Happy Women's Map 兵庫県 日本一の総合商社の創立者 鈴木 よね 女史
"それでよろしい。"
"That’s Fine."
鈴木 よね 女史
Ms. Yone Suzuki
1852 - 1938
兵庫県姫路市 生誕
Born in Himeji-city, Hyogo-ken
鈴木よね女史は、鈴木商店を日本一の総合商社へと導き、日本の現在の大手産業企業の礎を築きました。さらに日本国内初の公立女子商業学校である神戸女子商業の設立ならびに臨済宗祥龍寺の再興を支援しました。
Ms. Yone Suzuki led Suzuki Shoten to become Japan's top comprehensive trading company, laying the foundation for the country's current major industrial enterprises. Furthermore, she established the establishment of Kobe Women's Commercial School, Japan's first public commercial school for girls, and supported the revitalization of the Rinzai Sect Shoryuji Temple.
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「店をやめるって言えなんだ。」
よねは姫路市米田町の仏壇の漆塗り師の7人兄弟姉妹の三女として生まれます。三味線・茶の湯・裁縫をたしなつつ、兄と一緒に鮒釣りに出かけるなど幸せな子供時代を過ごします。父の師匠筋に嫁ぐも両家の争いに巻き込まれてまもなく離婚。26歳の時に、神戸に出て洋銀両替商として名を成していた実兄・西田忠右衛門からすすめられて、砂糖商の鈴木岩治郎と再婚します。夫・岩次郎は激しい気性で店員を大声で叱責してはそろばんで頭を殴ります。よねは男児3人を育てながら、店員の衣食の面倒を見るのはもちろん、店を出奔する店員を慰めたり、注文取りで夜遅い店員をねぎらったり、店の奥向き一切を細かく配慮しながら気難しい夫を補佐します。夫・岩次郎は洋糖輸入商で培った外国商館との取引から独自の取引網を拡げ、樟脳・薄荷の取り扱いを開始、神戸石油商会を設立、神戸有力八大貿易商として活躍しますが、突然病に倒れ急逝してしまいます。43歳で寡婦となったよねは、親戚筋からは廃業を勧められるも、存続を希望する店員のために、自ら女主人となって事業を守り継ぐ道を選びます。
「これからは女も経理ができなくては」
よねは当座帳で2万円（今の8千万円相当）の寄付から1円の瓦せんべいの代金まで記録、店員と一緒に寝起また家事炊事をして同じ三食のご飯を食べ、外食を禁じて手製のおやつをこしらえます。あるとき、全面的に信頼する金子直吉と柳田富士松の二人の番頭が張り切りすぎて店を危機に追い込むも、よねは小言一つ言わず慰めつつ、実兄また兄妹店のカネタツ藤田商店さらに大阪辰巳商店と前後策を協議。奮起した店員達と協力して危機を脱すると店員達から絶対的な信頼を得るようになります。鈴木商店は、日清戦争終結後に台湾に進出して樟脳油の販売権を獲得、樟脳・薄荷製造所ならびに製粉所・製糖所を創設。さらに日露戦争終結後に重工業分野に進出、製鋼・造船・化学繊維・塩・タバコの製造事業を開始。やがて鈴木商店が売上高日本一の商社になった年に、よねは女子の経済的自立はじめ実業界での活躍を願って神戸女子商業（現・神戸市立神港高校）設立のために多額の寄附を行い、卒業式には全員を自宅に招待してお祝いします。
「それでよろしい。」
よねは毎日出社して全ての会議に参加、店員たちに自宅で育てた花や野菜はじめ手縫いの幾何模様の雑巾を配り、店員の妻たちには揃い紋付の着物を送って懇親会を開きます。よねは溺愛する孫・千代子を、鈴木商店ロンドン支店の駐在員・高畑誠一に嫁がせます。高畑は英国の政府関係者との人脈を築き、第一次世界大戦が始まると英国ならびに連合国を相手に鋼材・銑鉄の買い付け、船舶・小麦など食糧品の売り込みに活躍。鈴木商店は戦時需要に乗って莫大な利益を得ながら、ソーダ・ゴム・非鉄金属・油脂・セメント・合成アンモニア製造事業に進出。やがて世界金融恐慌で業績が悪化する中、借り入れが拡大する台湾銀行から融資を打ち切る代わりに新鋭を中心とした株式経営を迫られます。75歳のよねは、最大功労者である金子に再建を促しつつ鈴木商店の幕を下ろします。鈴木商店は８０にも及ぶ事業会社を興し現在に残しています。晩年のよねは和歌に熱中する日々を送る中で、廃寺となっていた神戸の臨済宗「祥龍寺」再建費用を喜捨。86歳で逝去。
"I can't say I'm quitting the store."
