Introduction Origins

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1922

Introduction: Origins

2. Great Success at O.S.K. Lines

O.S.K. Lines was now in business, but many of its vessels were aging, so operations were not easy at first. For that reason, the company received an annual subsidy of 50,000 yen per year for eight years, starting in 1888, and an additional 20,000 per year during that same period in the form of postage fees, in order to upgrade its vessels and build new ones. Later, in addition to the Seto Inland Sea and Kyushu routes, the company opened an Osaka–Busan route in 1890 and an Osaka–Incheon route in 1893. Following the Sino-Japanese War, it established a firm position as one of Japan’s two major steamship companies, along with NYK Line.

In 1896, O.S.K. Lines opened an Osaka–Taiwan route as its business in coastal sea routes achieved remarkable growth. Following the Russo-Japanese war, it expanded into ocean shipping, opening a Yokohama–London route in December 1918. However, the company was unable to grow further until Tokugoro Nakahashi became the company’s fourth president. Nakahashi was the son-in-law of Ichibee Tanaka, the company’s third president. Prior to joining O.S.K. Lines, Nakahashi had held the distinguished position of Director-General of the Railway Bureau at the Ministry of Communications. Nakahashi accepted this career change at the request of Tanaka, but he was not shy about his own strongly held intentions. “Considering Japan’s geographical position, if we cannot compete with the developed countries of Europe, our own future is doomed,” he said. “I will do all I can to make our company a worthy competitor within a few years.”

After joining the company, Nakahashi began pushing for organizational reform while he aggressively pursued the hiring of people from the former Imperial Universities and the Tokyo College of Commerce (now Hitotsubashi University) as an innovative approach to staffing. These human resources were instrumental for rapidly modernizing the company and bringing about the golden age of O.S.K. Lines. The company took advantage of opportunities that arose after World War I to make significant progress on both ocean and coastal shipping, establishing a firm position in the global shipping industry.

This expansion of O.S.K. Lines paved the way for the establishment of Daibiru.