Yasuzaemon Matsunaga

2018/02/02

Image: Yasuzaemon Matsunaga (Keio University Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies collection, photo by Kira Sugiyama)

At the dawn of the Meiji era, "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)," which Yukichi Fukuzawa sent out into the world, caused a tremendous sensation, and young people all over Japan who read this book aspired to study with dreams and hope.

Kamenosuke Matsunaga, born in 1875 to a merchant family in Iki Island (Nagasaki Prefecture) in the Genkai Sea that was extensively involved in brewing, fisheries, and trade, was one of them. After reading "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)," Matsunaga developed a strong desire to go to Tokyo and study under Fukuzawa. In response to fierce opposition from his family, he went on a hunger strike. Naturally stubborn, Matsunaga refused to back down at all; after a few days, his mother took his side and finally persuaded his father to consent. Thus, the 14-year-old Matsunaga left Iki Island for Tokyo and enrolled in Keio University, where Fukuzawa was.

School was interesting, and Matsunaga focused on his studies with hopes of studying abroad. However, after about three years, his father passed away suddenly, forcing him to withdraw from Keio University and return to Iki to succeed as the third-generation Yasuzaemon and take over the family headship. Matsunaga organized the family business, which had expanded over three years, and with his mother's understanding, left his younger brother in charge and returned to Keio University. This situation is very similar to that of Fukuzawa during his time at Tekijuku.

One day, while Matsunaga was bowing to a teacher in the school hallway, an unknown old man came up from behind and said, "Hey, you, it's a problem if you bow in our house. We are all comrades. If you're looking for a 'Sensei' here, well, that's only me." This was Matsunaga's first encounter with Fukuzawa.

Matsunaga and other young men living in the dormitory were constantly hungry, and the chickens at the neighboring Fukuzawa residence were a constant temptation. Finally, thinking that no one would notice if one bird went missing, Matsunaga and his friends caught a chicken, put it in a pot, and ate it. A few days later, all the culprits were invited by Fukuzawa to a feast. What was served was chicken hot pot. Even though Fukuzawa smilingly encouraged them to "eat more," Matsunaga and the others could hardly swallow. When Fukuzawa said, "I'll treat you to something like chicken hot pot, so it's better not to eye other people's chickens," Matsunaga felt deeply ashamed but began to interact closely with Fukuzawa. He went to see plays with the Fukuzawa family and joined the morning walks that Fukuzawa made a daily routine for his health. Through this "Walking Party," he deepened his friendship with Momosuke Fukuzawa (Fukuzawa's son-in-law), who was seven years his senior.

Although he had returned to school, Matsunaga wanted to enter society as soon as possible and consulted Fukuzawa about this. Fukuzawa agreed, saying, "Graduating from school doesn't have much significance," and reportedly added, "Being a salaried worker is boring, so become an independent businessperson, even if it's as a noodle shop owner or a bathhouse attendant." Thus, Matsunaga left a message in Fukuzawa's commemorative album—where students at the time wrote messages upon leaving Keio University—stating "My life is a struggle," and dropped out of Keio University.

At the recommendation of Momosuke Fukuzawa, Matsunaga joined the Bank of Japan, and the following year, he became the Kobe branch manager of Marusan Shokai, a company founded by Momosuke. However, four months later, Momosuke ran into funding difficulties due to a large transaction and dissolved Marusan Shokai. Matsunaga's days as a "salaried worker" ended there, and he founded Fukumatsu Shokai with 500 yen received from Momosuke. Fukumatsu Shokai, named after Momosuke Fukuzawa and Matsunaga, achieved success in the then-popular coal wholesale business, but Matsunaga failed after venturing into coal mining. Furthermore, a stock market crash led to his bankruptcy, and his house was completely destroyed by fire, leaving him penniless.

Living in retirement at the age of 32, Matsunaga looked back on his life and realized that while he thought he had succeeded through his own wisdom and talent, he had actually been supported by people and society. He began to feel that from then on, "it is necessary to serve the national society as much as possible," and he poignantly recalled the teachings of the late Fukuzawa.

Soon, Matsunaga's path began to open up. Fukuhaku Electric Railway was established to build streetcars in Fukuoka City, and Matsunaga went to Fukuoka as its practical manager, taking the lead to achieve an opening in a short period. Eventually, Fukuhaku Electric Railway merged with Hakata Electric Light, the electricity supplier, to become Hakata Electric Light and Railway. From here, his management of electric power companies—which would become Matsunaga's main battlefield—began (the streetcars were later taken over by Nishi-Nippon Railroad [Nishitetsu]).

The electric power business required massive upfront investment. On the other hand, to supply power efficiently and cheaply, it was necessary to avoid competition and expand the supply area. At that time, Japan was reaching a turning point where demand for industrial power was becoming higher than for domestic lighting. Matsunaga's power management, which began in northern Kyushu, grew through repeated mergers into Toho Electric Power, whose supply area covered one urban prefecture and ten prefectures across Kyushu, Kansai, and Tokai. Other companies among the "Big Five" power companies at the time included Daido Electric Power, where the "Power King" Momosuke Fukuzawa was president, and Tokyo Electric Light, which was based in the capital. Tokyo Electric Light faced many challenges, such as blackouts due to supply shortages. Matsunaga established Tokyo Electric Power (a different company from the current Tokyo Electric Power Company) to support the reconstruction of the capital after the Great Kanto Earthquake and entered the metropolitan power supply market. To counter this, Seihin Ikeda of Mitsui Bank, a lender to Tokyo Electric Light, requested Ichizo Kobayashi—a friend of Matsunaga who was developing the railway business (Hanshin Kyuko Railway) in Kansai—to lead the reconstruction, resulting in a head-to-head battle between the two. The situation where salesmen from both companies would rush to new houses to compete for contracts ended the following year with a merger of the two companies mediated by Ikeda.

