Shitagau Noguchi
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese entrepreneur who founded the Nichitsu zaibatsu
. Known as the father of electrochemical engineering in Japan, he invested heavily in the development of Korea
and Manchukou in cooperation with the Imperial Japanese Army
. His company was dissolved under the American occupation
after World War II
, and its successor companies include the Chisso
Corporation, and portions of Asahi Kasei
, Sekisui Chemical Company, and Shin-Etsu Chemical
.
class family in Kanazawa
, Ishikawa Prefecture
, Japan. He studied electrical engineering
at the Tokyo Imperial University and was hired by Siemens
in 1898. He designed Japan's first commercial production plant for Calcium carbide
in Sendai in 1903. In 1906, two Germans, A.Frank and N. Caro, invented a new method to produce calcium cyanamide
to be used a fertilizer. Noguchi learnt of this invention in a newspaper and realized that the method could be used to utilize the calcium carbide that his plant produced. He went to Germany, and with the support of an acquaintance at Siemens obtained the patent rights, beating other, larger and better-known Japanese trading firms like Mitsui
and Furukawa
.
In 1906, he formed the company Kiso Electric, to develop a hydroelectric power in Kagoshima prefecture
under contract by local mine owners in Kyūshū
. Since the capacity of the plant he built - 800 kW - was in excess of the demand, he established another company, Nippon Carbide Shokai, located in Minamata, Kumamoto
, to produce calcium carbide with the surplus electricity in 1907.
With financial help from Mitsubishi
, Noguchi merged his two companies into Nihon Chisso Hiryo (lit. "Japan Nitrogenous Fertilizer") in 1908. The name was frequently abbreviated to "Nichitsu". Then, with his collaborator, Fujiyama Tsuneichi, he developed a 'continuous method' of production to replace the 'alternate method' of Frank-Caro's technology. He also produced ammonium sulphate out of the calcium cyanamide, because it was safer and better known. In 1914, he formed "Hiroshima Electric", the forerunner of Chugoku Electric Power to develop the hydroelectric power potential of the Chugoku region
of Japan.
In 1921 Noguchi bought a new technology for synthetic ammonia
from an Italian, Luigi Casale. It was still at the stage of a tiny pilot plant when he purchased the license. Again, by their own effort, Nichitsu succeeded in developing a commercially viable plant and selling ammonium sulphate cheaper than the rivals could, thereby dominating the market. Nichitsu also diversified into the production of synthetic fiber
and dynamite
.
In 1926, with the collaboration of the Imperial Japanese Army, Noguchi established "Chosen Electric Power" and "Chosen Chisso Hiryo". The former developed Pujon and Chagjin branches of the Yalu River
in northern Korea with a number of huge hudraulic power plants, which supplied a number of huge electrcchemical plants, producing a diverse range of products, from fertilizer and explosives to soda and metals.
Noguchi suffered from an intracranial hemorrhage
while at Seoul
in 1940, and began to withdraw from active involvement in his conglomerate, which by 1941 had invested 659 million Yen, 66 percent of the fixed capital in the Nichitsu Group, in Korea. Within Korea, 34 percent of all the industrial production in 1939 was made by the Nichisu group. In 1941, Noguchi donated his personal fortune to the The Korean Scholarship Foundation, dedicated to building schools, funding scholarships, and raising educational standards in Korea. In 1942, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasures
, 1st class. He died in 1944.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese entrepreneur who founded the Nichitsu zaibatsu
Zaibatsu
is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...
. Known as the father of electrochemical engineering in Japan, he invested heavily in the development of Korea
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
and Manchukou in cooperation with the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. His company was dissolved under the American occupation
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and its successor companies include the Chisso
Chisso
The is a Japanese chemical company. It is particularly well known as a supplier of liquid crystal used for LCD displays.Chisso is also known for its thirty-four year long contamination of the water supply in Minamata, Japan that led to thousands of deaths and victims of disease...
Corporation, and portions of Asahi Kasei
Asahi Kasei
is a Japanese company. The main products are chemicals and materials science. The company has around 25,000 employees and had consolidated sales of ¥ 1.7 trillion in 2008. It was founded in May 1931, using the paid in capital of Nobeoka Ammonia Fiber Co., Ltd, a Nobeoka, Miyazaki based producer of...
, Sekisui Chemical Company, and Shin-Etsu Chemical
Shin-Etsu Chemical
is the largest chemical company in Japan, ranked No. 9 in Forbes Global 2000 for chemical sector. Shin-Etsu has the largest global market share for polyvinyl chloride, semiconductor silicon and photomask substrates....
.
