Nezu Kaichirō

Nezu Kaichirō (1860 to 1940) was a Japanese businessman, national politician and philanthropist, born into an established merchant family in Yamanashi. He moved to Tokyo in 1897 and became independently wealthy through stock investments. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1904, won three subsequent reelections and was elevated to the House of Peers in 1926. In 1905 he became president of Tobu Railway and helped grow it into one of the largest private rail operators in the Kanto region. His other business interests included managerial and shareholding roles in Tokyo Basha Tetsudo, Tokyo Dento and Tokyo Gas. After joining Shibusawa Eiichi on a 1909 trade mission to the United States he founded and donated to educational and cultural initiatives including Musashi Junior and Senior High School, and his collection of pre-modern Japanese and East Asian art became the basis of the Nezu Museum in Minato, Tokyo.