Zeniya Gohei

Zeniya Gohei (銭屋五兵衛, 1773-1852) was a Japanese merchant and engineer in the Edo period.

Zeniya Gohei

Gohei was born to a family of money-changers in Kaga province.[1]

Coastal shipping

Gohei was put in charge of developing a coastal shipping fleet (kitamae ships) for the Tokugawa shogunate; and he became very rich from trading,[1] especially rice and lumber.

Land reclamation project

In the summer of 1851, Gohei attempted a land reclamation project in Kahoku Lake, which is south of Kanazawa on the Sea of Japan. He planned to create rice paddies; but the project failed.[2]

In mid-1852, a large number of dead fish floated to the surface of the inlet near the worksite; and some local people died after eating the dead fish. Gohei and his family were deemed responsible; and they were imprisoned.[2] It is likely that these criminal charges were contrived as a subterfuge which enabled the clan to seize his considerable wealth.[3]

The eighty-year-old Gohei died within three months of his incarceration.[2]

Notes
  1. Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005). "Zeniya Gohei" in Japan encyclopedia, pp. 1071., p. 1071, at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File.
  2. Shimoda, Hiraku. "Bad Sushi or Bad Merchant? The ‘Dead Fish Poisoning Incident’ of 1852," Modern Asian Studies (2001), Vol. 35, pp. 513-531; JSTOR
  3. Sansom, George. (1963). A History of Japan, 1615-1867, pp. 214-215., p. 214, at Google Books

References
  • Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 48943301
  • Sansom, George Bailey. (1963). A History of Japan, 1615-1867.] Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0527-1; OCLC 173092834

Further reading
  • Wakabayashi, Kisaburo. (1957). Zeniya Gohei (錢屋五兵衛) Osaka: Sōgensha. OCLC 033644769


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