| Iwamoto Chizuna | |
| Native Name: | 岩本 千綱 |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Birth Date: | 1858 |
| Birth Place: | Kōchi, Tosa Domain, Japan[1] |
| Death Place: | Japan |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Serviceyears: | 1879-1887 |
| Allegiance: | Imperial Japanese Army |
was a Japanese soldier and adventurer.
Iwamoto Chizuna was born into a samurai family in 1858.[2]
In 1879, Iwamoto graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and eventually achieved the rank of . In 1887, he was discharged from the Army on account of his association with members of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement including Inukai Tsuyoshi.[1] [2]
In 1892, he moved to Siam and devoted himself to encouraging economic and cultural ties between Japan and Siam.[1] He also visited Luang Phrabang.[3]
Iwamoto and founded the with financial support from Chaophraya Surasakmontri.[2] The society was later reorganized as the . According to Ishibashi, the long-term goals of the company included, among other things, "establish[ing] a latent Japanese influence [in Siam]" and "install[ing] Japanese in the Siamese government".[2]
Before Iwamoto returned home to recruit Japanese peasants for the colonization project, Surasakmontri gave him a golden sword to be sharpened in Japan.[2] The Siam Colonization Company ended in disaster with many of the Japanese immigrants winding up dead or enslaved as coolies.[2]
In 1897, Iwamoto published a book about his travels — .[1] [4] He died in 1920.[1]