was a central banker in the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

, serving as the 15th Governor of the

Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The said bank is a corporate entity ...

and twice as a cabinet minister.

Biography

Yūki was born in the onsen resort of Akayu in what is now part of Nan'yō, Yamagata Prefecture,Bank of Japan
15th Governor
/ref> where his father was a

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

brewer. After graduating from

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, he obtained a position at the

from January 1904. Yūki was promoted rapidly, serving as auditor in the bank's

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 ...

branch, branch manager in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, Corporate Secretary, and branch manager in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. In 1918, at the recommendation of Junnosuke Inoue, Yūki was appointed to the Board of Directors, while still maintaining his post as Osaka branch manager. However, following the assassination of

Yasuda Zenjirō was a Japanese entrepreneur from Toyama, Etchu Province (present-day Toyama Prefecture) who founded the Yasuda zaibatsu (安田財閥). He donated the to the University of Tokyo. He was a maternal great-grandfather of Yoko Ono via his daughte ...

, Yūki left the Bank of Japan to join the Board of Directors for the

Yasuda zaibatsu was a financial conglomerate owned and managed by the Yasuda clan. One of the four major zaibatsu of Imperial Japan, it was founded by the entrepreneur Yasuda Zenjirō. It was dissolved at the end of World War II. Origins Yasuda Zenjirō moved ...

in November 1921, and was appointed Managing Director of Yasuda Bank the same year. As head of Yasuda Bank, Yūki was a member of a committee which drafted "Definite Policies for the Improvement of the Ordinary Banking System in Our Country" in 1926.Tamaki, Norio. (1995). The report identified a range of significant issues: :Ordinary banks in our country have frequently conducted their business badly. There has been excessive competition among too many small banks with slender means; bankers have been ignorant of the need for reserves to back deposit withdrawals and generally ill-informed about the working of deposit banking; there has been over enthusiastic lending of bank resources in either particular or long-term outlets against securities of real estates in favour of related businesses; there has been serious negligence in establishing a thorough audit system both inside and outside the banks. The need to address the problems identified in this proposal generally acknowledged. The report was the genesis of a process which led to the Bank Act of 1927. In March 1929, Yūki left for a tour of Europe. On his return, he established a committee to find was for the Yasuda zaibatsu to weather the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. From September 1930, Yūki was head of the

Industrial Bank of Japan Industrial Bank of Japan, Limited (IBJ), based in Tokyo, Japan, was one of the largest banks in the world during the latter half of the 20th century. It was established in 1902 as a policy institution or "special bank", similarly as Nippon Kan ...

. Yūki was subsequently elected head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in January 1937. In February 1937, he was appointed

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in the Hayashi administration, serving to June 1937. The concurrently also held the portfolio of Minister of Colonial Affairs for the same period. From May 1937, Yūki was also appointed to a seat in the

Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

. During the 1st Konoe administration, on July 27, 1937, Yūki returned to the Bank of Japan as governor, replacing

Shigeaki Ikeda , also known as Seihin Ikeda, was a politician, cabinet minister and businessman in the Empire of Japan, prominent in the early decades of the 20th century. He served as director of Mitsui Bank from 1909-1933, was appointed governor of the Bank o ...

. He held the post until March 18, 1944. During Yūki's tenure, the bank was reorganized in 1942.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in However, Yūki was removed from his office by the Finance Minister with the support of the Tōjō cabinet in 1944. Yuki had opposed giving the Munitions Minister the authority to approve loans to munitions companies without consultation with the bank, and Tōjō was both Prime Minister and Munitions Minister at the time Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Yūki retired from public life, and moved to

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 ...

, where he became the chief

kannushi , also called , is the common term for a member of the clergy at a responsible for maintaining the shrine and leading worship of the there.* ''Kannushi'' (in Japanese), Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version The chara ...

of the Yuki Jinja

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

. He died in 1951, and his grave is at the

Aoyama Cemetery is a cemetery in Aoyama, Tokyo, Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is known for its cherry blossoms and is popular during the season of . History The cemetery was origin ...

in Tokyo. In 1995, the town of Akayu opened a memorial museum in his honor.Official web site of Toyotaro Yuki Museum

References

* Fuji Ginkō. (1967). ''Banking in modern Japan.'' Tokyo: Fuji Bank, Research Division
OCLC 1050668
* Henning, C. Randall. (1994). ''Currencies and Politics in the United States, Germany, and Japan.'' Washington, DC : Institute for International Economics.
OCLC 28890661
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 58053128
* Tamaki, Norio. (1995). ''Japanese banking: a History, 1859–1959.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
OCLC 231677071

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yuki, Toyotaro 1877 births 1951 deaths Ministers of finance of Japan Government ministers of Japan Governors of the Bank of Japan Japanese bankers Kannushi Members of the House of Peers (Japan) People from Yamagata Prefecture University of Tokyo alumni 20th-century Shintoists