was a Japanese railroad engineer.

Biography

Hirai was born in

Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Etymology The name "Kanazaw ...

, Japan. He was chosen by Japan to be one of the first to study abroad and he attended

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

where he was a member of the

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...

fraternity. He received his

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in civil engineering in 1878. He worked for the U.S. government before becoming a railway engineer in the Colonization Bureau for

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

in 1881. In 1882 he was appointed chief of the railway for the Mining and Railway Bureau for

. He later became the chief engineer of the

Osaka Railway Company is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population ...

. He eventually joined the government of Japan, where he was advanced to the position of president of the

Imperial Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Railways Group. Name The English name "Japanese Government Rail ...

in 1904. When the railway became presided by a cabinet minister (

Gotō Shinpei Kazoku, Count was a Japanese politician, physician and cabinet minister of the Taishō period, Taishō and early Shōwa period Empire of Japan. He served as the head of civilian affairs of Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese Taiwan, the first ...

being the first minister) in 1908, he was appointed the vice president. On December 23, 1908, he became a member of the House of Peers as nominated by

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

. He was in the office until his death. In 1913 he was dispatched to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and served as an adviser to the Chinese government until he returned to Japan in 1925. There is a dormitory named after him at Rensselaer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirai, Seijiro Japanese civil engineers Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni 1856 births 1926 deaths