Yataro Iwasaki
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Yataro Iwasaki (岩崎 弥太郎 Iwasaki Yatarō, January 9, 1835–February 7, 1885) was a Japanese financier and shipping industrialist. He founded Mitsubishi in 1873.
Yataro Iwasaki was the founder of the international conglomerate Mitsubishi Group. He was born in a peasant family in Aki, Tosa province (now Kochi prefecture) during the turmoil days of Japan. Taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity, he left his hometown for Tokyo with his teacher. That day turned out to be one of the milestones that shaped the business world in the following hundred years. Yataro socialized with political activists in Tokyo, many of whom later became important government officials. He later founded the Mitsubishi Transportation Company which shipped goods between China and Japan. The Meiji Period was also an era in which the Japanese economy grew at a rapid pace and Japan opened up to the rest of the world, therefore his shipping business turned to a big success. Yataro almost dominated the route except for another competitor—Mitsui. Yataro died of stomach cancer aged 50[1] and his brother took over his place, further expanding the family business into mining and banking, among other ventures. Yataro's son took over his uncle's position after he died. The Iwasaki family has lost control of the Mitsubishi Group, but the legend of the Iwasaki family is a still a common example in the entrepreneurial chapter of most business school textbooks.
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