was a Japanese Buddhist monk and businessman credited with founding the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous

Sumitomo Group The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period. History The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Masa ...

. He was an 8th generation descendant of

Sumitomo Tadashige The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period. History The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Masa ...

said to be 22nd generation descendant of

Taira no Takamochi Taira no Takamochi (平高望), born Prince Takamochi (高望王), was a former member of the Imperial Family demoted to nobility of the Heian period. He is the founder of the Taira clan and the Kanmu Heishi lineage of the clan. Life Prince Ta ...

from

Kanmu Heishi , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scop ...

clan who was a grandson of 50th Emperor of Japan,

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

. Originally, he was a Buddhist monk. During his lifetime, there were mainly two sects of Buddhist monks in Japan. Masatomo belonged to one of the two which later ceased to exist. Reluctant to join the other group of Buddhist monks, he turned to business to make a living. He started his business by selling books and medicines at first in a bookshop in Kyoto circa 1615.

References

1585 births 1652 deaths 16th-century Japanese people Japanese company founders Muromachi period Buddhist clergy People from Fukui Prefecture People of Muromachi-period Japan {{Japan-bio-stub