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[[File:YoneSuzuki1918.tif|thumb|Yone Suzuki, from a 1918 publication.]] |
[[File:YoneSuzuki1918.tif|thumb|Yone Suzuki, from a 1918 publication.]] |
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'''Yone Suzuki''' (鈴木よね, 1852.8.15–1938.5.6) was a Japanese businesswoman, described in 1918 as "the wealthiest woman in Japan". |
'''Yone Suzuki''' (鈴木よね, 1852.8.15–1938.5.6) was a Japanese businesswoman, described in 1918 as "the wealthiest woman in [[Japan]]". |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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Yone Suzuki was from [[Osaka]].<ref>"Japan's Richest Woman" ''Boston Daily Globe'' (August 8, 1920): 54.</ref>or [[Himeji]] |
Yone Suzuki was from [[Osaka]].<ref>"Japan's Richest Woman" ''Boston Daily Globe'' (August 8, 1920): 54.</ref> or [[Himeji]]. |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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As a widow with two sons, Yone Suzuki took over her late husband's business, the Suzuki Trading Company (''Suzuki Shoten''), trusting manager Kaneko Naokichi with many of the strategic decisions.<ref name="Sojitz">[https://www.sojitz.com/history/en/company/suzukishoten/ "Suzuki & Co. Ltd."] The Sojitz History Museum.</ref><ref>Yoshio Katsura, "The Role of One ''Sogosha'' in Japanese Industrialization: Suzuki & Co., 1877–1927", a paper presented at the Business History Conference, Nishinomiya, Japan (November 18–19, 1972).</ref> In 1900, she made a fortune in a deal involving sugar, real estate, and [[camphor]]. She started a peppermint factory, she bought the Kobe Steel Works, and expanded her operations in camphor manufacture, sugar refineries and flour mills. She built a factories to produce fish oil and bean oil, owned a fleet of ships,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zOBOAQAAIAAJ |
As a widow with two sons, Yone Suzuki took over her late husband's business, the Suzuki Trading Company (''Suzuki Shoten''), trusting manager Kaneko Naokichi with many of the strategic decisions.<ref name="Sojitz">[https://www.sojitz.com/history/en/company/suzukishoten/ "Suzuki & Co. Ltd."] The Sojitz History Museum.</ref><ref>Yoshio Katsura, "The Role of One ''Sogosha'' in Japanese Industrialization: Suzuki & Co., 1877–1927", a paper presented at the Business History Conference, Nishinomiya, Japan (November 18–19, 1972).</ref> In 1900, she made a fortune in a deal involving sugar, real estate, and [[camphor]]. She started a peppermint factory, she bought the Kobe Steel Works, and expanded her operations in camphor manufacture, sugar refineries and flour mills. She built a factories to produce fish oil and bean oil, owned a fleet of ships,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zOBOAQAAIAAJ&dq=Yone+Suzuki&pg=PA48-IA69 "Japan's Ship Mistress"] ''The Nautical Gazette'' (November 13, 1920): 21.</ref> and added branch offices of the Suzuki conglomerate in several international locations, including Europe, North America, Australia, and elsewhere in Asia.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8DLmAAAAMAAJ&dq=Yone+Suzuki&pg=RA7-PA13 "The World's Greatest Women: Mrs. Yone Suzuki, Business Woman"] ''Green Book Magazine'' (December 1919): 13.</ref> |
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[[File:Suzuki Shoten burnt out.jpg|thumb|Suzuki Shoten burnt out, 1918]] |
[[File:Suzuki Shoten burnt out.jpg|thumb|Suzuki Shoten burnt out, 1918]] |
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She was described in 1918 as "the wealthiest woman in Japan",<ref>Elsie F. Weil, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZLYcAQAAMAAJ |
She was described in 1918 as "the wealthiest woman in Japan",<ref>[[Elsie F. Weil]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZLYcAQAAMAAJ&dq=Yone+Suzuki&pg=RA1-PA63 "A Little Woman of Big Enterprises"] ''World Outlook'' (September 1918): 10.</ref> and in 1927 as the "richest woman in the world."<ref name="Richest">[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1214223 "Richest Woman in the World; Wonder Widow of Japan"] ''Canberra Times'' (June 14, 1927): 5. via [[Trove]]{{open access}}</ref> However, she was also |
