Dai-Ichi Bank

First National Bank Building in Kabutocho, Tokyo, erected in 1872 for the Mitsui trading house and used by Dai-Ichi Bank from 1873, photographed before 1875
Photograph taken after reconstruction of the Kaiun bridge in stone in 1875,[1] late 19th century
Tokyo head office after reconstruction on the same site, photographed in 1910
Tokyo head office after relocation to Marunouchi, photographed in 1931
"Japanese Banking Birthplace" plaque memorializing the original Mitsui / Dai-Ichi Bank building in Nihonbashi, Tokyo

The Dai-Ichi Bank (Japanese: 第一銀行, lit. 'First Bank'), known from its establishment in 1873 to 1896 as Dai-Ichi Kokuritsu Bank (lit. 'First National Bank') was a major Japanese bank headquartered in Tokyo. Founded by Shibusawa Eiichi, it expanded into Korea as early as 1878, and became that country's dominant bank as well as its bank of issue in the early 1900s, before handing over that role to the newly established Bank of Chōsen in 1909. It remained one of the main Japanese banks together with Mitsubishi Bank, Mitsui Bank, Sumitomo Bank, and Yasuda / Fuji Bank.[2]

In 1943, Dai-Ichi Bank merged with Mitsui Bank to form Teikoku Bank (Japanese: 帝国銀行, lit. 'Imperial Bank'). In 1948, Dai-Ichi Bank was spun off again from Teikoku, which retook the Mitsui name in 1954.[3] In 1971, it merged with Nippon Kangyo Bank to form the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, subsequently Japan's largest bank and a predecessor to Mizuho Financial Group.

  1. ^ "The 24 Bridges Over The Nihonbashi River". Tokyo Area. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ David A. Alhadeff (1975), "Bank-Business Conglomerates - the Japanese Experience", Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance
  3. ^ "History". Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.