戦前・戦中・戦後における内野正夫の歩み

抄録

In this paper we examine the trajectory of Masao Uchino from prewar years to postwar period, who was called “my lifelong mentor” by Kazuo Inamori. Masao Uchino (1802–1973) was born in Kumamoto prefecture as a fourth son of Giichiro. He graduated from the applied chemistry course in the department of engineering of the Tokyo Imperial University in 1916. In 1917 he joined Furukawa Mining, and was in charge of the construction of electrostatic dust collection plant and arsenous acid manufacturing plant which contributed to the solution of lead poisoning.

In 1921 Uchino became a plant manager of Osaka Smelting Company as a subsidiary of Furukawa Mining, then joined national Osaka Industrial Institute in 1927. Further he transferred the South Manchurian Railway Company (hereafter SMRC) in 1932, and was in the posts of an engineer, chief of inorganic chemistry section of Central Research Institute of SMRC, and a manager of Fushun temporary aluminum plant. After the establishment of Manchurian Light Metal Company (hereafter MLMC) in November 1936 under the support of the Kwantung Army of Imperial Japan, Uchino became a chief engineer and standing director of MLMC, directed the initial stage of aluminum production based on not bauxite but alum shale. In 1944 he was in the posts of director of light metal association and manager of Korean branch of the association.

Uchino was exiled from public office in 1946 due to the wartime activities, and became president of Higo Wax Company located in Kumamoto, then experienced a severe labor dispute. At the age of 62, Uchino became an engineering professor of Kagoshima Prefectural University in 1954, then encountered Kazuo Inamori, a senior student. In this paper we follow an undulated road of Uchino who had a great influence on Inamori.