On the Establishment and Development of Marquis Hosokawa as the Peerage Capital

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to make clear what characteristics Marquis Hosokawa had before World War II, from the point of each stage of capitalistic development, in order to encourage the study of peerage capital which has been so far almost neglected. The historical documents used in this paper consist of the materials concerning both human affairs and family budgets of the Hosokawas. The conclusions of this study are as follows. 1. Marquis Hosokawa grew to be a big land owner of 1000 cho (about 1000 ha) in Kumamoto in the thirties of Meiji era and of 2000 cho in Korea, but the amount of farm-rent was smaller than the amount of stock dividends or almost equal to it. 2. Under the direction of Keigo Kiyoura, counselor of the Hosokawas, and Nagaaki Takahashi, semi-servant of the Hosokawas, Marquis Hosokawa tried to contribute the colonization of Korea and made Kumamoto the base of capital accumulation by the help of Zaibatu Yasuda mainly through the field of the banking and the electric power industry. And it became a man of property amounting to ten million yen in the Taisho period. 3. Though Marquis Hosokawa had priority to the national position of peerage as the guard of the Emperor, thus it obtained farm-rent as the main revenue by becoming a big land owner in Kumamoto and Korea, and established the base of capitalistic accumulation in Kumamoto, which brought the Hosokawas somewhat social influence over Kumamoto at least. We can point it out that Marquis Hosokawa was one of the typical existences standing for almost main features peculiar to prewar Japan.