Saihei Hirose (June 16, 1828 – 1914) was a Japanese

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

businessman and former head of the board of directors of Sumitomo Zaibatsu from 1877 to 1894. Prior to that, he was manager of the

Besshi Copper Mine The was a rich source of copper in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The deposits were discovered in 1690, and copper mining began in the following year. From then until the closing of the mine in 1973, Besshi produced about 700,000 tons ...

, which he extensively modernised using Western technology. There is a museum dedicated to him in Niihama, called the Hirose Memorial Museum.

References

1828 births 1914 deaths Japanese mining businesspeople People from Yasu, Shiga {{Japan-business-bio-stub