Name Change Charts of Companies and Organizations Related to Shibusawa Eiichi

The name change charts track the changes in names of companies and organizations related to Shibusawa Eiichi (1840-1931). Companies and organizations with direct connections to Eiichi, their predecessors prior to Eiichi's involvement, and those that resulted from a merger with a company or organization related to Eiichi are all included in the charts and indicated by various markings.

The main volumes of the Shibusawa Eiichi denki shiryo covering Eiichi’s achievements as an adult are divided into three parts: “Business and the Economy,” “Public and Social Works,” and “Personal Affairs.” The name change charts focus on the first two. Roughly 85% of Eiichi's business involvements from the "Business and the Economy" part have been traced in 123 charts. For the "Public and Social Works" part, however, only roughly 15% of the organizations listed, focusing on those with which Eiichi had a stronger connection, have been selected and traced in 37 charts. To see a complete list of Shibusawa Eiichi's involvements please see the "Jigyo ichiran" (Industry List).

1.Companies/Organizations in the Name Change Charts and the Shibusawa Eiichi Denki Shiryo

Companies and organizations with which Shibusawa Eiichi had a direct involvement were selected from the main volumes of the Shibusawa Eiichi denki shiryo. Chart titles were assigned according to the industries such as "Banks," "Land Transportation," "Shrines, " and "Business Education," as listed in the "Jigyobetsu nenpu" (Chronological List by Industry) found in volume 58 of the Denki shiryo. In addition, chapter titles from the table of contents of the Denki shiryo such as "Finance," "Commerce and Industry," and "Social Programs" are listed as "Table of Contents Items." The order of the name change charts follows the same order as the table of contents of the Denki shiryo. For an overview of the table of contents see the "Kakukan rinku" (Volume-by-volume Links) to the digital version of the Denki shiryo.

2.Content and Data

• Data for the charts has been collected from the sources listed below.
• The name change charts were created according to classifications found in the "Business and the Economy" and "Public and Social Works" parts of the Shibusawa Eiichi denki shiryo. The headings for the name change charts and sources pages thus list this information following the title of the chart and the Denki shiryo table of contents item name.
• Each name change chart follows a company or organization from the time of founding through various name changes. Each company or organization name is listed with the reading and the dates it was used.
• Company and organization names are written using the names that appear in the references listed below. Companies or organizations that dissolved and were re-established have been listed as separate entities even if the same name was used. Company and organization types have been abbreviated as shown in the table below.
• The readings for company and organization names are based on supposition and may differ from official readings. For example, the reading “Nippon” has been used for all names with the characters “日本” unless there is proof that the company or organization used the reading “Nihon.” The readings of company and organization types have been omitted.
• The dates for the use of a company or organization name may include the dates of: application, approval, or registration of establishment; founding general meeting; beginning of operations; or business transfers, mergers, and dissolutions. These dates have been collected from authoritative sources, but may differ from official dates for the establishment and dissolution of a company or organization. Dates are given in the Western calendar.
• In general, mergers, divisions, and various other changes are only listed if they resulted in a change to the name of the company or organization.
• The year of a merger is marked with an arrow. In the case of dissolution, cessation of business, or general business failure, the arrow appears after the entry.
• Name change charts have also been compiled for selected newspapers, magazines and other publications.

■Abbreviations

3.Colors

	Orange boxes with the character “栄” denote companies and organizations where Shibusawa Eiichi served as an executive, shareholder, advisor, or otherwise offered assistance.
	Yellow boxes denote subsequent companies and organizations (orange companies and organizations that were inherited or underwent a name change). However, in cases where Shibusawa Eiichi's involvement in a company or organization was limited to having given a lecture or attended a meeting, following companies and organizations are not marked by yellow boxes.
	Blue boxes denote companies and organizations that have not inherited the business that Eiichi was involved in, but that have organizational connections through mergers with the above companies and organizations.

The chronological arrow on the left-hand side of the page changes color in 1840 and 1931, the years of Shibusawa Eiichi's birth and death.

4.Names and Sources

The sources used for each name change chart have been compiled into a separate list for each company or organization. The layout is as follows.

Sources

Related name change charts

Clicking on a heading will open the corresponding name change chart.

5.Contact Us

If you have any questions about this site, you can contact us from the email address linked below.
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