After studying in France as a student dispatched by the Kyoto prefectural government, Katsutaro Inabata devoted himself to introducing advanced Western technology to Japan, including dye and weaving techniques that he had acquired.
Katustaro also imported cinematograph and conducted Japan’s first cinema shows.
Growing up
0-14years old
1862~1876
Katsutaro Inabata was born as the eldest son to the family that ran Kameya Masashige, a Japanese sweets shop in Karasuma Oike, Kyoto, which was a purveyor to the Imperial Household.
His parents’ house burned down during the Kinmon incident when he was 2 years old.Despite the family evacuating to Yamashina and falling into poverty, he studied hard and helped the family business, undaunted by this misfortune.
EPISODE
To support his family’s impoverished life, Katsutaro helped at his parents’ Japanese sweets shop, going from town to town selling sweets that were bundled in a cloth on his back, even in the dead of winter. After finishing a day’s work, he would return home and study intently with the help of his father.
At 10 years old, Katsutaro was selected out of all elementary school students in Kyoto Prefecture, to memorize and recite the Nihon Gaishi,a 19th-century Japanese history book, in front of Emperor Meiji during his imperial visit to Kyoto.
A compass was granted to Katsutaro as a reward.
At 14, he was selected from elementary school students in Kyoto Prefecture and entered the Kyoto Prefectural Normal School (currently Kyoto University of Education). He was one of the school’s first students.
Studying in France
15-22years old
1877~1884
Eight students, including 15-year-old Katsutaro, were selected by the Kyoto prefectural government to study in France to develop industry in Kyoto. He traveled to France with Léon Dury, a medical doctor and French language instructor.
The 8 students who studied in France and their areas of study
・Katsutaro Inabata: Dyeing
・Tomotaro Sato: Pottery
・Tokutaro Kondo: Textiles
・Yonesaburo Nakanishi: Machinery
・Masunosuke Yokota: Hemp fiber production
・Naojiro Imanishi: Papermaking, thread twisting
・Jiusaburo Utahara: Mining
・Shigekazu Yokota: Art
After learning French in Marseille and Lyon, he studied dyeing at the La Martinière technical school in Lyon.
At 18, he started learning practical skills at the Marnas dye factory, working for three years as an apprentice.
EPISODE
At the Marnas dyeing factory, Katsutaro even had to wash silk thread in a frozen river in winter for up to three hours. One day, a French coworker picked a fight with him, but Katsutaro threw and defeated his opponent. Subsequently, Katsutaro visited and reconciled with his coworker, who was in the hospital. After this, he gained the respect of his coworkers and became a popular figure at the factory.
After observing dyeing work in various European countries, he studied applied chemistry at the University of Lyon.
Returning to Japan and
starting own business
23-32years old
1885~1894
At 23, Katsutaro returned from France and worked for the Kyoto prefectural government.
At 25, he contributed to the establishment of Kyoto Orimono company, Japan’s first silk fabric dyeing and weaving company that used machines.
EPISODE
One month after marrying his wife, Tomi, Katsutaro was dismissed from Kyoto Orimono.An underlying reason for this was the deterioration of profitability due to massive capital investments, such as those into expensive spinning and weaving machinery Katsutaro imported.
At 26, he became a chief engineer and developed many dyeing techniques. But after two years, he was suddenly discharged, taking responsibility for the deterioration of profitability due to massive capital investments.
At 28 in 1890, the couple established Inabata Senryoten in Kyoto. Inabata Senryoten imported dyes directly from European dye companies, starting by being the Japanese distributor for the French dye manufacturer St. Denis. Inbata Senryoten contributed to developing the dyeing and weaving industry, such as by contributing to industrial newspapers in cooperation with others in the same business.
EPISODE
When the shop was first established, it was solely handled by the couple. Every day, Katsutaro walked from dye shop to dye shop, selling dye samples bundled in a cloth on his back while his wife Tomi boiled water at the shop’s wash basin and tested dyes.
