Masajirō Kishida

Masajiro Kishida (December 26, 1897 – March 29, 1979) was a Japanese businessman. He was born in Hiroshima Prefecture, and his father was Ittataro Kishida. He graduated from Waseda University’s Faculty of Political Science and Economics in 1921, and later graduated from Harvard University in 1925. He had study abroad experience in English-speaking and German-speaking countries. After returning to Japan in 1926 (the first year of the Showa era), he worked as a special appointee at the Ministry of Home Affairs, and subsequently worked at Fuji Gas Spinning. In 1934 (the 9th year of the Showa era), he was appointed as managing director of Ikkuya Department Store.

In terms of family relations, he was the younger brother of Masaki Kishida, who served as a member of the House of Representatives. He was the uncle of Fumihue Kishida, and also the great-uncle of Fumio Kishida, the current Prime Minister of Japan. His wife was Toyo (née Nakmura), and their children included Kōji Kishida. Kōji Kishida was known as the director of the Industrial Engineering Institute at Fukui University of Technology, a member of the Japan Atomic Energy Society, and an expert in energy conversion engineering, living from 1929 to 2001. His granddaughter is Toshiko Ellis (née Kishida), daughter of Kōji Kishida, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and a specialist in comparative literature. He also had another child named Naiji Kishida.

He practiced Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, and his hobbies included tennis and go (baduk).