Biography
Noguchi was born to a samuraiSamurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
class family in Kanazawa
Kanazawa, Ishikawa
is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.-Geography, climate, and population:Kanazawa sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered by the Japan Alps, Hakusan National Park and Noto Peninsula National Park. The city sits between the Sai and Asano rivers. Its total area is 467.77 km².Kanazawa's...
, Ishikawa Prefecture
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.- History :Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.- Geography :Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast...
, Japan. He studied electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
at the Tokyo Imperial University and was hired by Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
in 1898. He designed Japan's first commercial production plant for Calcium carbide
Calcium carbide
thumb|right|Calcium carbide.Calcium carbide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula of CaC2. The pure material is colorless, however pieces of technical grade calcium carbide are grey or brown and consist of only 80-85% of CaC2 . Because of presence of PH3, NH3, and H2S it has a...
in Sendai in 1903. In 1906, two Germans, A.Frank and N. Caro, invented a new method to produce calcium cyanamide
Calcium cyanamide
Calcium cyanamide or CaCN2 is a calcium compound used as fertilizer, first synthesized in 1898 by Adolph Frank and Nikodem Caro . It is formed when calcium carbide reacts with nitrogen. It is commercially known as Nitrolime....
to be used a fertilizer. Noguchi learnt of this invention in a newspaper and realized that the method could be used to utilize the calcium carbide that his plant produced. He went to Germany, and with the support of an acquaintance at Siemens obtained the patent rights, beating other, larger and better-known Japanese trading firms like Mitsui
Mitsui
is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...
and Furukawa
Furukawa
Furukawa is a Japanese surname. It can refer to:-Real People:*Keiko Furukawa, announcer for Mainichi Broadcasting System...
.
In 1906, he formed the company Kiso Electric, to develop a hydroelectric power in Kagoshima prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
under contract by local mine owners in Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
. Since the capacity of the plant he built - 800 kW - was in excess of the demand, he established another company, Nippon Carbide Shokai, located in Minamata, Kumamoto
Minamata, Kumamoto
is a city located in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. It is on the west coast of Kyūshū. The city was founded on April 1, 1949.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 27,856 and the density of 171 persons per km²...
, to produce calcium carbide with the surplus electricity in 1907.
With financial help from Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
, Noguchi merged his two companies into Nihon Chisso Hiryo (lit. "Japan Nitrogenous Fertilizer") in 1908. The name was frequently abbreviated to "Nichitsu". Then, with his collaborator, Fujiyama Tsuneichi, he developed a 'continuous method' of production to replace the 'alternate method' of Frank-Caro's technology. He also produced ammonium sulphate out of the calcium cyanamide, because it was safer and better known. In 1914, he formed "Hiroshima Electric", the forerunner of Chugoku Electric Power to develop the hydroelectric power potential of the Chugoku region
Chugoku region
The , also known as the , is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. It has a population of about 7.8 million.- History :...
of Japan.
In 1921 Noguchi bought a new technology for synthetic ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
from an Italian, Luigi Casale. It was still at the stage of a tiny pilot plant when he purchased the license. Again, by their own effort, Nichitsu succeeded in developing a commercially viable plant and selling ammonium sulphate cheaper than the rivals could, thereby dominating the market. Nichitsu also diversified into the production of synthetic fiber
Synthetic fiber
Synthetic fibers are the result of extensive research by scientists to improve on naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by forcing, usually through extrusion, fiber forming materials through holes into the air, forming a thread...
and dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
.
In 1926, with the collaboration of the Imperial Japanese Army, Noguchi established "Chosen Electric Power" and "Chosen Chisso Hiryo". The former developed Pujon and Chagjin branches of the Yalu River
Yalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....
in northern Korea with a number of huge hudraulic power plants, which supplied a number of huge electrcchemical plants, producing a diverse range of products, from fertilizer and explosives to soda and metals.
Noguchi suffered from an intracranial hemorrhage
Intracranial hemorrhage
An intracranial hemorrhage is a hemorrhage, or bleeding, within the skull.-Causes:Intracranial bleeding occurs when a blood vessel within the skull is ruptured or leaks. It can result from physical trauma or nontraumatic causes such as a ruptured aneurysm...
while at Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
in 1940, and began to withdraw from active involvement in his conglomerate, which by 1941 had invested 659 million Yen, 66 percent of the fixed capital in the Nichitsu Group, in Korea. Within Korea, 34 percent of all the industrial production in 1939 was made by the Nichisu group. In 1941, Noguchi donated his personal fortune to the The Korean Scholarship Foundation, dedicated to building schools, funding scholarships, and raising educational standards in Korea. In 1942, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasures
Order of the Sacred Treasures
The is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...
, 1st class. He died in 1944.