Toyoji Wada

Image: Keio Institute for Fukuzawa Studies

Many young people from Nakatsu studied at Keio University during its early years, and many outstanding business leaders were born there. These include Hikojiro Nakamigawa, Eiji Asabuki (strictly speaking, from Miyazono, upstream of the Yamakuni River that flows through Nakatsu), Toyotaro Isomura, and others. However, when walking through the town of Nakatsu, one feels the particularly large presence of Toyoji Wada.

In front of Wada's grave at Joanji Temple in Teramachi stands a large monument, the "Wada-kun Kidoku-hi," with an inscription written by Eiichi Shibusawa. Also, about a three or four-minute walk from Yukichi Fukuzawa's former residence, in an area called Takabeya, is Wada Park. This park was created by Fuji Spinning by combining land around Wada's birthplace and donating it to Nakatsu City; a large monument, the "Wada Toyoji-o Seitoku-hi," stands there.

Wada's life is detailed in the "Biography of Toyoji Wada" published in 1926, so I would like to trace his life focusing on that work.

Wada was born on November 18, 1861, in Takabeya-machi, Nakatsu. His father, Kunroku, was a low-ranking samurai even poorer than Fukuzawa, with a stipend of only 10 koku 8 to of rice and a two-person allowance. However, he loved reading and scholarship, and was described as a rare person in the ashigaru class who loved quiet leisure and enjoyed reading.

In 1876, Wada entered Nakatsu Junior High School, which was a merger of the clan school Shinshukan and the Imperial School. However, considering independence as a physician, he boarded at the home of Dencho Murakami from the following year. The Murakami family was one of the leading medical families in Nakatsu, and the building can still be seen today as the Murakami Medical Historical Museum.

After graduating in 1879, he continued to board and study there, but decided to study medical sciences in Tokyo and went to the capital. However, he failed the entrance exam for the University of Tokyo and ended up entering Keio University in January 1882. The guarantor listed in the enrollment register was Tokujirō Obata, a Nakatsu native who supported the Juku alongside Fukuzawa.

To study in Tokyo, Wada, who had already lost his father, sold his home and his ashigaru status, but this only covered a portion of the costs. Through a letter of introduction from Dencho Murakami, he asked an acquaintance of Murakami's in Kansai and began receiving an allowance under the guise of being a correspondent for Chugai Denpo. When that was cut off, he became a scholarship student of the Nakatsu Kaiunsha. This was a scholarship fund created upon the closing of the Nakatsu City School, a Western-style school that also served as a branch of Keio University, to provide funds for outstanding young people to study in Tokyo. The establishment of the Nakatsu City School had originally been funded by the stipends of the Okudaira family (the former lords of the domain) and contributions from the Tenpo Gisha, a mutual aid organization among former samurai families; the scholarship system was created with the remaining funds.

During his time as one of the Keio students, Wada was said to be "stubborn, but as a student, he was a very well-rounded person who was easy for anyone to approach."

There is an anecdote that shows Wada's stubborn and competitive personality. It concerns a competitive eating contest popular among Keio students at the time called "Soba no Kuiagari" (Sanji Muto). The participants would walk from Mita to Ginza, entering every soba shop along the way to eat soba, with the dropouts bearing the costs. Wada always won these contests. In fact, it is said that Wada would secretly break his promise to his friends and reduce his food intake beforehand.

After graduating in 1884, Wada traveled to America the following year. At this time, he was accompanied by Sanji Muto, who studied with him at the Juku and would later be active as a businessman and commentator, and Toraji Kuwahara from Nakatsu. Again, Wada received support from the Nakatsu Kaiunsha for his third-class passenger fare and various preparation costs.

Upon arriving in San Francisco, the three men found work at a tobacco factory through the mediation of a journalist friend named Jacobs, who was introduced by Orie Kai, another Nakatsu connection. However, the wages were low and there was no time to learn English. Muto and Kuwahara resigned early, and Wada was the last one remaining. Eventually, Wada joined Kai Shoten, which dealt in Japanese general merchandise, and worked at the San Francisco branch.

Orie Kai was the son of a Nakatsu samurai who, after studying at the Juku, served as the first principal of the Kobe Commercial Training School. He was entrusted with the management of a trading company established primarily by members of the Keio Gijuku Shachu, such as Eiji Asabuki, and went to America, where he eventually established Kai Shoten independently. Kai Shoten also served as a sort of base or training institution for Keio University alumni in America. Fukuzawa's nephew-in-law, Hidetaro Imaizumi, also worked at the San Francisco branch as the branch manager during the same period.

After six years of life in America, Wada returned to Japan in January 1891.

After returning, Wada worked for Nippon Yusen and then joined Mitsui Bank the following year. Muto, who had returned four years earlier, was already there.

Muto worked in the bank's mortgage department, while Wada worked at the Yokohama branch. Both eventually moved to the Mitsui Industrial Department, overseen by Asabuki, and became the Kobe branch manager and the head office manager (Mukojima) of Kanegafuchi Spinning, respectively. As Muto wrote in "My Personal Story," "Although Kanegafuchi Spinning Company was an independent joint-stock company in name, in reality, its management was entrusted to Mr. Nakamigawa during the reform of Mitsui Bank, and it was naturally treated like a branch of Mitsui Bank." Under Nakamigawa, both found opportunities to excel. However, the two gradually began to be compared and came into conflict.

