Orie Kai

2022/02/26

Image: Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Archives

Fukuzawa actively encouraged overseas emigration, and in 1887 (Meiji 20), a group of emigrants he supported traveled to San Francisco. Tsurukichi Tanaka, whom the author introduced in the 57th installment of this series, was a member of that group. Although this emigration project ultimately failed, Orie Kai, the subject of this article, had participated in the planning even before the group was dispatched and provided the emigrants with support funds sent by Fukuzawa on-site.

Kai was born in 1850 (Kaei 3) at the Edo residence of the Nakatsu Domain as the eldest son of Rihei Kai, a samurai of the domain. In 1863 (Bunkyu 3), he returned to Nakatsu by order of the domain and served in two Choshu Wars. During the Boshin War, after being dispatched to Osaka, he joined the New Government Army and fought in various locations such as Kofu and Aizu. It is said that while stationed in Kofu, he was taught English by his subordinate, Sadashiro Hamano (who became President in 1879).

After the Aizu Domain surrendered in September 1868 (Meiji 1), Kai stopped in Tokyo on his way back to Nakatsu and visited Fukuzawa at Shinsenza. According to Kai's reminiscences, when he expressed his desire to study Western military science using original texts, Fukuzawa was delighted and taught him grammar. Kai wished to remain in Tokyo, but the domain did not permit it, and he had to return to Nakatsu once. However, desiring to continue his studies, he knocked on the gates of the Juku again in December of the following year.

After re-entering the Juku, Kai's studies did not focus on military science. Tracing his footsteps at the Juku, he co-translated and published an educational book titled "Domō Oshie no Hajime" (The Beginning of Children's Education) in 1874 (Meiji 7), suggesting an interest in the field of education.

Also notable is his activity in the Mita Public Speaking Event. It goes without saying that Fukuzawa frequently preached the importance of public speaking and debate, and the Mita Public Speaking Event was an organization established in 1874 to pioneer and practice those methods. Kai was listed as a member at its inception, conducted research, and frequently took the podium himself. Unfortunately, Kai's specific topics are unknown, but according to the "Mita Public Speaking Event Records," he spoke 20 times between the 2nd meeting in June 1875 and the 40th meeting in October 1877, demonstrating his active involvement.

According to the "Kinda-cho" (attendance records), Kai was enrolled at the Juku until August 1872. Afterward, he was appointed as the head of the Oita Western School (Funai School) and the Nakatsu City School, serving in alternate years until 1876.

Fukuzawa's cooperation in establishing schools in various regions is too numerous to mention. In 1875 (Meiji 8), he assisted in the establishment of Japan's first commercial school, the Shoho Koshujo (the predecessor of today's Hitotsubashi University). Specifically, he wrote the prospectus "The Purpose of Establishing a Commercial School" to raise funds for the school, in which he frankly expressed his concerns regarding foreign trade. He argued that foreigners held the initiative in Japan's trade at the time because Japanese people lacked the essential knowledge for foreign trade. To compete with foreign countries in business, he believed it was necessary to establish commercial schools to train individuals capable of standing up to them. Indeed, the American William C. Whitney was invited to the Shoho Koshujo to teach Western commercial law and accounting in English, aiming to cultivate such talent.

Fukuzawa's concern was not unique to him in Japanese society at the time. Yataro Iwasaki of Mitsubishi held a similar sense of crisis while engaged in foreign trade and established the Mitsubishi Commercial School in 1878, requesting Fukuzawa's cooperation.

Masasumi Morioka, the governor of Hyogo Prefecture, also desired to promote trade and cultivate talent to lead it, as his prefecture included the trading port of Kobe. Morioka requested Fukuzawa's cooperation through Takuzo Ushiba (who later played an active role at the Jiji Shimpo and Sanyo Railway), the head of the prefecture's industrial promotion department. As a result, a "Memorandum of Agreement" regarding the establishment of a new commercial school was exchanged between Fukuzawa and Morioka. The memorandum stated that the Juku would be responsible for the management of the Kobe Commercial Training School and that Fukuzawa would undertake the selection of teachers. Thus, the Kobe Commercial Training School (predecessor of today's Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Commercial High School) was opened in 1878, and Kai was appointed as its principal.

What kind of school did Kai create? In the "Rules" he drafted for the school, it stated, "There is nothing as disadvantageous for a student as the total separation and isolation of practice and scholarship," showing alignment with Fukuzawa's philosophy of advocating the practice of scholarship at every opportunity. Representing this emphasis on practice was a commercial practice subject called "Practical Exercise." In this course, students were assigned to mock post offices, shipping agencies, and banks established within the school, where they learned by comprehensively experiencing real-world business transactions using mock banknotes and stock certificates.

