Sumitomo Group

Sumitomo Clan is one of the largest Japanese keiretsu, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo.

History

The Sumitomo Clan traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by a former buddhist priest, Masatomo Sumitomo. Considered its spiritual founder, even today management of the group is guided by his "Founder's Precepts", written in the 17th century.

It was copper that made the company famous. Riemon Soga, Masatomo Sumitomo's brother-in-law, learned Western methods of copper refining. In 1590 he established a smelting business named Izumiya, literally meaning "spring shop". The advanced techniques, which Riemon perfected, allowed the extraction of silver from copper ore, something which Japanese technology had as yet been unable to accomplish.

The smelting and smithing business, which was begun in Kyoto, was moved to Osaka by the late 17th century. and Soga passed control of the company to his son Tomomochi who managed its transformation into a major trading house during the Edo period Sumitomo began to export copper, import silk, and provide financial services. By 1691 copper mining had been added to the portfolio.