- 著者
-
宮本 又郎
廣山 謙介
- 出版者
- 経営史学会
- 雑誌
- 経営史学 (ISSN:03869113)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.15, no.1, pp.54-80,iii, 1980-04-30 (Released:2009-11-06)
The House of Konoike is known as one of the most powerful merchant houses of Tokugawa Japan. The history of the Konoike in the course of Japan's industrialization has been often compared with that of the Mitsui : the former as an unsuccessful case, and the latter as a successful one.This paper is an attempt to shed more light on the modern history of the Konoike, with special reference to the following questions. In what branch of economic activity was the accumlated capital of the Konoike invested, in response to changing scene of national economy during the Meiji-Showa Eras? What kinds of business policy were pursued during the period? What kinds of result did the investment and the policy bring on the Konoike and the Konoike Bank? How were the traditional House system and the managerial organization altered to adjust new environment? What kinds of role did the employed manager, such as Michio Doi, Hisashi Shimamura and Jiro Harada, play in the modernization of the Konoike? By examining these questions, the writers intend to make clear the causes of the Konoike's failure to be brought up as a first class zaibatsu.In conclusion, the business activities of the Konoike since the beginning of Meiji era can be divided into three phases. The first phase (1868-1896) can be explained as the periodd of diversification. The second (1897-1919) can be characterized as the period of specialization in banking. During this period, the Konoike Bank, which was established in 1900 in the form of unlimited parthership and wad reorganized in the form of corporation in 1919, became the only enterprise that the Konoike controlled directly. Conservative behavior under the leadership of Jiro Harada, an employed manager, was another characteristic feature in this period. In the third phase (1920-1933), a holding company, the Konoike Gomei, was established in 1921 and the Konoike Bank was separated from the Konoike family. The Konoike Gomei was more eager about diversification and about holding stocks of various companies in this period than in the preceding period. In this sense, one might reckon the establishment of the Konoike Gomei as an indicator which shows the formation of the Konoike zaibatsu. This is, however, an outward look. The timing of the shift from specialization policy to diversification one was too late and each share of stock held by the Konoike Gomei was generally too small to control the management of each company. Consequently, the Konoike failed to grow up as a first class zaibatsu and remained to be a mere wealthy family.