Nomura Jiichiro and three steamship lines in the Sea of Japan: Osaka Shosen, Kita Nippon Kisen, and Nipponkai Kisen

摘要

Born in 1875 (Meiji 8) in Kyoto, Nomura Jiichiro graduated from Kansai Law School in 1896 (Meiji 29), and in 1897 (Meiji 30) joined the newspaper company Osaka Asahi Shimbunsha, which sent him to Beijing as a foreign correspondent in 1898 (Meiji 32). Upon returning to Japan he joined Osaka Shosen, a steamship company. From November 1921 (Taisho 10) to 1927 (Showa 2) he served as head of the company’s East Asia department, and conducted negotiations with the Soviet Union’s Maritime Steamship Authority regarding the management of shipping lanes in the Japan Sea. In 1929 (Showa4), he became president of Kita Nippon Kisen, a subsidiary of Osaka Shosen, and exerted himself to restore the company’s ailing fortunes. A decade later, when national policy dictated the merger and consolidation of a number of steamship companies, he was appointed president of Nipponkai Kisen, founded in October 1939 (Showa 14), a post he held until the end of World War II. Thus, for more than 25 years Nomura Jiichiro was active in managing the steamship lines in the Sea of Japan, but his accomplishments in this regard have been overlooked until now. This paper focuses on the contributions of Nomura Jiichiro with particular reference to issues relating to steamship service in the Sea of Japan.