Furuichi Koi

Furuichi Koi

Furuichi Kōi ( Japanese 古 市 公 威 , pseudonym : Furuichi Kimitake; born September 4, 1854 in Edo , Musashi Province ; † January 28, 1934 ) was a scientist , engineer , university professor and government official in the Japanese Empire . He was involved in construction and repair work on bridges, ports, railway lines and other structures throughout the empire and at the same time was largely responsible for the modernization and administration of the construction industry. In 1919 he was raised as a baron (Danshaku) to hereditary nobility ( Kazoku ) .

Life

Furuichi Kōi was a son of Takashi Furuichi, a samurai from the Himeji clan, and studied at the Kaiseijo School and the Daigaku Nankô South University , both predecessors of the University of Tokyo . With a scholarship from the Ministry of Education, he was the first student to study abroad in France in 1875 and then completed a degree in civil engineering at the École centrale des arts et manufactures and in 1879 at the University of Paris . After his return he was in 1880 employees in the engineering office (Doboku-kyoku Yatoi) of the Ministry of the Interior ( Naimu-shō ) and then in 1886 Professor and President of the Engineering School (Kōka Daigaku) ​​of the Imperial University of Tokyo. At the same time he was between 1886 and 1887 founding rector of the Buddhist School of the Hōsei University and in 1888 earned a doctorate in engineering.

In 1890 Furuichi Kōi was appointed by Tennō Meiji to a member of the manor ( Kizokuin ) , the upper house of the Reichstag (Teikoku-gikai) . In 1894 he became general director of the interior ministry's engineering offices. In this function he was involved in construction and repair work on bridges, ports and other structures throughout the empire and also worked with the Railway Office of the Cabinet (Naikaku Tetsudō-in) . At the same time, he was largely responsible for the modernization and administration of the building industry. In 1900 he became Vice Minister and Commissioner in the Ministry of Communications (Teishin-shō) and as such was responsible for the entire route network and the construction of railway lines. During this time, the commissioning of the Chūō main line took place. In 1903 he became president of the Gyeongbu Railway Company , which operated the railway line between Seoul and Busan , with restrictions on this route during the Russo-Japanese War (February 8, 1904 to September 5, 1905). In 1906 he became director of the Railway Inspection Office at the General Resident in Korea , Itō Hirobumi , and returned to Japan in June 1907 after completing the Korean railway maintenance.

In 1914 Furuichi Kōi became the first president of the newly founded Japanese Society of Civil Engineers (Doboku gakkai) and held this position until 1916. He was also director of the Physico-Chemical Institute ( Rikagaku Kenkyūjo ) founded in 1917 and chairman of the Maison Franco-Japonaise , an institution for improvement of relations with France . In 1919 he was raised as a baron (Danshaku) to the hereditary nobility ( Kazoku ) . On August 29, 1920 he became the first president of the Tokyo subway (Tōkyō no chikatetsu) , which was planned by Mayor Gotō Shimpei , and held this position until he was replaced by Ryutaro Nomura in 1924, before the foundation stone was laid shortly thereafter. In 1924 he finally became a member of the Privy Council ( Sūmitsu-in ) and was a member of this advisory body of the Tennō until his death on January 28, 1934. After his death, his son Furuichi Rokuzo inherited the title of baron.

Web links

• Entry in Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Furuichi is the family name, Kōi the first name.