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, 13:17, 2 February 2012
*''Born: [[1827]]''
*''Died: [[1899]]''
*''Japanese'': [[原]]善三郎 ''(Hara Zensaburou)''
Hara Kei was a prominent [[Yokohama]] [[silk]] merchant of the [[Bakumatsu period|Bakumatsu]] and [[Meiji period]]s.
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''<!--横浜生糸改会社--> (Yokohama Raw Silk Revised Company); shortly afterwards, he also became the head of the Second National Bank<!--第二国立銀行-->.
Hara was elected to the [[House of Peers]].
He died in 1899, at the age of 72. His son-in-law, [[Hara Sankei|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.
[[Category:Merchants]]
[[Category:Meiji Period]]