Regarding business performance, Muto's reputation grew. Since Muto was entrusted with the Hyogo factory just as construction was beginning, state-of-the-art equipment was introduced, putting him in a position where it was easy to achieve results. On the other hand, the Mukojima factory handled by Wada had old equipment, making it difficult to produce results, and the company became impatient for Mukojima to achieve results like Hyogo.

In addition, their opinions began to clash. It is said that differences in personality also played a role. "While Toyoji-kun prioritized sentiment and duty, Muto-kun prioritized intellect; while Toyoji-kun valued harmony, Muto-kun sought first to rectify logic and justice."

Mitsui also judged that it would be difficult to keep the two in the same company. In 1900, Wada was ordered to inspect America for the business of Mitsui Gofukuten, with a new weaving business in mind. However, upon his return, the weaving business was shelved. Wada ended up resigning.

In 1901, Wada joined Fuji Spinning. Wada's achievements at Fuji Spinning are described in detail in the "50-Year History of Fuji Spinning Co., Ltd." (1947).

At the time, Fuji Spinning was in a state of management failure, described as a "red brick stone pagoda" or "ruined red bricks." Ichizaemon Morimura, a founder and major shareholder of the company, stepped in to rebuild it. He persuaded Heizaemon Hibiya to become president, and the then-unfortunate Wada was recruited under him.

As Executive Director, Wada immediately devoted himself to the reconstruction. Wearing a high-collared Western suit that shone black with oil stains and long boots, Wada constantly inspected the factory, observing the condition of the machinery in detail and immediately pointing out any defects he found. For example, if he found an oily rag in a corner of the factory, he would issue a severe reprimand, warning of the risk of spontaneous combustion.

It is said that the continuous severe pointing out of details and reprimands forced both staff and workers to stay tense. However, Wada was also strict about the distinction between public and private matters, and once he left the workplace, he was always smiling with the employees, so the number of people who admired him grew.

In this way, Wada improved production processes and restored discipline, while also addressing the shortage of workers. Many female workers were fleeing the factory due to low wages, and the situation was such that guards were placed on high walls. Wada immediately raised the compensation for workers, removed exit restrictions, and diverted the saved costs of guards to recreational activities such as theater.

As a result of these efforts, not only did production volume increase, but quality also improved dramatically.

Furthermore, in 1906, he revised the bonus law, namely the profit-sharing law. Previously, 15 percent of profits were allocated to executive bonuses, but he changed this to distribute 5 percent each to workers, staff, and executives. Wada had focused on and researched "worker profit-sharing laws" during his last trip to America during his Mitsui days. As stated in the statement of reasons, the purpose for staff was to "discard the common concept of being a mere employee and maintain the resolve and dignity to stand in society as an individual with character," and for workers, it was to "be at peace with their work and serve as the only safe path for the livelihood of themselves and their families," aiming for the alignment of capital and labor. Additionally, in the same year, he established a Kyosai Kumiai (Mutual Aid Association) integrating workers and staff.

Businessmen under Fukuzawa's tutelage, such as Heigoro Shoda of Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard, and Eiji Asabuki and Sanji Muto of Kanegafuchi Spinning, each introduced pioneering welfare systems and created Kyosai Kumiai that served as prototypes for today's health insurance associations; Wada can be counted as one of them.

Wada continued to lead the development of Fuji Spinning thereafter through the expansion from cotton spinning to silk spinning, the merger of spinning companies, and the expansion of hydroelectric power businesses to support the factories.

Furthermore, from around the time he became president in 1916, he participated in the management of various companies as an advisor and worked hard to establish various organizations, including the Industry Club of Japan and Research Centers and Institutes like RIKEN. He was also appointed to many public offices and spent increasingly busy days until his death in 1924. His wide-ranging activities were sometimes referred to as the "Second Generation Shibusawa."

When Wada passed away, many people spoke of his character. For example, in "Talking about Toyoji Wada," titles such as "The Bold yet Meticulous Wada-kun, Whom Even I Cannot Match" and "If You Want a Friend, Have Wada" are listed. Also, Keio University alumni Umeshiro Suzuki cited as points of admiration his filial piety, his deep affection for his hometown, and his efforts for society and the nation, along with the fact that "he never showed prejudice toward anyone, let alone senior friends, and when he received a request, he gladly accepted it and worked enthusiastically with extreme kindness to do everything he could."

Speaking of love for his hometown, the Nakatsu factory, which Wada established with meticulous care, not only became one of Fuji Spinning's main factories but also, along with Kanegafuchi Spinning's Nakatsu factory, supported Nakatsu's industry for a long time.

And most notably, there is the scholarship fund for the youth of Nakatsu. Wada had repeatedly donated scholarship funds during his lifetime, and upon his death, the Wada Kunkokai Foundation was established based on a large fund according to his will. This educational assistance by the Wada Kunkokai continues to this day. Kaisaku Morimura, who knew Wada well, introduced Wada's words as follows:

"I was born into a poor samurai family in the Nakatsu Domain. Normally, I would not have been able to receive a standard education, but thanks to the Nakatsu Kaiunsha, the domain's educational institution, I was able to graduate from Keio University, and after that, with the help of various people, I have been able to become what I am today. Since I have been able to exist today through the kindness of others, I must do as much as I can for others."

The name of the Wada Kunkokai is taken from the names of his father, Kunroku, and his mother, Sachi.