Katsutaro, who had seen the inferior quality of dyes imported to Japan through foreign trading houses, expressed in his advertisements his desire to “contribute to improving Japanese dyeing techniques by importing high-quality dyes directly from Europe and teaching usage methods, which in turn would lead to the steady development of the dye industry.”
Fostering Japan’s dyeing
and weaving industries
33-53years old
1895~1915
EPISODE
Spinning and weaving technologies were not Katsutaro’s specialty. Although he traveled to France to learn muslin production methods, it was difficult to find someone to learn from as they were afraid of their technologies leaving the country, and he was even suspected of being a spy. He managed to learn these technologies thanks to the efforts of his friends from when he studied in France, who helped him gain access to a spinning factory for research.
At 33, Katsutaro established the Muslin Boshoku company and became its auditor. He was aiming for domestic production of muslin, a wool fabric also called to-chirimen, which was imported in large quantities then. He traveled to France to learn about muslin spinning and weaving technologies and purchase equipment. After returning the following year, he established a factory in Nakatsu, Osaka.
Considering the spinning and weaving machines Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques manufactured to be the best, he seized the opportunity to import and sell various types of their machinery.
- What is muslin?
-
Muslin is a thin, soft, warm wool material that was widely used for kimono. It was an even more expensive import than silk in Japan then and was an important export for France. Its annual import volume in 1873 was around 5 million yards, which increased to approximately 37 million yards in 1896.
At 35, Katsutaro established Inabata Dye House for the dye processing of cotton cloth and became the president. He introduced superior dyeing equipment from Europe, used the latest dyes, and trained engineers and artisans himself. In particular, the maroon color known then as “Inabata-zome” became popular in the middle of the Meiji Period, as they were used for girls’ school uniforms and hakama skirts for women. During the Russo-Japanese War, he created a khaki dye for military uniforms that was difficult to see on the battlefield.
EPISODE
Ichizo Kobayashi, the founder of Hankyu Railway, liked the maroon color, which was popular at the time and used for hakama skirts for female students. He chose it for the body color of his trains.
Reference: Yoshinobu Takebe (2016)
“The Beginnings of Cinema in Osaka,” Sairyusha.
Fostering Japan’s dyeing
and weaving industries
54years-Late years
1916~1949
At age 54 in 1916, Katsutaro participated in the establishment of the Japan Dyestuff Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and became an auditor.
At 64, he became president due to demands to overhaul its continuously unprofitable structure and strengthen management.
The Nissenkai dye association was formed by Inabata Shoten, Nagase Shoten, and five other companies to establish a sales structure.The founder created a system responsible for selling a fixed volume of dyes manufactured by Japan Dyestuff and improved the company’s financial results year after year, even during the unprecedented recession at the beginning of the Showa era.
Affected by law enforcement in 1943 regulating companies manufacturing munitions, Japan Dyestuff merged with what is now Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. They had a deep relationship through the supply of materials.
At age 57, Katsutaro became honorary consul to Bolivia in Osaka. Subsequently, he received appointments as honorary consul to several European countries, including Portugal, and devoted himself to citizen diplomacy.
At 60, he was appointed the 10th chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He visited various sites in China and the West and traveled to Geneva as the Japanese representative for the International Labour Conference hosted by the ILO. His travel experiences were published in the book Oua ni Tsukaishite (Dispatched to Europe and Asia).
At 64, he was elected as a member of the House of Peers.With the then French Ambassador to Japan, Paul Claudel, who was also famous as a poet, he established a society for Franco-Japanese cultural exchange in Kyoto. He also collected donations from influential business leaders in the Kansai region and built the Institut français du Japon – Kansai in the Kujoyama district of Kyoto.
EPISODE
The grounds of Waraku-en, which was the Inabata residence in the Nanzen-ji Temple precinct of Kyoto, stretched for more than 5,000 tsubo (about 16,000 ㎡), and the view was one of the best in Kyoto.
It was there that, from the Taisho era through the Showa era, business partners were entertained, industry leaders gathered, and events such as welcome parties for political and business leaders and foreign heads of state, dignitaries, and VIPs as well as garden parties for the company staff were frequently held.
