First job, establishment of Zenkoren (national purchase and sales federation)
Tosuke Hirata, President of sangyokumiaichuokai, was invited to the beds of Senate, Masayoshi Matsukata ( 1835 ～ 1924 ). Masayoshi Matsukata asked him and said, “Please become the Minister of Interior after me.”
The minister of Interior was in a position to give an opinion to national affairs as the counselor of the Emperor of Japan. In the past, it was the role of the Senate. After death of Aritomo Yamagata ( 1838 ～ 1922 ), there had been only two Senates , Matsukata and Kinmochi Saionji ( 1849 ～ 1940 ). Saionji had deep relationship with the political world. Matsukata thought to seek human resources from outside the Senate, and appointed Hirata unrelated to factions.
Hirata declined the offer while saying “utterly, I can not endure the responsibility.” He went home that day. Later, Matsukata reminded the answer, “Did you make up your mind?” Hirata was troubled, and considering the pathology of Matsukata, he answered, “During findings a successor, I would like to become an interim minister”.
Although, interim minister was not a job in spare time. On September 18, 1923 (Taisho 11), he became the Minister of Interior, and resigned as President on October 4.
Gentaro Shimura(collection of JA National Education Center)
There, Gentaro Shimura ( 1874 ～ 1950 ), vice president of sangyokumiaichuokai, who was concurrently serving as the Governor of the Nippon Kangyo Bank, said “I would like to resign the Governor of the bank.” He said, ” I felt the difference in thinking between the Ministry of Finance.” Hirata decided to ask Shimura who had cooperated with passion and understanding on the cooperatives.
On October 4, next day, he convened a Board of Directors. Hirata reported again resignation of president, and recommended Vice President Shimura to succeed. Shimura was 56 years old.
Shimura sat in President room, and at first, he changed all business to the direct reporting line of president. He was not going to work every day, but made one of the Vice President or Director work in full-time, and delegated administrative authority of the President to the Vice President. He might have adopted the experience that he had commanded and approved all the internal relationship at the era of Deputy Governor of Kangyo Bank.
Contributing to reconstruction at Great Kanto Earthquake
Shimura, as the first work of President, announced its determination to tackle the establishment of the national federation of purchasing cooperatives and the central bank of cooperatives in journal of “sangyokumiai (cooperatives)”.
Kotaro Sengoku (collection of JA National Education Center)
National Federation of Purchasing cooperatives (Zenkoren = current ZEN-NOH) elected Tozaburo Tsukita, board member of sangyokumiachuokai, as president. And the federation elected Kotaro Sengoku (Minister of Agriculture after), who was shuji (secretary) of sangyokumiaichuokai from 1920 (Taisho 9), through president of branch office of sangyokumiaichuokai, as senmuriji (senior managing director).
The federation opened offices in Tokyo and Osaka. On September 1, all was equipped with the arrangements of the start of the project. In Tokyo City, the office was opened at office of sangyokumiaichuokai in Ageha-cho, Ushigome-ku, Tokyo (now Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo).
At 11:57 on September 1, 1923 (Taisho 12), the first day of opening, Great Kanto Earthquake occurred. The nation already had entered into the demand season of Akigoe (Fall Harvest time). Zenkoren had to meet the demands of stable supply. Executives of the federation thought. However, railways and land roads were cut off. Due to the change in the seabed, the sea was also dangerous. With introduction letter of president, responsible person for fertilizer went to Hyogo prefecture, where governor was classmate of president Tsukita. He could get the soybean meal somehow or other.
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After the earthquake response settled down, annoying problem raised. The ministry of agriculture and commerce asked, “We want to recommend the agricultural director of the ministry to senmuriji (senior managing director) of Zenkoren.” But president Tsukida having only career of the agricultural policy manager of the ministry could not balance with the agricultural director coming from the ministry. Shimura appointed Tetsujiro Shidachi (from Industrial Bank of Japan), as an appropriate person for president of Zenkoren. Tsukida had turned to the director of the city of Tokyo from agricultural policy manager. Shimura evaluated Shidachi’s experience of the bank’s president.
Sengoku explained the situation to President Tsukida. Tsukida said, “I understand.” On the other hand, Shidachi became riji (board member) but refused to become president. President Shimura was troubled. After all, Sengoku was appointed the president’s representative to take command of Zenkoren. (Shimura Gentaro Den Kankokai (biography publication association of Gentaro Shimura), “Gentaro Shimura its people and performance”, Kazuo Takemori, “Kotaro Sengoku”)