Takuzo Ushiba

2022/11/09

Image: From "Ten-Year Anniversary: Japanese Railway Theory" (1909), edited by the Railway Jiho Bureau.

"The foster father of Sanyo Railway"—this is how "One Hundred Pioneers of Our Homeland," edited by the Hyogo Prefecture Curriculum Advisory Committee, introduced Takuzo Ushiba. Ushiba studied at Keio University and entered the railway world after working for newspapers, the administration, and as a politician. This article looks back on his life, including the personal relationships that led to the Sanyo Railway Co., Ltd. (which laid and opened the current JR Sanyo Main Line) and his achievements in contributing to the development of the entire railway industry. It should be noted that there are many points in Ushiba's career that, while various theories exist, cannot be specifically identified; we will treat these as matters for ongoing study while remaining mindful of the descriptions.

In December (January) of the 3rd year of Kaei (1851), Ushiba was born in Ise Province (now Tsu City, Mie Prefecture) as the third child of Heijuro Ihaya, and was adopted by Keijiro Ushiba. In June of the 5th year of Meiji (1872), he entered Keio University. In the prefecture/domain column of the "Nyushacho" (Enrollment Register), he is listed as being from Shima, Watarai Prefecture, which may have been Keijiro's residence. His name can be confirmed in the "Keio University Academic Diligence Table" from June of the 5th year to April of the 7th year. During his time at the school, he was known as an eloquent speaker alongside Ikunosuke Kadono and Yukio Ozaki. On July 1, the 7th year, he was admitted to the Mita Public Speaking Event. The group had been founded on June 27 of the previous month by five managers, including Hikojiro Nakamigawa, and eight members, including Fukuzawa. As the first person to join, Ushiba left his mark by making motions to change the meeting procedures proposed by Fukuzawa.

In the 7th year of Meiji, Ushiba had the opportunity to contribute articles to the "Yubin Hochi Shimbun," a daily newspaper published by Hochisha (now Hochi Shimbun-sha). This began because the company was forced to secure human resources against the backdrop of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement. First, Joun Kurimoto, a former official of the Shogunate who was welcomed as an editor in July of that year, relied on Fukuzawa to strengthen the editorial team. According to the "120-Year History of the Hochi Shimbun," the two hit it off so well that it was hard to believe it was their first meeting, and Fukuzawa readily agreed. Students and disciples submitted articles one after another, and those by Ushiba, Shigekichi Fujita, and Katsundo Minoura were particularly well-received. In March of the following year (the 8th year), these three officially joined Hochisha, with Fujita becoming the editor-in-chief in August and Minoura becoming the lead editorial writer.

In the 10th year of Meiji (1877), while serving as the head of the Industrial Promotion Section of Hyogo Prefecture, Ushiba was ordered by the prefectural governor, Masasumi Morioka (a samurai of the Satsuma Domain and later the first president of Nippon Yusen Kaisha), to prepare for the establishment of the Kobe Commercial Training Institute (now Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Commercial High School). Ushiba relied on Fukuzawa, and a contract was signed between Hyogo Prefecture and Keio University, leading to the opening of the institute the following year (the 11th year). From the Juku, Fukuzawa dispatched a total of three people: Orie Kai (a member of the Mita Public Speaking Event since its inception) as principal, Heisaku Iida as an English studies teacher, and Kiyoshi Fujii as a bookkeeping professor. Around the same time, the Juku was also involved in the establishment of the Tokyo Commercial Training Institute (now Hitotsubashi University), but the one in Kobe adopted a unique method that best suited the local conditions and achieved great results.

In February of the 13th year of Meiji, on the recommendation of Fumio Yano, Ushiba entered key government positions along with Ozaki and Tsuyoshi Inukai. Yano was from the Saiki Domain in Bungo and had studied with his fellow countryman and junior student Fujita during their time as Keio students while Fujita lived with him. After serving as a teacher at the Juku and vice-editor-in-chief of Hochisha, Yano became a secretary at the Ministry of Finance in the 11th year. The impoverished Inukai had joined Hochisha after commuting to the Juku from the home of Fujita, who was already serving as the editor-in-chief of Hochisha.