Furthermore, while the Shoho Koshujo in Tokyo aimed for a purely Western style, Kobe was characterized by a blend of Japanese and Western styles. For example, in bookkeeping classes, they taught Japanese-style bookkeeping familiar to Japanese people first, followed by Western-style bookkeeping, rather than treating the Western style as absolute. In Tokyo, classes were conducted in English, so students could not keep up unless they were proficient in English to begin with. However, the Kobe method made the school more accessible. In fact, the number of students, which was 12 at the time of opening, reached 100 two years later, and Fukuzawa rejoiced at its success.

In September 1880 (Meiji 13), Kai departed for New York. He was appointed as the New York branch manager of the Boeki Shokai (Trade Company), which had just opened in July of that year. The Boeki Shokai was a company with strong Keio ties; Aritake Hayashi (founder of Maruzen) served as president, Eiji Asabuki (manager of Mitsubishi Company) served as treasurer and manager, and Fukuzawa drafted the "Speech for the Opening of the Boeki Shokai."

The purpose of the company's establishment is clear in Fukuzawa's draft. He argued that Japanese trade was at the mercy of foreigners and lacked "commercial rights," and to recover them, "the only measure is for our people to travel directly to foreign countries, export our goods ourselves, and import their goods ourselves." The consistency with the aforementioned "Purpose of Establishing a Commercial School" is obvious, and Kai, who had led the Kobe Commercial Training School with the same awareness of the issues, was likely chosen to lead the start of the business.

The main product handled by the Boeki Shokai was raw silk, and Kai struggled to sell it. However, due to falling silk prices and other factors, performance stagnated, and the decision was made to close the New York branch in October 1885. Kai left the Boeki Shokai and decided to start his own trading business.

Returning to Tokyo, Kai received investments from Fukuzawa, Asabuki, and Hikojiro Nakamigawa (Fukuzawa's nephew and the first president of Jiji Shimpo), rented a room at Kojunsha, and opened Kai Shoten. In 1886 (Meiji 19), he opened a branch in San Francisco and began the direct export of Japanese sundries and artworks. Why San Francisco?

Kai learned that in San Francisco, Chinese merchants were making profits by bringing in Japanese sundries and artworks. Although the number of Japanese immigrants was increasing in San Francisco, partly because it was the gateway for Pacific routes, why were Japanese people not selling Japanese goods? For Kai, who had been involved in realizing direct exports, this was a natural question and a challenge he wanted to solve. Furthermore, he apparently also began the direct import of American products.

According to a letter sent by Nakamigawa to Hikoichi Motoyama (who collaborated with Nakamigawa at Sanyo Railway) on New Year's Day 1887, Nakamigawa hoped to participate in the management of Kai Shoten and planned to expand the scale of operations by increasing the number of branches. It is also said that he was asking Fukuzawa for further investment.

However, as noted in the same letter, the initial management of Kai Shoten was difficult. This was due to large losses in imports caused by the depreciation of silver. Fukuzawa stopped his investment, and Nakamigawa ultimately gave up on participating in Kai Shoten. The only branch remained in San Francisco.

Nevertheless, Kai did not give up. He later opened branches in St. Louis and San Diego to expand his sales channels, and in Japan, the American cigarettes he imported became popular. He recovered even after being hit hard by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. By the end of the Meiji era, he was praised to the extent that "the name of Kai Shoten in North America seems to represent Japanese sundries" (from "Biographies of Distinguished Keio University Alumni").

On the other hand, Kai Shoten became a significant presence for Juku alumni traveling to the United States. In the 25th and 49th installments of this series, the author mentioned the New York trading firm Morimura Brothers and described how Juku alumni visiting the East Coast relied on that company; Kai Shoten played a similar role on the West Coast. Individuals who traveled to the U.S. relying on Kai Shoten and worked there included Toyoji Wada and Sanji Muto, who later became prominent business figures, as well as Hidetaro Imaizumi, the nephew of Fukuzawa's wife. Although it was never realized, Fukuzawa once advised his son-in-law Momosuke Fukuzawa, who was studying in the U.S., to gain business experience at Kai Shoten. And as introduced at the beginning of this article, Kai Shoten also supported Tanaka and the other emigrants.

In the entry for "Kai Shoten" in An Encyclopedia of Yukichi Fukuzawa, it states that the details of its operations and its transition after the Meiji era are unknown. In preparing this article, I was also unable to obtain comprehensive information within the scope of my research.

However, according to the "Biography of Toyoji Wada," in July 1918 (Taisho 7), Wada visited the 68-year-old Kai and advised him to scale down the business and sell off inventory to repay debts. It seems that Kai Shoten was in a difficult situation during the Taisho era for unknown reasons. When Kai consulted about increasing the capital of Kai Shoten in 1921, Wada opposed it. When Kai passed away in March 1922, Kai Shoten was closed, and Wada reportedly handled its liquidation.

Wada arranged Kai's funeral and even gave 20,000 yen to ensure his family would not struggle to live. It is said that Wada supported the family so kindly because he never forgot the kindness he received from Kai in San Francisco during his youth. This episode brings to mind Kai's warm support for his juniors during his lifetime.