Hara Zenzaburo
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Jump to navigationJump to searchHara Zenzaburô was a prominent Yokohama silk merchant of the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods.
Born in Musashi province in 1827, he inherited and continued the family business of dealing in raw silk. Following the opening of the port of Yokohama, he established a storefront called the Kame-ya, to sell silk thread.
In 1874, he became the president of the Yokohama kiito kaikaisha (Yokohama Raw Silk Revised Company); shortly afterwards, he also became the head of the Second National Bank.
Hara was elected to the House of Peers.
He died in 1899, at the age of 72. His son-in-law, Hara Tomitarô, took over the family business, and built the Sankeien gardens in Yokohama.
References
- "Hara Zensaburô" 原善三郎. Gôshô hyakunin 豪商百人. Bessatsu Taiyô 別冊太陽. Winter 1976. p144.