EPISODE
【Upon establishment of Kyoto Orimono】
Founder Inabata emphasized the necessity of a modern textile company to then-renowned entrepreneur Shibusawa, who agreed and asked the governor of Kyoto Prefecture and business tycoons to cooperate.
【Upon establishment of the Japan Dyestuff Manufacturing】
The Founder, who was vice chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressed the necessity of domestically producing synthetic dyes as imports stopped due to World War I. Shibusawa agreed and became one of the executives of Japan Dyestuff Manufacturing.
Japan | Second Class of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class of the Order of the Rising Sun Medal with Green Ribbon, Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon |
---|---|
France | Order of the Black Star (Grand Cross) National Order of the Legion of Honour (Grand Officer) Royal Order of Cambodia (Knight Grand Cross) |
Belgium | Order of Leopold (First Class) |
Romania | Order of the Star of Romania (Colan/First Class) |
The Pope | Order of St. Sylvester (Knight Grand Cross) |
Portugal | Order of Merit (Grand Cross) |
Ethiopia | Order of the Star of Ethiopia (Grand Cross) |
Poland | Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (Second Class) |
Czechoslovakia(current Czech Republic and Slovakia) | Order of the White Lion (Second Class) |
Bolivia | Order of the Condor of the Andes (Second Class) |
Annam (current Vietnam) | Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam (Second Class) |
Siam (current Thailand) | Order of the White Elephant (Commander) |
-
47years
1890-1937
Founder
1862 - 1949
Katsutaro Inabata
1890
Global events 1894 Sino-Japanese War 1904 Russo-Japanese War 1914 World War I 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake Meiji 23
-
-
Founded Inabata Senryoten
-
-
-
Introduced the cinematograph to Japan
-
-
-
Inabata Shoten incorporated
-
-
-
32years
1937-1969
2nd president
1898 - 1988
Taro Inabata
1937
Global events 1939 World War II 1945 End of the war 1950 Korean War 1964 Tokaido Shinkansen
begins service,
Tokyo OlympicsShowa 12
-
-
The Japan Dyestuff Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
merged with Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
-
-
-
Imported polypropylene
to Japan for the first time
-
-
-
Listed on the Second Section
of the Osaka Securities Exchange
-
-
-
Listed on the Second Section of the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
-
-
-
3years
1969-1972
3rd president
1902 - 1977
Hideo Ito
1969
Global events 1971 Nixon Shock Showa 44
-
-
Inabata Group’s 80th anniversary
-
-
-
New Tokyo Head Office building
unveiled
-
-
-
26years
1972-1998
4th president
1926 - 2021
Katsuo Inabata
1972
Global events 1979 1979 oil crisis 1980 Iran-Iraq War 1987 Black Monday 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall 1991 Collapse of the Soviet Union 1993 Establishment of the European Union (EU) 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake Showa 47
-
-
Listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock
Exchange and the Osaka Securities Exchange
-
-
-
Separation of the pharmaceuticals
business and establishment of
Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.
-
-
-
Inabata’s 100th anniversary
The new Osaka Head Office building
unveiled
-
-
-
7years
1998-2005
5th president
1938 - 2005
Takeo Inabata
1998
Global events 2001 September 11 attacks 2003 Iraq War Heisei 10
-
-
Business reorganized into 5 segments
(IT & Electronics, Housing Materials,
Chemicals, Plastics, and Food)
-
-
-
Obtained ISO 14001 certification
-
-
-
Introduced executive officer system
Obtained ISO 9001 certification
-
-
-
2005~
Current6th president
1959 -
Katsutaro Inabata
2005
Global events 2007 iPhone released 2008 Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake 2022 Russia-Ukraine War Heisei 17
-
-
Management Philosophy reorganized
and announced
-
-
At 15, Katsutaro traveled to France with seven students sent by Kyoto Prefecture.
The map shows the 44-day journey from the port of Yokohama to Marseille, France.
Our Group's current (as of July 2023) global network is represented by ● for overseas trading company and ▲ for manufacturing and processing base.