Origin of Kanematsu

During a time when the lifespan of a person was considered to be 50 years, Fusajiro Kanematsu made a major step toward trade with Australia when he was 44 years old. His way of life was a continuous challenge, with an eye to the future of Japan.
In 1845, Fusajiro was born in Osaka, Japan. He foresaw the arrival of a new era at the time of disorder at the end of the Edo period and was determined to live as a merchant, not a samurai (warrior).

At the beginning of the Meiji Period, in 1873, when trade in open ports was rapidly becoming active, Fusajiro, then 28 years old, joined the Osaka Branch, Bank Division, Mitsui Gumi (now Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation), where he began working as an apprentice. His sincere, proactive efforts bore fruit. He introduced transactions in private money that banks did not deal with at the time, and achieved strong results and gained trust. He then left the job at Mitsui and participated in founding Osaka Shosen (now Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.) in 1884, and became a director for the purpose of activating the sea transportation industry centered on Osaka. In 1887, he purchased Osaka Nippo (renamed Osaka Mainichi Shimbun in the following year). He provided a breath of fresh air to newspapers that were biased toward the political power at that time and launched a business newspaper for the development of the industry. He attempted novelty, including the introduction of a price list and the opinions of private companies. In this way, Fusajiro's way of life held on to the consistent thought that he was dedicated to entrepreneurship or the industry of Japan.

At the time, nearly 90% of Japan's imports and exports were dominated by foreign firms. Fusajiro was full of ideals and hopes that trade was the only way to enhance Japan's national strength, and that the trade rights for imports and exports must be brought back to the Japanese. He turned to Australia, which was a reservoir of livestock and mines and was the largest wool-producing country in the world. In 1887, Fusajiro visited Sydney, Australia for the first time for an on-the-spot study and determined, "Here is the future field of action for me, and I will also achieve a path for prosperity of Japan." In 1889, at the age of 44 years, he founded Fusajiro Kanematsu Shoten of Australian Trading (now Kanematsu Corporation) in Kobe, Japan. The following year, he went to Australia and opened a branch office in Sydney. Although he was not familiar with the state of affairs and customs in Australia and had no friends he could trust, he shipped beef fat, cattle hides and wool to Japan for the first time to take the first step toward direct Japan-Australia Trade.

Later, Fusajiro met with many difficulties including the Great Depression, but he worked hard to avoid anything that would extinguish trade between Japan and Australia. His enthusiasm moved people, and Kanematsu Shoten found a way out.
No matter what obstacles he faced, Fusajiro followed the path he believed in and devoted half his life to Japan-Australia Trade.

The teachings of Fusajiro, who is known as "the pioneer of trade with Australia," can be found in the current management principles and are instilled in the DNA of the employees of Kanematsu. The following are the sayings left behind by the founder, Fusajiro Kanematsu.