HIROOKA Asako

Date of Birth and Death
Octover 18, 1849 - January 14, 1919
Birthplace (modern name)
Kyoto
Occupation, Status
Businessperson , Educator
Pen name etc.
Mitsui (maiden name), Teru (childhood name)

Description

Entrepreneur, founder of Japan Women’s University. Born to a wealthy merchant family, Mitsui, in Demizu, Kyoto. In 1867 she married into another wealthy merchant family, Kajima-ya, in Osaka and rebuilt Kajima-ya’s business after the Meiji Restoration. In 1884 she started to manage a coal mine business, founded the Kajima Bank in 1888, and participated in the establishment of Daido Life Insurance Company in 1902, through all of which she showed talent for business management. As an educator she gathered donations from politicians and business leaders and helped establish the first women’s university in Japan (later Japan Women’s University) in 1901. After her retirement from the business world, she continued social activism.

Publications

National Diet Library's collections

SNS

HIROOKA Asako

  • Portrait of HIROOKA Asako1
  • Portrait of HIROOKA Asako2
  • Portrait of HIROOKA Asako3
  • Portrait of HIROOKA Asako4