Yone was born as the third daughter of seven brothers and sisters to a Buddhist altar lacquer painter in Yoneda-cho, Himeji City. She enjoys playing the shamisen, playing the tea ceremony, sewing, and enjoys a happy childhood, going carp fishing with her older brother. She married her father's mentor, but soon got divorced due to a dispute between her two families. At the age of 26, she remarried Suzuki Iwajiro, a sugar merchant, at the urging of her older brother, Chuemon Nishida, who had made a name for himself as a Western silver money exchanger in Kobe. Her husband, Iwajiro, has a violent temper and loudly scolds the store clerk and hits her over the head with an abacus. While raising three boys, Yone not only takes care of the store staff's food and clothing, but also comforts the store staff who run away from the store, congratulates the store staff who is late at night taking orders, and is a fastidious person who pays close attention to everything that goes on in the back of the store. I will assist my husband. Her husband, Iwajiro, expanded his own trading network from dealings with foreign trading houses cultivated as a sugar importer, started dealing in camphor and thin cargo, established the Kobe Oil Company, and became one of Kobe's eight leading traders, but suddenly... He falls ill and suddenly passes away. She became a widow at the age of 43, and although her relatives advised her to close down the business, she took it upon herself to become the mistress of the store and protect her business because the clerk wanted her to continue. Choose a path to follow.
“From now on, women should be able to do accounting too!”
In her current account, Yone records everything from donations of 20,000 yen (equivalent to 80 million yen today) to the price of 1 yen rice crackers, and she wakes up and cooks with the store staff, eats the same three meals, and eats out. Forbidden to make homemade snacks. One day, the two managers, Naokichi Kaneko and Fujimatsu Yanagita, whom she completely trusts, become overly excited and push the store into crisis, but Yone comforts her without saying a word, and goes on to work with her brother and sister at Kanetatsu Fujita Shoten, and then in Osaka. Discussed plans with Tatsumi Shoten. He cooperates with the inspired store staff to get out of the crisis and earns their absolute trust. Suzuki Shoten expanded into Taiwan after the end of the Sino-Japanese War, acquired the rights to sell camphor oil, and established a camphor and thinner manufacturing plant as well as a flour mill and sugar refinery. Furthermore, after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the company entered the heavy industry field and started manufacturing businesses in steel, shipbuilding, chemical fibers, salt, and tobacco. In the year that Suzuki Shoten became Japan's largest trading company in terms of sales, Yone donated a large sum of money to establish Kobe Joshi Shogyo (currently Kobe City Shinko High School) in hopes of helping girls become financially independent and succeed in the business world. She also invite everyone to her home to celebrate their graduation.
"That's fine."
Yone comes to work every day and participates in all meetings. She hands out flowers and vegetables she grew at home to store employees as well as rags with hand-sewn geometric patterns. She also sends kimonos with matching crests to the store clerks' wives and holds social gatherings. Yone marries her beloved grandchild, Chiyoko, to Seiichi Takahata, an expatriate at the London branch of Suzuki Shoten. Takahata built connections with British government officials, and when World War I began, he was active in purchasing steel and pig iron, and selling ships, wheat, and other foodstuffs to Britain and the Allies. Suzuki Shoten expanded into the soda, rubber, non-ferrous metals, oils and fats, cement, and synthetic ammonia manufacturing businesses while making huge profits on the back of wartime demand. Eventually, as business performance worsened due to the global financial crisis, the Bank of Taiwan, which was increasing its borrowings, forced them to cut off loans and instead focus on stock management centered on up-and-coming talent. Yone, 75 years old, will bring down the curtain on Suzuki Shoten while urging Kaneko, her greatest contributor, to rebuild it. Suzuki Shoten established as many as 80 business companies, which still exist today. In his later years, Yone spent his days immersed in waka poetry, and donated money to help rebuild Shoryu-ji, a Rinzai sect temple in Kobe that had been abandoned. He passed away at the age of 86.
-鈴木商店記念館 Suzuki Syoten Memrial Museum
-双日歴史資料館 Sojitz History Museum
-祥龍寺 Shoryuji Temple
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