Hikoichi Motoyama succeeded Ushiba as the head of the Industrial Promotion Section of Hyogo Prefecture. Motoyama was three years younger than Ushiba and was born into a family of samurai from the Higo Kumamoto Domain. After studying at the domain school Jishukan, he went to Tokyo and became an official in the Tax Bureau. Motoyama understood that the academic style of Keio University was appropriate for acquiring practical knowledge, and although he did not have the time to take regular courses, Fukuzawa allowed him to come and go as freely as the Keio students. On January 13, the 11th year of Meiji, Motoyama received a letter of introduction from Fukuzawa before leaving his government post to embark on a journey around the country. The letter requested more than ten people, including Ushiba and Kai, to provide assistance during his visit. On the way, Motoyama and Ushiba hit it off, and Motoyama joined the Hyogo Prefectural Government on Ushiba's recommendation. The bond between the two, forged by Fukuzawa, began here.

In March of the 15th year of Meiji, "Jiji Shimpo" was launched. Nakamigawa, who had been expelled from the bureaucracy in the Political Crisis of 1881, became the proprietor, and Ushiba and others, who had been similarly ousted, took charge of reporting and editing. Motoyama also joined Jiji Shimpo later, after leaving the Hyogo Prefectural Government and working for Osaka Shimpo. In December of the same year, Ushiba, Kakugoro Inoue, and others became advisors for the reform of the Korean government's administration upon Fukuzawa's recommendation and traveled to the site. Fukuzawa wrote an editorial titled "Mr. Takuzo Ushiba Goes to Korea" in Jiji Shimpo from January 11 to 13 of the following year (the 16th year) as a farewell gift. However, Ushiba judged the execution to be impossible and returned to Japan in May. After returning, he became a tax collector for the Ministry of Finance and is said to have retired in the 20th year.

In April of the 20th year of Meiji (1887), the Japan Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (now Taisei Corporation) was established, consisting of the civil engineering and construction department of Fujita-gumi (now DOWA Holdings Co., Ltd.) and the civil engineering department of Okura-gumi Shokai. According to the "History of Taisei Corporation," Kihachiro Okura (President of Okura-gumi Shokai) became the President, Denzaburo Fujita (President of Fujita-gumi) and Eiichi Shibusawa became Directors, and Ushiba became the Managing Director stationed in Tokyo. Motoyama had been welcomed as a manager at Fujita-gumi in July of the previous year. It is thought that Motoyama was involved in some way in the appointment of Ushiba, and the basis for this is found in the following passage from the "Draft Biography of Hikoichi Motoyama."

"At the founding general meeting of Sanyo Railway on December 27 of the 19th year, Mr. Denzaburo Fujita was appointed as the chairman of the founding committee, and Messrs. Heigoro Shoda, Rokuro Hara, and Hikojiro Nakamigawa were appointed as members of the committee. There, Mr. Motoyama acted as the representative for Mr. Fujita, handling the affairs of the founding committee chairman and making no small effort. At this time, Mr. Motoyama had Mr. Takuzo Ushiba (sic) enter Sanyo Railway, thereby repaying the old debt of gratitude for having been employed at the Hyogo Prefectural Government in the past."

However, at this point, no documents have been found to support Ushiba's entry into Sanyo Railway. The phrase "repaying the old debt of gratitude" can be interpreted as effectively entering Japan Engineering & Construction. Furthermore, prior to applying for the establishment of the company, Sanyo Railway commissioned Japan Engineering & Construction to conduct surveys. At that time, there was a shortage of engineers across the industry, so more than ten people were seconded from Japan Engineering & Construction. The section between Kobe and Himeji, for which Japan Engineering & Construction undertook the work, opened in November of the following year (the 21st year), and the section between Himeji and Okayama opened in March of the 24th year. The two companies built a close relationship, especially during the construction period. During this time, no records have been found of Ushiba's active involvement in Japan Engineering & Construction. From the 22nd year onwards, Okura managed Japan Engineering & Construction alone.

During the same period, in October of the 22nd year of Meiji, Ushiba founded the Osaka Seigyo Stock Company (later Imperial Brush Co., Ltd.) together with Jutaro Matsumoto (one of the founders of Sanyo Railway) and others. Until Ushiba entered Sanyo Railway, he effectively managed it alone. The company is known for being the first to use the name "Haburashi" (toothbrush) for a product exhibited at the 3rd National Industrial Exhibition in the 23rd year, shortly after its founding.

In July of the 23rd year of Meiji, Ushiba ran for the first House of Representatives election from the first district of Mie Prefecture but was defeated. In February of the 25th year, he ran again from the same district in the 2nd general election and was elected, but he ended his life as a lawmaker after one term of two years. According to "The Politics of Keio," it is stated that he realized he was not suited for parliamentary activities.

