: +81-897-40-6333

Opening hours: 9:30 – 17:30

Closed days: Mondays and days following public holidays (except Sundays), Year-end and New Year holidays

Admission fee: ¥520 for the general public, free of charge for junior high school students and younger (Group discount available)