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THE ZAIBATSU OF JAPAN

財閥
Financial Cliques

The zaibatsu (literally financial cliques) were the diversified family enterprises that rose to prominence in the Meiji Era. Some of the most important zaibatsu and their origins were:

Mitsui
Mitsubishi
Yasuda
Sumitomo
Okura
Furukawa
Kuhara
Suzuki
Fujita
Asano

The relative sizes of the zaibatsu changed somewhat over time. In 1895 the annual incomes of the various zaibatsu families were as follows.

FamilyAnnual
Income
1895
(000 yen)
Iwasaki
(Mitsubishi)
1,084
Mitsui529
Sumitomo156
Yasuda94
Okura65
Furukawa62

Reference: Hidemasa Morikawa, Zaibatsu: The Rise and Fall of Family Enterprise Groups in Japan, University of Tokyo Press, 1992


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