was a Japanese entrepreneur who is credited with creating the first
cultured pearl
Cultured pearls are pearls which are formed within a cultured pearl sac with human intervention in the interior of productive living molluscs in a variety of conditions depending upon the mollusc and the goals. Having the same material as natur ...
and subsequently starting the cultured pearl industry with the establishment of his luxury pearl company Mikimoto.
[Ward, Fred. Pearls: Bethesda, MD: Gem Book Publishers, 2002.]
He was inducted into the
House of Peers by imperial decree and posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Sacred Treasure
The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...
.
On 18 April 1985, the
Japan Patent Office
The is a Japanese governmental agency in charge of industrial property right affairs, under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Japan Patent Office is located in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo and is one of the world's largest pa ...
selected him as one of
Ten Japanese Great Inventors
The system of Intellectual property, industrial rights in Japan celebrated 100 years of existence in 1985. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Japanese system of industrial property rights, the Japan Patent Office selected ten great in ...
.
The company was ranked as one of the world's most luxurious brands by ''
Women's Wear Daily
''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides i ...
'' Magazine and Mikimoto was considered one of the best Japanese financial leaders of the 20th century by
Nihon Keizai Shimbun
''The Nikkei'', also known as , is the flagship publication of Nikkei, Inc. (based in Tokyo) and the world's largest financial newspaper, with a daily circulation exceeding 1.73 million copies. The Nikkei 225, a stock market index for the Tokyo ...
.
He is also known as the founder of Mikimoto Pharmaceuticals, a company specialising in beauty products containing pearl calcium.
Mikimoto Pearl Island is named after him. In addition, the "
Phoenix Mikimoto Crown" used by
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...
winners as well as the pageant crown used by
Miss International is credited to his patented work.
Early life
Mikimoto was born 25 January 1858 in
Toba,
Shima Province
was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan which consisted of a peninsula in the southeastern part of modern Mie Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shima''" in . Its abbreviated name was . Shima bordered on Ise ...
(now
Mie Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...
). Mikimoto's father was an ''
udon
Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a soup as with a mild broth called made from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. It is usual ...
'' shop owner. Mikimoto was the eldest son. At age 11, Mikimoto's father fell ill. He left school at the age of 13 and sold
vegetables
Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...
to support his family. Seeing the
pearl divers of
Ise unloading their treasures at the shore in his childhood started his fascination with
pearl
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...
s.
At the age of 20, Mikimoto noticed the many flaws of pearls as he judged a pearl exhibition in 1878. This began Mikimoto's search for the development of the perfect pearl.
Pioneering cultured pearls

Mikimoto began his search of an alternative method to produce pearls as the chairman of the Shima Marine Products Improvement Association. At this point the demand for pearls had severely outweighed the supply, prompting the consideration of an effort to protect the oysters.
In 1888, Mikimoto obtained a loan to start his first
pearl oyster
''Pinctada'' is a genus of saltwater oysters, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Pteriidae. These pearl oysters have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as "mother of pearl".
Pearl oysters are not closely related to ...
farm at the Shinmei inlet on
Ago Bay in Mie prefecture with his wife and partner Ume. On 11 July 1893, after many failures and near bankruptcy, he was able to create the hemispherical
cultured pearls. The pearls were made by seeding the oyster with a small amount of
mother of pearl
Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent.
Nacre is ...
.
Despite this major discovery there were initially difficulties in selling his cultured pearls due to public confusion. To encourage sales, Mikimoto opened a jewelry boutique in Ginza where he was able to have workers educate the consumer on the nature of the cultured pearls.
He introduced these pearls at a marine products exposition in Norway in 1897 and began an export business. However, it took him another 12 years to create completely spherical pearls that were indistinguishable from the highest quality natural ones, and commercially viable harvests were not obtained until the 1920s. In 1927, Mikimoto met with inventor
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
, who was in awe of Mikimoto's cultured pearls as it was "supposed to be biologically impossible".
Mikimoto did not know that government biologist
Tokichi Nishikawa and a carpenter, Tatsuhei Mise, had each spent time in Australia and learned the secret to spherical pearl production from expatriate British marine biologist
William Saville-Kent
William Saville-Kent (10 July 1845 – 11 October 1908) was an English marine biologist, naturalist, Commissioner and Inspector of Tasmanian Fisheries and author. He is perhaps best-known for his work in the development of the artificial pearl ...
– inserting a piece of oyster epithelial membrane (the lip of mantle tissue) with a nucleus of shell or metal into an oyster's body or mantle causes the tissue to form a pearl sack. The sack produces
nacre
Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent.
Nacre is ...
, which coats the nucleus, thus creating a pearl. Mise received a 1907
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
for this grafting needle. When Nishikawa applied in the same year, he realized that Mise had already secured a patent. In a compromise, the pair agreed to cooperate, calling their discovery the "Mise-Nishikawa method".
Mikimoto had received a patent in 1896 for producing hemispherical pearls, or
mabes, and a 1908 patent for culturing in mantle tissue, but he could not use the Mise-Nishikawa method without invalidating his own patents. Mikimoto then altered his patent application to cover a technique to make round pearls in mantle tissue, which was granted in 1916. However, this method was not commercially viable. Mikimoto finally made arrangements to use Nishikawa's methods after 1916, and Mikimoto's business began to expand rapidly.
Industry success

