Global InformationMori Koben information
Mori Koben | |
|---|---|
| 森 小弁 | |
| Born | October 15, 1869 Tosa Province, Japan |
| Died | August 23, 1946 (aged 76) |
| Known for | early Japanese pioneers in Micronesia, businessman |
Mori Koben (森 小弁, October 15, 1869 – August 23, 1945) was a Japanese businessman and adventurer, who was best remembered as one of the first Japanese pioneers in Micronesia. As a young man, Mori migrated from Japan to Chuuk, where he helped to establish Japanese businesses in Micronesia.[1] Mori's guidance and direction helped to expand Japanese business interests throughout Micronesia during the Spanish and German colonial-era. After Japan annexed Micronesia from Germany in 1914, Mori was hired as an adviser to the Japanese administration in the South Seas Mandate, and was instrumental in encouraging Japanese settlement in Micronesia. In his final years during World War II, Mori facilitated Micronesian support in the Japanese war efforts, but was already suffering from failing health from old age. He died within a few days after the Japanese surrender, and a sizeable minority of Micronesians with Japanese ancestry from Chuuk trace their ancestry back to Mori.[2]
- ^ Gaimusho (2000), p. 69
- ^ 【太平洋通信】南の島々から（１）「日本人の血、誇りに思う」「冒険ダン吉」のように Archived 2009-10-11 at the Wayback Machine September 23, 2003, Coconuts College (retrieved October 9, 2009)