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described as "one of the best-hated persons in the country" for taking advantage of wartime conditions and for running up the price of rice.<ref name="Mob">[https://search-proquest-com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/news/docview/145607741/53685F249A6B4E8EPQ/4 "Japanese Mob Widow"] ''Washington Post'' (December 8, 1918): E3.</ref> She had to go into hiding with an alias for a while during the [[rice riots of 1918]], after angry crowds burned her company's headquarters in [[Kobe]].<ref name="Mob" /> |
described as "one of the best-hated persons in the country" for taking advantage of wartime conditions and for running up the price of rice.<ref name="Mob">[https://search-proquest-com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/news/docview/145607741/53685F249A6B4E8EPQ/4 "Japanese Mob Widow"] ''Washington Post'' (December 8, 1918): E3.</ref> She had to go into hiding with an alias for a while during the [[rice riots of 1918]], after angry crowds burned her company's headquarters in [[Kobe]].<ref name="Mob" /> |
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The Suzuki conglomerate was badly affected by a foreign exchange crisis in 1923–1924, and finally failed in a financial panic in 1927.<ref>[http://content.time.com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/time/magazine/article/0,9171,730372,00.html "Japanese Morgan"] ''Time Magazine'' (April 18, 1927).</ref> The [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake]], dysfunctional internal dynamics, unpopular business practices,<ref>[https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG19190103.2.12 "Japanese Profiteer"] ''Ashburton Guardian'' (January 3, 1919): 3.</ref> and external rivalries with other large Japanese conglomerates (''zaibatsu''), are also cited as contributing to the Suzuki collapse.<ref>L. H. Lynn and H. Rao, "Failure of Intermediate Forms: A Study of the Suzuki ''zaibatsu''" [https://books.google.com/books?id=oFaY49z-PUMC |
The Suzuki conglomerate was badly affected by a foreign exchange crisis in 1923–1924, and finally failed in a financial panic in 1927.<ref>[http://content.time.com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/time/magazine/article/0,9171,730372,00.html "Japanese Morgan"] ''Time Magazine'' (April 18, 1927).</ref> The [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake]], dysfunctional internal dynamics, unpopular business practices,<ref>[https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG19190103.2.12 "Japanese Profiteer"] ''Ashburton Guardian'' (January 3, 1919): 3.</ref> and external rivalries with other large Japanese conglomerates (''zaibatsu''), are also cited as contributing to the Suzuki collapse.<ref>L. H. Lynn and H. Rao, "Failure of Intermediate Forms: A Study of the Suzuki ''zaibatsu''" [https://books.google.com/books?id=oFaY49z-PUMC&dq=Yone+Suzuki&pg=PA326 ''Organization Studies''] 16(1)(1995): 55–80.</ref> Among the present-day companies descended from Suzuki & Co. are [[Kobe Steel]] ,[[Sojitz]],[[J-oilmils]]（[[Honen Corporation]]）.<ref>Stuart. D. B. Picken, [https://books.google.com/books?id=POxrDQAAQBAJ&dq=Iwajiro+Suzuki&pg=PA393 ''Historical Dictionary of Japanese Business''] (Rowman & Littlefield 2016): 393. {{ISBN|9781442255890}}</ref><ref name="Sojitz" /> |
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==Personal life and legacy== |
==Personal life and legacy== |
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[[Category:1852 births]] |
[[Category:1852 births]] |
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[[Category:1938 deaths]] |
[[Category:1938 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Japanese |
[[Category:19th-century Japanese businesswomen]] |
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[[Category:19th-century Japanese businesspeople]] |
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[[Category:20th-century Japanese businesswomen]] |
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[[Category:20th-century Japanese businesspeople]] |
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Latest revision as of 23:05, 1 November 2024
Yone Suzuki (鈴木よね, 1852.8.15–1938.5.6) was a Japanese businesswoman, described in 1918 as "the wealthiest woman in Japan".