The new technology enabled Japan's cultured pearl industry to quickly expand after 1916; by 1935 there were 350 pearl farms in Japan producing 10 million cultured pearls annually.
Mikimoto Pearl Company
In 1899, the first Mikimoto pearl shop opened in the fashionable
Ginza
Ginza ( ; ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, Tokyo, Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo ...
district of
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
selling natural seed pearls and half round pearls. The Mikimoto business expanded internationally, opening stores in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(1913).
By 1935, the Japanese pearl industry was facing oversupply issues and plummeting prices for Japanese cultured pearls. Mikimoto promoted Japanese pearls in Europe and the US to counteract falling prices. He publicly burnt tons of low-quality pearls as a publicity stunt to establish a reputation that the Mikimoto company only sold high-quality cultured pearls.

After World War II, Mikimoto opened stores in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, and
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
, and was thus one of the first Japanese brands to attain an international presence and recognition.
Mikimoto had to constantly fight allegations that his pearls were only "imitations" of real pearls,
despite scientific reports to the contrary. Mikimoto took advantage of every opportunity to personally promote his pearls, and took part in the
1926 Philadelphia World Exposition in which he displayed a replica of the "
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...
" covered with pearls.
Mikimoto was the official jeweler of the
Miss USA
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...
(2003–2008),
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...
(2002–2007 and 2017–2019) and
Miss Teen USA
Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant that has been run since 1983 by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19 years old as of January 1st of the competition year. They must be US citizens, and cannot have been married, pregnant, or ...
(2002–2008) pageants, under the
Miss Universe Organization
Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...
.
In 2010–11, the company's estimated total sales were €300 million.
In June 2013, the company was chosen to design a five-piece
parure
A parure () is a set of various items of matching jewelry, which rose to popularity in early 19th-century Europe.
Terminology
A parure typically consists of a combination of a matching necklace, earrings, brooch, bracelet and often a diadem or t ...
consisting of a brooch, necklace, earrings, bracelet and the state diadem for
Princess Kako of Akishino's 20th birthday anniversary, valued at ¥30 Million JPY (US$279,000). The illustrious tiara features both floral motif and national symbols of Japan.
Personal life
Mikimoto's wife was Ume, who was also his partner in creating the cultured pearl.
Mikimoto and his wife have five children: Rui (eldest daughter), Mine (second daughter), Yo (third daughter), Ai (youngest daughter), and Ryuzo (son).
On 21 September 1954, Mikimoto died at the age of 96. Mikimoto's personal memorabilia are displayed at Mikimoto Pearl Island Memorial Hall, a museum in Toba, Japan.
[Kim, Svetlana (20 November 2012)]
See also
*
Cultured freshwater pearls
*
Ama (diving)
References
External links
Mikimoto Pearl IslandMikimoto and Pearls
Mikimoto, K. Japanese Culture Pearls: A Successful Case of Science Applied in Aid of Nature. No. 3, Ginza-Shichome, Tokyo. 1907.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikimoto, Kokichi
1858 births
1954 deaths
Japanese businesspeople
Japanese inventors
Japanese scientists
Japanese brands
Luxury brands
Pearls
People from Mie Prefecture
Burials at Aoyama Cemetery