Yasuzaemon Matsunaga

Image: Yasuzaemon Matsunaga (Collection of the Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies, photographed by Kira Sugiyama)

"Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)," sent out into the world by Yukichi Fukuzawa at the dawn of the Meiji era, caused a tremendous sensation, and young people throughout Japan who read this book aspired to study with dreams and hope.

Kamenosuke Matsunaga, born in 1875 to a merchant family in Iki Island (Nagasaki Prefecture) in the Genkai Sea that handled a wide range of businesses including sake brewing, fisheries, and trade, was one of them. After reading "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)," Matsunaga developed a strong desire to go to Tokyo and study under Fukuzawa. In response to fierce opposition from his family, he went on a hunger strike. Naturally stubborn, Matsunaga refused to back down at all; after a few days, his mother took his side, and finally, his father consented. Thus, the 14-year-old Matsunaga left Iki Island for Tokyo and enrolled in Keio University, where Fukuzawa was.

School was interesting, and Matsunaga focused on his studies with the hope of studying abroad. However, about three years later, his father passed away suddenly, forcing him to withdraw from Keio University and return to Iki to succeed as the third-generation Yasuzaemon and take over the family headship. Matsunaga organized the family business, which had expanded over three years, and with his mother's understanding, left his younger brother in charge and returned to Keio University. His circumstances at this time were very similar to those of Fukuzawa during his time at Tekijuku.

One day, Matsunaga was bowing to a teacher in the school hallway. An unknown old man came up from behind and said, "Hey, you, it's a problem if you bow in our house. We are all comrades. If you're talking about a 'teacher' here, well, that's only me." This was Matsunaga's first encounter with Fukuzawa.

Matsunaga and the other young men living in the dormitory were constantly hungry, and the chickens at the Fukuzawa residence right next door were a constant temptation. Finally, thinking that no one would notice if one bird went missing, Matsunaga and his friends caught a chicken, put it in a pot, and ate it. A few days later, all the culprits were invited by Fukuzawa to a feast. What was served was chicken hot pot. Even as Fukuzawa smilingly encouraged them to "eat more," Matsunaga and the others could hardly swallow. Fukuzawa told them, "I will treat you to something like chicken hot pot, so it is better not to eye other people's chickens," and while Matsunaga was embarrassed, he began to interact closely with Fukuzawa. He went to see plays with the Fukuzawa family and joined the morning walks that Fukuzawa made a daily routine for his health. This "Walking Party" led him to deepen his friendship with Momosuke Fukuzawa (Fukuzawa's son-in-law), who was seven years his senior.

Although he had returned to school, Matsunaga wanted to enter society as soon as possible and consulted Fukuzawa about this. Fukuzawa agreed, saying, "Graduating from school doesn't have much significance," and reportedly said, "Being a salaried worker is boring, so become an independent businessman, even if it's as a noodle shop owner or a bathhouse attendant." Thus, Matsunaga left Keio University without graduating, leaving the words "My life is a struggle" in the commemorative guestbook that students signed when leaving Keio University at the time.

At the recommendation of Momosuke Fukuzawa, Matsunaga joined the Bank of Japan, and the following year, he became the Kobe branch manager of Marusan Shokai, a company founded by Momosuke. However, four months later, Momosuke ran into a funding deadlock due to a large transaction and dissolved Marusan Shokai. Matsunaga's days as a "salaried worker" ended there, and he founded Fukumatsu Shokai with the 500 yen he received from Momosuke. Fukumatsu Shokai, named after Momosuke Fukuzawa and Matsunaga, achieved success in the then-glamorous coal wholesale business, but failed after venturing into coal mining. Furthermore, a stock market crash left Matsunaga bankrupt, and to make matters worse, his home was completely destroyed by fire, leaving him penniless.

Living in retirement at the age of 32, Matsunaga looked back on his life and realized that even though he seemed to have succeeded through his own wisdom and talent, he had actually been helped by people and society. He began to feel that from then on, "it is necessary to serve national society as much as possible," and he poignantly recalled the teachings of the late Yukichi Fukuzawa.

Soon, a path began to open for Matsunaga. Fukuhaku Electric Railway was established to build streetcars in Fukuoka City, and Matsunaga, who went to Fukuoka as its practical manager, took command and managed to open the line in a short period. Eventually, Fukuhaku Electric Railway merged with Hakata Electric Light, the power supplier, to become Hakata Electric Light and Railway. From here, Matsunaga's management of electric power companies—which would become his main battlefield—began (the streetcars were later taken over by Nishi-Nippon Railroad [Nishitetsu]).

The electric power business requires enormous upfront investment. On the other hand, to supply power efficiently and cheaply, it was necessary to avoid competition and expand the supply area. At that time, Japan was reaching a turning point where demand for industrial power was becoming higher than for household lighting. Matsunaga's power management, which began in northern Kyushu, grew through repeated mergers into Toho Electric Power, whose supply area covered one urban prefecture and ten prefectures across Kyushu, Kansai, and Tokai. Other companies among the "Big Five" power companies at the time included Daido Electric Power, where the "Power King" Momosuke Fukuzawa was president, and Tokyo Electric Light, which was based in the capital. Tokyo Electric Light faced many challenges, such as power outages due to supply shortages. Matsunaga established Tokyo Electric Power (a different company from the current Tokyo Electric Power Company) to help rebuild the capital after the Great Kanto Earthquake and entered the capital's power supply market. To counter this, Ichizo Kobayashi, a friend of Matsunaga who was developing the railway business (Hanshin Kyuko Railway) in Kansai, was requested to lead the restructuring of Tokyo Electric Light by Seihin Ikeda of Mitsui Bank, the lender. This led to a head-to-head battle between the two. The situation where sales representatives from both companies would rush to new houses to compete for contracts ended the following year with a merger of the two companies mediated by Ikeda.