Early life
[edit]Yone Suzuki was from Osaka.[1] or Himeji.
Career
[edit]As a widow with two sons, Yone Suzuki took over her late husband's business, the Suzuki Trading Company (Suzuki Shoten), trusting manager Kaneko Naokichi with many of the strategic decisions.[2][3] In 1900, she made a fortune in a deal involving sugar, real estate, and camphor. She started a peppermint factory, she bought the Kobe Steel Works, and expanded her operations in camphor manufacture, sugar refineries and flour mills. She built a factories to produce fish oil and bean oil, owned a fleet of ships,[4] and added branch offices of the Suzuki conglomerate in several international locations, including Europe, North America, Australia, and elsewhere in Asia.[5]
She was described in 1918 as "the wealthiest woman in Japan",[6] and in 1927 as the "richest woman in the world."[7] However, she was also described as "one of the best-hated persons in the country" for taking advantage of wartime conditions and for running up the price of rice.[8] She had to go into hiding with an alias for a while during the rice riots of 1918, after angry crowds burned her company's headquarters in Kobe.[8]
The Suzuki conglomerate was badly affected by a foreign exchange crisis in 1923–1924, and finally failed in a financial panic in 1927.[9] The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, dysfunctional internal dynamics, unpopular business practices,[10] and external rivalries with other large Japanese conglomerates (zaibatsu), are also cited as contributing to the Suzuki collapse.[11] Among the present-day companies descended from Suzuki & Co. are Kobe Steel ,Sojitz,J-oilmils（Honen Corporation）.[12][2]
Personal life and legacy
[edit]She married Iwajiro Suzuki, a sugar merchant, when she was 13 years old. Their sons were Iwajiro and Ewazo.[13] She was widowed when he died in 1894.[7] At the peak of her wealth, she lived in a mansion at Suma-ku, Kobe; she moved into more frugal conditions after the collapse of Suzuki & Co.[14]
The 2014 Japanese television drama Oiesan was a historical drama based on a novel by Kaoru Tamaoka about Yone Suzuki's life. Yūki Amami played Yone Suzuki in the program.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Japan's Richest Woman" Boston Daily Globe (August 8, 1920): 54.
- ^ a b "Suzuki & Co. Ltd." The Sojitz History Museum.
- ^ Yoshio Katsura, "The Role of One Sogosha in Japanese Industrialization: Suzuki & Co., 1877–1927", a paper presented at the Business History Conference, Nishinomiya, Japan (November 18–19, 1972).
- ^ "Japan's Ship Mistress" The Nautical Gazette (November 13, 1920): 21.
- ^ "The World's Greatest Women: Mrs. Yone Suzuki, Business Woman" Green Book Magazine (December 1919): 13.
- ^ Elsie F. Weil, "A Little Woman of Big Enterprises" World Outlook (September 1918): 10.
- ^ a b "Richest Woman in the World; Wonder Widow of Japan" Canberra Times (June 14, 1927): 5. via Trove
- ^ a b "Japanese Mob Widow" Washington Post (December 8, 1918): E3.
- ^ "Japanese Morgan" Time Magazine (April 18, 1927).
- ^ "Japanese Profiteer" Ashburton Guardian (January 3, 1919): 3.
- ^ L. H. Lynn and H. Rao, "Failure of Intermediate Forms: A Study of the Suzuki zaibatsu" Organization Studies 16(1)(1995): 55–80.
- ^ Stuart. D. B. Picken, Historical Dictionary of Japanese Business (Rowman & Littlefield 2016): 393. ISBN 9781442255890
- ^ Lester Lear, "A Woman Tramples Tradition to Make Her People Great!" Brooklyn Daily Eagle (June 10, 1923): 9. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Once Richest Woman Now Living Frugally" Washington Post (April 24, 1927): 3.
- ^ "Oiesan" (2014), at Internet Movie Database.
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