Iomi Chūichi

Chūichi Iomi (born April 18, 1838 (May 11, 1838), Tenpō 9 – died April 8, 1907, Meiji 40) was a former samurai of Uwa Province and an administrator and businessman during the Meiji era. He was the biological father of Yasuda Zenjirō, who married into the Yasuda financial conglomerate.

Life

Chūichi Iomi was born on May 11, 1838, in Iyo Province (present-day Ehime Prefecture) as the second son of Zen'en Yoneda, a samurai of Uwa Domain. He inherited the family headship in 1841. In 1863, he participated as a samurai in the First Chōshū Expedition. Subsequently, to deepen his knowledge of overseas trade, he traveled aboard trading ships in Britain and Germany, and spent several years touring Europe and China. After returning to Japan, he changed his surname to Iomi.

Following the Meiji Restoration, he entered the Ministry of Finance but resigned in 1882. Notably, in the second year of Meiji (1869), he was appointed to a role related to Aichi Prefecture. Later, he moved into the industrial sector and developed a close relationship with Keijiro Amemiya. In his later years, he served as an advisory member of the Third National Bank, and as a director of Boso Railway Company and Nemuro Bank. He died at his home in Asakusa on April 8, 1907.

Family

His second son, Shin Iomi (born 1877, graduate of Nihon University), served as president of Mito Railway Co., Ltd., and was a director of the Tokyo Marine & Fire Insurance Co., and Nemuro Bank. His eldest son, Zenjirō Yasuda (original surname Iomi, later changed), was a member of the Yasuda zaibatsu founded by Zenjirō Yasuda, and became the husband of the second daughter, Teru (Akiko). Additionally, John Lennon, the husband of Yoko Ono—Yoko Ono being the granddaughter of Zenjirō Yasuda—is a great-great-grandchild of Chūichi Iomi.