Zeniya Gohei Explained

was a Japanese merchant and engineer in the Edo period.

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 north 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 seventy-eight-year-old Gohei died within three months of his incarceration.^[2]

References

• Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 48943301
• Sansom, George Bailey. (1963). A History of Japan, 1615-1867.] Stanford: Stanford University Press. ;

Further reading

• Wakabayashi, Kisaburo. (1957). Osaka: Sōgensha. OCLC 033644769

External links

• Zeniya Gohei Memorial Hall
• Zeniya Gohei Memorial Hall (Japan Travel)
• Kanazawa and Zeniya Gohei (Kitamae-bune Travel)

• Gohei and Kitamae ships
• IMDb, Zeniya Gohei (1913) Zeniya Gohei (1913)

Notes and References

1. Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005). "Zeniya Gohei" in ; 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).