Because electric power was an essential business for military expansion and the execution of war, momentum for state control and nationalization grew. Matsunaga criticized bureaucrats who did as the military told them, and to encourage independence among managers, he declared at a roundtable discussion that "Bureaucrats are the scum of humanity." However, contrary to Matsunaga's wishes, the Electric Power State Control Law was passed, and Japan Electric Generation and Transmission (Nippon Hassoden) was established to integrate power companies nationwide. Matsunaga resigned from all his positions and retired to a villa in Yanase Village (now Tokorozawa City) in Musashino.

After passing the age of 60, Matsunaga entered the path of the tea ceremony, which became a serious pursuit rather than just a hobby. His skill was such that he was counted among the three great modern tea masters along with Takashi Masuda (Don'o) of Mitsui and Tomosaburo Hara (Sankei) of the silk industry. He took the pseudonym Jian, derived from the passage in the "Analects" stating "at sixty, my ear was an obedient organ (耳順)," and frequently held tea gatherings at his Yanase villa. After the war, Matsunaga donated the Yanase villa and his collection of ancient art to the Tokyo National Museum and moved to Odawara, where his memorial museum is currently located.

The postwar electric power business began with the Electric Power Industry Reorganization Council, which deliberated on the dissolution of Japan Electric Generation and Transmission and the reorganization of the power industry. Matsunaga, who became the chairman, proposed a plan to dissolve and split Japan Electric Generation and Transmission into a nine-company system by region (later becoming ten with the addition of Okinawa). He clashed head-on with other committee members, the government, and bureaucrats who tried to preserve some functions of Japan Electric Generation and Transmission. He repeatedly visited GHQ to explain his position, and the Matsunaga plan was adopted in the form of an absolute order from GHQ without a resolution from the Diet. Furthermore, he pushed his opinions through in the Public Utilities Commission, which allocated resources to the nine-company system. Regarding management personnel, he clashed fiercely with the Japan Electric Generation and Transmission side, which tried to send in its own people, and forced his way through with the Matsunaga plan. This was the obsession of Matsunaga, who aimed for independent management by the private sector. Matsunaga himself said, "I am still not submissive; I cannot just listen obediently to what people say."

Matsunaga also realized a significant electricity rate hike of nearly 70%. When asked if he would implement a price hike that even the government opposed, Matsunaga replied, "Of course. The government doesn't understand anything. If that's the case, just break the government." Before long, Matsunaga came to be called the "Demon of Electric Power." To rebuild the country, it was necessary to increase the power supply, and price hikes were essential to build power plants independently. In the long run, the price hikes led to industrial development and the improvement of the people's lives.

Matsunaga's gaze was also directed toward the future of the electric power industry and Japanese industry. He established the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry to conduct research and development on energy and the environment, and further launched the Industrial Planning Council, gathering intellectuals from the political and business worlds. This council made 16 recommendations over 12 years, including "reform of the national railways" and the "Tokyo Bay reclamation project." Many of these recommendations seemed impossible at the time but have been realized today.

Matsunaga ended his life of struggle in 1971 at the age of 95. In accordance with his will, which stated, "I hate all funerals and memorial services after my death so much that it makes me itch," no funeral or memorial service was held.

Even before the war, Matsunaga emphasized research and study of electric power and established the Toho Industrial Research Institute (the predecessor of the current Sanken Electric) in Shiki Town (now Shiki City), near the Yanase villa. After the war, the site and facilities were donated to Keio University and became Keio Shiki Senior High School.

Matsunaga said, "The ones who gave me teachings that became my blood and flesh personally were especially Yukichi Fukuzawa and my grandfather." From his grandfather, who built a fortune in one generation, he learned the mindset of a businessman. And he did not hesitate to say that being raised with full affection from his family created a person who lived straight, without prejudice or fear. On the other hand, the existence of Fukuzawa was so large for Matsunaga that it could not be described in a single word. In his later years, Matsunaga wrote "The Human Yukichi Fukuzawa." As the title suggests, it depicts Yukichi Fukuzawa as a warm human being—a man full of affection and commonality, without being arrogant. After the war, perhaps a sense of mission that "there are probably few people other than me who can talk about the realistic teacher," feeling a sense of discomfort with the "Great Fukuzawa whose reputation is settled in the world," drove Matsunaga to take up his pen.

This makes one feel something that overlaps with the gaze of Shinzo Koizumi, who spoke of Fukuzawa during the same period and, borrowing his sister's words, expressed that "Fukuzawa's greatness is love." Matsunaga's way of life, which was not always perfectly upright, is better described as an innocent embodiment of the Fukuzawa spirit rather than a strict follower of it. As something he desired for future generations, Matsunaga cited "the spirit of altruism through mutual aid and equality" (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, "My Personal History"). If one were to dare to express the many things Matsunaga learned from his mentor Yukichi Fukuzawa in a single phrase, this might be appropriate.