Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons¹⁶

Ōkura Kihachirō

Japanese businessman and philanthropist (1837–1928)

Baron Ōkura Kihachirō (大倉喜八郎; 23 October 1837 – 5 April 1928) was a Japanese businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the corporate progenitor of the Ōkura-gumi zaibatsu, which later became the Taisei Corporation, and the Ōkura Shōgyō Gakkō ("Okura Commerce School") which later became Tokyo University of Economics in 1949.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Ōkura Kihachirō (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Oct 23, 1837, died Apr 5, 1928.¹

About

In contrast to most of the zaibatsu, the Ōkura zaibatsu was founded by someone from the peasant class.

From Wikipedia’s article on Ōkura Kihachirō, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

Taisei CorporationFounder¹³
Imperial HotelFounder¹⁴
Ōkura zaibatsuFounder¹⁵

Career

Occupation: businessperson, art collector.⁸

Date not recordedFounded Ōkura zaibatsu³
Date not recordedFounded Imperial Hotel⁴
Date not recordedFounded Kawana Hotel⁵
Date not recordedFounded Taisei Corporation⁶
Date not recordedFounded Okura Museum of Art⁷

Personal life

BornOct 23, 1837, Shibata⁹
DiedApr 5, 1928, Akasaka-ku¹⁰
CitizenshipJapan¹¹

Awards

1928Order of the Rising Sun, 1st class¹²
1924Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st Class¹²
1907Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd Class¹²
1902Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class¹²
1897Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class¹²
1888Gold Medal with Yellow Ribbon¹²

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

1
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō on Wikidata
2
WikipediaŌkura Kihachirō on Wikipedia
3
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: Founded Ōkura zaibatsu, on Wikidata
4
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: Founded Imperial Hotel, on Wikidata
5
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: Founded Kawana Hotel, on Wikidata
6
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: Founded Taisei Corporation, on Wikidata
7
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: Founded Okura Museum of Art, on Wikidata
8
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: occupation, on Wikidata
9
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: place of birth, on Wikidata
10
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: place of death, on Wikidata
11
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: citizenship, on Wikidata
12
WikidataŌkura Kihachirō: award, on Wikidata
13
WikidataTaisei Corporation, Founder
14
WikidataImperial Hotel, Founder
15
WikidataŌkura zaibatsu, Founder
16
Wikimedia CommonsŌkura Kihachirō photo by Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain