SERIES

Japanese Lives

From the faces on banknotes to figures tied to China: their stories, and where to find them today.2 articles · updated 2026-10-27

01Faces on banknotes

Culture

Shibusawa Eiichi: How a Farm Boy Who Nearly Became an Arsonist Ended Up on the 10,000-Yen Note as the Father of Japanese Capitalism

Humiliated by an official at 17, plotting to burn foreign trading houses in Yokohama at 23, cutting off his topknot in Paris at 27, and quitting the Finance Ministry at 33 to open Japan's first bank, Shibusawa Eiichi went on to help launch roughly one company a month, about 500 in his lifetime. He has appeared on banknotes twice: in Korea in 1902 and on Japan's 10,000-yen note in 2024, and the first is still contested. This follows the turning points of his life and explains how to visit the Shibusawa Memorial Museum in Oji (closed November 30, 2026 to February 19, 2027) and his birthplace in Fukaya.

02Turning points

Culture

Sakamoto Ryoma: The Runaway Samurai Who Wrote of Giving Japan a Good Wash, and the Hero a Novel Made Bigger

Born the second son of a low-ranking Tosa samurai family, he deserted his domain at 26 (28 by the traditional count), became Katsu Kaishu's disciple, set up the Kameyama Shachu trading company in Nagasaki, helped bring Satsuma and Choshu into alliance, and was assassinated in Kyoto on his birthday by the old calendar, aged 33 by the traditional count. His letters to his sister Otome are now Important Cultural Properties. A late-Meiji magazine reader poll of heroes from around the world reportedly put him only 58th; he became a household hero after Shiba Ryotaro's 1962 novel. This covers his life, which stories hold up, and what to see in Kochi, Nagasaki, and Kyoto.

SERIES

More series

Japan Summer Travel

Heat, sun, heatstroke, medical care, transport, and routes rebuilt around temperature.

13 articles →

Disasters and Typhoons

Alerts, when to evacuate, preparing your home for typhoons, insurance, and calling for help.

5 articles →

Japanese History

From the eras overview to single events, each tied to places you can still visit.

8 articles →

Traditional Japanese Culture

Belief, performing arts, crafts, and the Ainu and Ryukyuan cultures, each with where to see them today.

11 articles →