Masatoshi Ōkōchi
大河内 正敏
Born	(1878-12-06)December 6, 1878 Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Died	August 29, 1952(1952-08-29) (aged 73)
Occupation	Businessman
Children	5 (includingNobutake andNobuhiro)

ViscountMasatoshi Ōkōchi (大河内正敏,Ōkōchi Masatoshi; December 6, 1878 – August 29, 1952) was a Japanese physicist and business executive. He was the third director of theRiken Institute, a position which he assumed in 1921 and held for 25 years. During this period, he was notable for establishing theRiken Konzern, azaibatsu of companies which focused on utilizing Riken's research results to produce commercial products.

He was the eldest son ofŌkōchi Masatada, son ofManabe Akikatsu and adopted son ofMatsudaira Masatomo. He married a daughter of his uncleŌkōchi Nobuhisa, another son of Akikatsu but adopted byMatsudaira Nobuaki, with whom he had issue, includingNobuhiro Ōkōchi. His granddaughter through Nobuhiro was actressMomoko Kōchi.^[1][2][3][4]

Masatoshi was born inHamamatsuchō, Minato, Tokyo as a descendant of theŌkōchi-Matsudaira clan who ruled over theŌtaki Domain. After graduating from an elementary school affiliated withGakushūin, he received an education at the First High School, and then enrolled in theTokyo Imperial University.

• 1903 – After graduating from college, he became a lecturer. His subsequent visits to Europe were privately financed.
• 1911 – After returning to Japan, he was appointed professor at the Tokyo Imperial University.

  During that time, he collaborated withTorahiko Terada on the experiment involving flying bullets.

• 1914 – He received aDoctor of Engineering.
• February 27, 1915 – He was elected as Viscount in theHouse of Peers.
• 1918 – He served as parliamentary vice-minister of theMinistry of the Navy of Japan underHara Takashi.
• September 30, 1921 – Under the recommendation of the president of the University of Tokyo,Yamakawa Kenjirō, he was elevated to his position as director of Riken.

  There, he introduced the laboratory system to bring freedom to senior researchers at Riken, further advancing the commercialization of research results, making Riken an international research institute.

• 1925 – He resigned his position as professor at the University of Tokyo to devote to his position as director of Riken.
• 1927 – For the purpose of commercializing research results on Kogyo Co, Ltd., Riken started production of the first practical usepiston ring in Japan.

  Seventy-six companies merged into theRiken Konzern, causing Riken to account for the leadership of this zaibatsu.

• April 1, 1930 – He was ordained into theJapanese honors system, and he was bestowed upon theOrder of the Sacred Treasure.
• July 19, 1930 – He resigned as a member of the House of Peers.
• April 2, 1934 – He was appointed as the fourth head of Tokyo's physical school (now superseded by theTokyo University of Science).
• May 1936 – He was appointed as president of Tokyo's physical school.
• September 1937 – He resigned as president of Tokyo's physical school.
• February 10, 1938 – He was elected as Viscount in the House of Peers in a representative election.
• 1943 – He was appointed as an adviser of Tojo's cabinet.
• December 6, 1945 – He was charged forwar crimes as a Class A war criminal suspect.
• December 13, 1945 – He was detained inSugamo Prison.
• December 25, 1945 – He resigned as principal of Tokyo's physical school.
• April 1946 – He was released from custody.
• April 7, 1946 – He resigned as a member of the House of Peers for the last time.
• October 1946 – He resigned as the director of Riken.

  Until his resignation, he supported the researchers' studies in a wide range of fields in the royalties of Riken's companies.

  Also, one year after the resignation, he waspurged from running for public office.^[5]

• August 6, 1951 – His purge from office has been softened.
• August 29, 1952 – He died from acerebral infarction at the age of 73. Before his death, he was bestowed upon theOrder of the Rising Sun.

  His grave is located atHeirin-ji atNiiza, Saitama.

• Ricoh
• Riken
• Ten Japanese Great Inventors

• [1] – Information about the history of RIKEN

• 1878 births
• 1952 deaths
• 20th-century Japanese businesspeople
• Japanese physicists
• Kazoku
• Ōkōchi clan
• Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun
• Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
• Riken personnel
• University of Tokyo alumni
• Academic staff of the University of Tokyo
• People from Minato, Tokyo
• Physicians from Tokyo

• Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from December 2015
• Articles with hCards
• Pages using infobox person with deprecated parameters
• Articles containing Japanese-language text