/ 国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション
Financial business
The beginning of the First National Bank
The First National Bank was founded by Shibusawa Eiichi.
The First National Bank was Japan's first modern bank, established in 1873 under the National Bank Ordinance, and was a private corporation in the form of a gappon-kaisha (kabushiki kaisha/joint-stock company).
After playing a central role in the enactment of the National Bank Ordinance (1872/Meiji 5) as a member of the Meiji government, Shibusawa resigned from the Ministry of Finance and participated in the management of the First National Bank from its inception as its general supervisor. In 1875 (Meiji 8), he was appointed president of the bank.
The First National Bank was reorganized as an ordinary bank in 1896 (Meiji 29) and became Dai-Ichi Bank, Ltd. and was one of the five major banks (Dai-Ichi, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Yasuda, and Sumitomo).
This work is by Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915), an ukiyoe artist of the Meiji era. The building of the First National Bank, located beside the Nihonbashi Kaiun Bridge (present-day Nihonbashi Kabutocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo), was originally built as the Mitsui-gumi House. This building, designed by Shimizu Kisuke II, was an epoch-making high-rise building that blended Japanese and Western styles at the time, and has become a tourist attraction.
From company histories of banks
Cooporate history
Shibusawa and others served as founding committee members, and in 1897 (Meiji 30), the Nippon Kangyo Bank was established to provide long-term funds secured by real estate.
The Nippon Kangyo Ginko was established for the purpose of improving the agricultural industry, and its main targets for loans were light industries closely related to agriculture, such as textile spinning and sericulture. The image shows the day of the Kangyo bond sale.
In 1902 (Meiji 35), the Industrial Bank of Japan (Nihon Kogyo Ginko) was established for the purpose of financing key industries, and Shibusawa was involved as a founding committee member. The image shows the temporary business office of the Industrial Bank of Japan.
The Hokkaido Takushoku Bank was established in 1900 (Meiji 33) as a special bank for the purpose of Hokkaido development. Shibusawa served on the founding committee of the bank.
A clearing house was established in Osaka in 1879 (Meiji 12) to exchange bills and checks between financial institutions within the same region. In Tokyo, a clearing house was established at the Bankers' Meeting House, chaired by Shibusawa, in 1883 (Meiji 16), and an exchange was established in 1887 (Meiji 20) as an auxiliary institution to the clearing house.
In 1896 (Meiji 29), Shibusawa and other prominent bankers in the Keihin area established the Tokyo Koshinjyo to promote the development of credit transactions.