Hyakunen no Kei, Watashi ni Ari (2016)

Sumitomo’s first director general was Hirose Saihei who grew up at the Besshi Copper Mine run by the house of Sumitomo in Shiga Prefecture from young. He convinces Sumitomo to embark on modernising its mine “for the sake of Japan 100 years into the future”. Persistent and particular about modernisation at the hands of the Japanese, he was an active proponent of transferring Western technology. He made his subordinate Shiono Monnosuke study in France and learn mining technology. This is how the copper mine was rapidly modernised. But on the other hand, the smoke emissions from smelting mill caused environmental problems. It was Hirose’s nephew Iba Teigo who volunteered to tackle this difficult situation. In order to solve the root of the problem, Iba proposed an incredible plan to move the modern smelting mill, which was completed less than 10 years ago, to another place just like the current. A furious Hirose was absolutely against this reckless plan. But Iba talked him into it and even carried out a huge reforestation plan to restore nature at the mountains of Besshi that had been devastated by mining and smelting that spanned 200 years. Iba would go on to become Sumitomo’s second director general. How far did the reforms of Hirose and Iba get? Edit Translation

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