Godai Tomoatsu 五代友厚 | |
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| Born | (1836-02-12)February 12, 1836 Kagoshima,Satsuma Domain, Japan |
| Died | September 25, 1885(1885-09-25) (aged 49) |
Godai Tomoatsu (五代 友厚; February 12, 1836 – September 25, 1885) was one of theSatsuma students of 1865 who were smuggled out ofBakumatsu periodJapan to study inGreat Britain. He returned to become Japan's leading entrepreneur of the earlyMeiji period.
Godai was born inSatsuma domain (in what is now part ofKagoshima city,Kagoshima Prefecture), and was sent by the domain to study naval science and technology at theKaigun Denshujo inNagasaki. At the outbreak of theAnglo-Satsuma War of 1864, he was appointed captain of theTen’yū Maru. Along withMatsuki Koan, he was taken prisoner by theRoyal Navy when his ship was captured.[1] Released, he was forced to hide, as some in Satsuma suspected him of betraying them to England. During his hiding, he drafted a plan for a program of military expansion underpinned by open foreign trade. His plan included sending sixteen men and an interpreter to study in London.[2] He himself was, naturally, one of 15 students to be sent toGreat Britain to study at theUniversity College, London in defiance of theTokugawa bakufu's officialnational seclusion policy.
In 1865 Godai made contact withThomas Glover who steered negotiations with the Platt textile machinery giant inOldham,Lancashire, England. This visit led to the establishment of the Kagoshima Mill in Satsuma in 1867 - reputed to be Japan's first modern factory. Manchester engineers spent a year in Kagoshima to supervise building, factory production and the training of local workers. TheManchester Seven - as they became known had a specialWhite Mansion constructed for their comfort and is today a museum. Godai's UK visit also included the Manchester Chamber of Commerce - reputed to have inspired the foundation of the pioneering Osaka Chamber and Industry.[3]
Godai later returned to Europe to negotiate with the Comte des CantonsCharles Montblanc (1832–1893) to establish a joint venture commercial enterprise for the development of Satsuma's natural resources in exchange for European weapons and manufactured goods. This French–Satsuma trading company attracted French investment into the Satsuma domain to establish a steamship shipyard and textile (silk) spinning factories and to send promising students from Satsuma overseas. Its existence also allowed Satsuma to participate as if it were an independent country in theParis Exhibition of 1867, much to the consternation of the Tokugawa-government representatives. At the same time, Godai used his contacts to purchase the latest warships to equip the Satsuma in preparation with the growing conflict to overthrow the Tokugawa regime.
After theMeiji Restoration, Godai became aSan'yo (junior councilor), and used his foreign experience to defuse a number of incidents created against foreigners by xenophobic ex-samurai. He resigned from government service in 1869, and turned his full attention to business. Basing himself inOsaka, he created several majorjoint stock companies involved in international trade, commerce and shipping, which he operated simultaneously. Godai went on to found the OsakaChamber of Commerce and theOsaka Stock Exchange.
He also participated in theOsaka Conference of 1875, which attempted to hold together the fragile coalition of feudal domains which dominated the early Meiji government.
Godai was later implicated in theHokkaido Colonization Office Scandal of 1881, which brought down the administration ofPrime MinisterKuroda Kiyotaka.
A biographical drama film titledGodai - The Wunderkind by Japanese film directorMitsutoshi Tanaka was released in 2020, starringHaruma Miura as Godai.[4][5]
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