Sanyo Railway was the first operator to be granted a license under the Private Railway Ordinance. The company's 20-year management history is broadly divided into the early period led by the first president, Nakamigawa, and the era led by Matsumoto and Ushiba. To meet the requirements of being a major trunk line in Japan and competing with coastal shipping, Nakamigawa aimed for the opening of the entire line by instructing that it be laid to standards that are still applicable today. Due to the strictness he demanded, friction with those around him became apparent, and Nakamigawa resigned as president in the 24th year of Meiji. Matsumoto took over as president, and Motoyama newly joined Sanyo to fill the vacant seat of standing member (later director).

In April of the 27th year of Meiji (1894), Ushiba joined Sanyo Railway Co., Ltd. as General Manager. It is said that he was in a position to effectively handle management from the beginning on behalf of the busy Matsumoto. It was during the Sino-Japanese War, and with the opening of the Mihara-Hiroshima section, which includes the "Senohachi" section—still the most difficult spot on the Sanyo Main Line—scheduled for June, the immediate goal was the opening of the entire line. In April of the 31st year, as the westward progress reached Mitajiri (now Hofu) and the arrival at the terminus Bakan (now Shimonoseki) was in sight, Ushiba became a Director (elected as Managing Director) in place of Motoyama, who retired to become an Auditor.

Ushiba's achievements can be summarized in two points: his leadership within the company and his role as a leader for the entire industry.

Within the company, he is said to have brought executives together for new initiatives and made the company cooperate toward that single point. It is noteworthy that those executives were talented and included many graduates of Keio University, with Ennosuke Nishino, head of the transportation department, and Seizo Ida, head of the accounting department, being well-known. Under Ushiba's command, the executives provided services for the first time in Japan, such as express trains, onboard electric lighting, dining cars, sleeping cars, and hotels inside stations directly managed by the railway. The purpose was to compete with the rival Seto Inland Sea shipping routes, and the enhancement of the "soft" aspects of service in particular attracted attention from other operators, pushing the company into a position of industry leadership.

Sanyo Railway had solidified its position as one of Japan's leading private railway operators. As its de facto top leader, Ushiba made repeated proposals not only to the industry but to society as a whole. In the 31st year of Meiji (1898), Ushiba accepted the position of Vice Chairman (with the Chairman position vacant) of the Railway Association. This association was established in Osaka by Minami Kiyoshi (who studied at Keio University for a time and became the President of Hankaku Railway after serving as the Chief Engineer of Sanyo Railway) and Kyoichi Murakami (a graduate of the Imperial University), and was characterized by being composed of individual members who were railway workers. In the association's journal, "Railway Jiho," Ushiba widely advocated for the ideal state of the railway business in Japan based on his experience at Sanyo Railway. Representative examples include the editorial "Policy for Railway Business" in Issue 14 (published May 28, the 32nd year) and the editorial "Theory on Restricting Dividend Payments for Private Railways (1)–(6)" in Issues 329 to 334 (published January 1 to February 10, the 39th year). The paper was famous as Japan's first railway information paper, and Tatsuyasu Kinoshita, a graduate of the Juku, handled the publishing affairs, being hailed as a pioneer of railway journalism through this work.

In March of the 39th year of Meiji (1906), the Railway Nationalization Act was promulgated, and Ushiba declared, "As Sanyo Railway is transferred to government management, I shall leave the railway world to rest in a quiet place, and I have absolutely no intention of becoming a government official, no matter what position I am offered." Upon dissolution, he did not receive a single cent of allowance and distributed it to the employees. It is said that all the employees were moved and presented Ushiba with a gratitude fund and commemorative gifts. Those employees went on to let the skills they had cultivated blossom in the business world. Nishino, a junior from the Juku, became the Managing Director of the Imperial Theatre, and Ida became the Managing Director of Kirin Brewery. The foster father of the railway was also a father to his employees.

After retiring from the railway world, he continued as a Director of Imperial Brush Co., Ltd. (where his son Tetsuro Ushiba became President in the 35th year of Meiji) and served as a Director of Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Company from February of the 41st year of Meiji to February of the 5th year of Taisho (1916), succeeding Kakugoro Inoue upon his retirement. Chiyoda Life had been led by Kadono, who was from the same hometown, as President since its founding. In his final years, he rested at his home overlooking the Akashi Strait (now Shioya-cho, Tarumi-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture) and ended his life in March of the 11th year of Taisho.