Masaki Kishida

Masaki Kishida (December 1, 1895 – June 3, 1961) was born in Nishi-Shiwa Village, Kamo District, Hiroshima Prefecture (now Higashihiroshima City). He was the eldest son of businessman Kishida Kitaro. He graduated from Nishi-Shiwa High Elementary School, Hiroshima Commercial School affiliated with Hiroshima Prefectural School, Nagasaki Commercial School (now Nagasaki University), and later from the Faculty of Law at Kyoto Imperial University (now Kyoto University). In 1922, he passed the Civil Service Examination for senior officials in the administrative category, and in 1928, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Hiroshima's 1st District, serving six consecutive terms thereafter. During his political career, he held positions such as Naval Participation Official in the First Konoe Cabinet, Naval Administrative Vice-Minister in the Oki Cabinet, Chairman of the National Defense Committee of the Waisan Political Association, and Secretary General of the Liberal Party. After World War II, he was purged from public office, but in 1952 he was reinstated and re-elected as a member of the House of Representatives, though he did not seek further re-election later. His business activities involved real estate and department stores in Dalian and Fengtian, China, founding the Kikuya Department Store (now Shin-Ten). His business operations extended across China and Japan. His grandfather was Chūjirō Kishida, and his father was Kitaro Kishida. He married Kaneko, and his children include eldest son Fumuzo Kishida and grandson Fumio Kishida among others. His religious faith was Pure Land Buddhism (Shin Buddhism). His hobbies included tennis and horseback riding. He resided in a residence called Sutedan Apartment in Sendagaya, Tokyo, which was later requisitioned by GHQ. He was invited to serve as Minister of Education and Director General of the Security Agency but declined both offers.