Sengoku Mitsugi (仙石貢)
Mutsugi SENGOKU (July 22, 1857 - October 30, 1931) was a Japanese railway bureaucrat, businessman and statesman. He was from Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture. He was a Doctor of Engineering. He was posthumously given the first grade Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun (dated October 30, 1931). His name was also pronounced Mitsugu.
Although he was called 'Kaminari Daijin' (literally, thunder minister) and kept being highly eccentric through his life, he produced great achievements as railway technician and manager.
Brief Personal History
In 1872, he entered Gyuko school in affiliation with hospital of the Kochi Domain to study English.
In July, 1878, he was graduated from Department of Civil Engineering, the School of Science, the University of Tokyo. In September of the same year, he was appointed to civil engineering office of Tokyo Prefecture.
In 1881, he participated in the establishment of the Tohoku Railway Corporation.
In 1884, he worked at Railway Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and took charge of constructions of Nippon Railway and Kobu Railway.
In 1891, he gained a doctorate of engineering.
In October, 1896, he retired as supervisor of railway technicians of the Ministry of Communication. He became president of Chikuho Railway.
In April, 1898, he became president of Kyushu Railway.
In April, 1906, he became member of the establishment committee of South Manchuria Railway.
In July, 1908, he was involved in the establishment of the Boshin club party.
In October, 1911, he became president of Inawashiro Hydraulic Power Company.
In April, 1914, he became president of the Railway Bureau.
In March, 1915, he became a member of the House of Representatives elected from Kochi Prefecture.
In 1920, he became the seventh chairman of Japan Society of Civil Engineers.
On June 11, 1924, he became the minister of Railway in the Takaaki KATO Cabinet.
On January 30, 1926, he became the minister of Railway in the first Wakatsuki Cabinet (resigned before the expiration on June 3).
On August 14, 1929, he assumed the president of South Manchuria Railways.
On June 13, 1931, he resigned the president of South Manchuria Railways. He died on October 30. Age at death was 75 (counting in the old Japanese way).
Main Achievements
Graduation Ceremony with Yukata (cotton kimono without lining)
There remains an episode he attended the graduation ceremony of Tokyo Imperial University wearing washed-out yukata.
Of course, he received complaints from the people concerned, however he did not change it, insisting 'I have no other clothe even though looking for in heaven or in earth.'
The Straight Line of Kobu Railway (present Chuo Main Line).
During taking charge of the building of Kobu Railway, he was troubled about laying a railroad between Nakano and Tachikawa. Although he initially planned to lay the railroads along the Ome-kaido Road and along the Kosyu-kaido Road, residents had been developping a strong movement against building a railway at that time. However there would be few users if they laid railroad through the sites where any movement did not arise. After much being troubled about it, he flew into a rage finally and drew a red straight line on a map with a cry of resolve. It is said that became the present straight railroad of about 25 kilometers connecting Nakano Station (Tokyo Prefecture) and Tachikawa Station. In those days there were only wilds and mulberry fields. There remains another story about that, according to it, 'a surveyor, who had been requested many things on selecting the route, got angry and throw a ruler on the map, then they decided the route as the ruler had fallen'; however it is considered that both stories are only legends.
Fierce Supervisor of the Construction of Nippon Railway (present Tohoku Main Line).
He took charge of the construction from Kurihashi Station to Utsunomiya Station. After he woke up at five in the morning and had breakfast in the bed, he put on his shoes on zashiki (a Japanese style guest room with tatami flooring) and left for the field without washing his face. He worked hard as for lunch he wrenched some vegetables off from neighboring fields, and walked around all day and pressed the masters, and made workmen work until the rise of the moon. It is said that his behavior was beyond eccentric, since even without permission he drilled into walls of houses, saying they obstructed the measurements for the laying. However, it was a good work which showed that he was the first bachelor of engineering who built a railroad, and people praised him saying that his railroads were more practical than the past railroads.
Construction of Abt-system Railway at Usui-toge Pass
During the examination of the route of the railroad over Usui-toge Pass, there were various proposed ideas including steep line going through the spot from 25‰ to 100‰, loop line, switchback, and cable car. However the director of the Railway Bureau, Masaru INOUE knew that a railway going up a 60 ‰ grade by rack-style railway (toothprint-style railway) had been completed in Germany in 1885 from a report by Sengoku and Sanjiro YOSHIKAWA who had been studying in Germany at that time, therefore he decided to construct Abt-system railway between Yokogawa Station (Gunma Prefecture) and Karuizawa Station. The construction started in 1891 and the railway was opened in 1893.
Foundation of Kyushu Railway
After he assumed the president of Chikuho Railway in 1896, he forwarded consolidation of companies to streamline the railway management in Kyushu region. It came to fruition that Kyushu Railway was founded two years later and he assumed the president. Although immeiately before the resignation he ordered Brill Passenger Car for Kyushu Railway Brill from J. G. Brill and Company in the United States, however it had never used satisfactorily since it had arrived in Japan after Kyushu Railway was nationalized by Railway Nationalization Act. By the way, although he sometimes used Sanyo Railway when he was the president of Kyushu Railway, he left critical comments on its speed.
Changing to Broad Gauge
Sengoku was an advocate for the broad-gauge railway and made a lot of proposals when he was the president of Railway Bureau. Refer to controversy about the gauge changes in Japan for the details.
Apology in a Newspaper for Bad Train Operation
Keihin-Tohoku Line between Tokyo Station and Takashimacho temporary Station (later the second Yokohama Station) started operating to meet the schedule for the opening of Tokyo Station in 1914. However, from the first day of the operation, troubles occurred and the trains were stuck because the track had not hardened enough and the pantographs made in America did not work rightly. Since they could not solve the troubles for a while, at last they published an apology in a newspaper under the name of Sengoku, the president of Railway Bureau.