Kokichi Mikimoto
The Japanese Kokichi Mikimoto ( Japanese 御木 本 幸 吉 Mikimoto Kōkichi ; * March 10, 1858 , † September 21, 1954 ) was the first in the early 1920s to succeed in producing full-round cultured pearls ( Akoya ) and bringing them to market.
biography
Mikimoto was the son of a noodle restaurant owner in Toba , Shima Province, today's Mie Prefecture, and left school at the age of 13 to supplement his family's income as a vegetable seller. The observation of the pearl divers from Ise aroused his fascination for pearls . In 1888 he received a loan to start his first pearl farm with his wife Ume. On July 11th, 1893 - after many setbacks and a near bankruptcy - the first cultured pearl was presented. However, it took Mikimoto another twelve years to obtain perfectly round cultured pearls that could no longer be distinguished from natural pearls.
He was accused for a while of his pearls being just imitations of real pearls, until it was finally scientifically proven that they were no different from natural pearls.
In 1899, Mikimoto opened his first pearl shop on Ginza in Tokyo . From then on, his business also expanded abroad. In 2005, the Japanese architect Toyo Ito built the Mikimoto Ginza 2 building on the 250 m² site .
literature
- S. Noma (Ed.): Mikimoto Kōkichi . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 960.
- R. Eunson: The Pearl King . 1955
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mikimoto, Kokichi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 御木 本 幸 吉; Mikimoto, Kōkichi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese entrepreneur in the cultured pearl trade |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 10, 1858 |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 21, 1954 |