Because electric power was an essential business for military expansion and the conduct of war, momentum for state control and nationalization grew. Matsunaga criticized bureaucrats who did as the military told them, and to encourage independence among managers, he declared at a roundtable discussion that "Bureaucrats are the scum of humanity." However, contrary to Matsunaga's hopes, the Electric Power State Control Law was passed, and Nippon Hassoden was established to integrate power companies nationwide. Matsunaga resigned from all his positions and retired to a villa in Yanase Village (now Tokorozawa City) in Musashino.

After passing the age of 60, Matsunaga entered the path of the tea ceremony, which became a serious pursuit rather than just a hobby. His skill was such that he was counted among the three great modern tea masters along with Takashi Masuda (Don-o) of Mitsui and Tomosaburo Hara (Sankei) of the silk industry. He took the pseudonym Jian, derived from the passage in the "Analects" stating "at sixty, my ear was an obedient organ (mimi-shitau)," and frequently held tea ceremonies at the Yanase Villa. After the war, Matsunaga donated the Yanase Villa and his collection of ancient art to the Tokyo National Museum and moved to Odawara, where his memorial museum is currently located.

The postwar electric power business began with the Electric Power Industry Reorganization Council, which deliberated on the dissolution of Nippon Hassoden and the reorganization of the power industry. Matsunaga, who became the chairman, proposed a plan to dissolve and split Nippon Hassoden into a nine-company system by region (later becoming ten with the addition of Okinawa). He clashed head-on with other committee members, the government, and bureaucrats who tried to preserve some of Nippon Hassoden's functions. He repeatedly visited the GHQ to explain his position, and the Matsunaga plan was adopted in the form of an absolute order from the GHQ without a resolution from the Diet. Furthermore, he pushed his opinions through at the Public Utilities Commission, which allocated resources to the nine-company system. Regarding the appointment of management, he clashed fiercely with the Nippon Hassoden side, which tried to send in its own people, and forced through the Matsunaga plan. This was the obsession of Matsunaga, who aimed for independent management by the private sector. Matsunaga himself said, "I am still not 'mimi-shitau' (obedient); I cannot just listen to what people say and say 'yes, yes' submissively."

Matsunaga also realized a significant electricity rate hike of nearly 70%. When asked if he would implement a price hike that even the government opposed, Matsunaga replied, "Of course. The government doesn't understand anything. If it's that kind of government, just break it." Before long, Matsunaga came to be called the "Demon of Power." To rebuild the country, it was necessary to increase the power supply, and the price hike was essential to build power plants on their own. In the long run, the price hike led to industrial development and the improvement of the people's standard of living.

Matsunaga's gaze was also directed toward the future of the electric power industry and Japanese industry. He established the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry to conduct research and development on energy and the environment, and further launched the Industrial Planning Council, gathering intellectuals from political and business circles. This council made 16 recommendations over 12 years, including "reform of the national railways" and the "Tokyo Bay reclamation project." Many of these recommendations, which seemed impossible at the time, have been realized today.

Matsunaga ended his life of struggle in 1971 at the age of 95. In accordance with his will, which stated, "I hate all funerals and memorial services after my death so much that it makes me break out in hives," no funeral or memorial service was held.

Even before the war, Matsunaga emphasized research and study of electric power and established the Toho Industrial Research Institute (the predecessor of the current Sanken Electric) in Shiki Town (now Shiki City), near the Yanase Villa. After the war, the site and facilities were donated to Keio University and became Keio Shiki Senior High School.

Matsunaga said, "The ones who gave me teachings that became my blood and flesh were especially Yukichi Fukuzawa and my grandfather." From his grandfather, who built a fortune in one generation, he learned the mindset of a businessperson. And he did not hesitate to say that being raised with all the love from his family created a person who lived straight, without prejudice or fear. On the other hand, the existence of Fukuzawa was so large for Matsunaga that he could not describe it in a single word. In his later years, Matsunaga wrote "The Man Yukichi Fukuzawa." As the title suggests, it depicts Yukichi Fukuzawa as a warm human being—a Yukichi Fukuzawa who was full of affection and commonality without being arrogant. After the war, feeling a sense of discomfort with the "Great Fukuzawa whose reputation was fixed in the world," perhaps a sense of mission that "there are probably few people besides me who can talk about the realistic Sensei" and that he must speak of this, led Matsunaga to take up his pen.

One feels something that overlaps with the gaze of Shinzo Koizumi, who spoke of Fukuzawa during the same period and, borrowing his sister's words, expressed that "Fukuzawa's greatness is love." Matsunaga's way of life, which was not necessarily upright and proper, is better described as an innocent embodiment of the Fukuzawa spirit rather than a strict follower of it. As something he desired for future generations, Matsunaga cited "the spirit of mutual aid and equal altruism" (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, "My Personal History"). If one were to dare to express the many things Matsunaga learned from his mentor Fukuzawa in a single phrase, this might be appropriate.