1848-1938
male
Masuda Donno was the first son of Masuda Takanosuke, a director of the Sado magistrate’s office. In 1863, Donno traveled to Edo as the member of bakufu’s mission to Europe, and in 1872, he became the Fourth Class Ministry of Finance under Inoue Kaoru.
In 1874, Donno established Senshu Company with Inoue Kaoru and was appointed the president.
After Senshu Company was dissolved, he established the trading company Mitsui in 1876 and was appointed to become the manager (later the CEO), and began publication of Chugai Bukka Shimpo (currently known as The Nihon Keizai Newspaper, or Nikkei), making him one of the founders of Japanese economics from the Meiji period onwards. Donno was well-versed in tea bowls as a hobby. The art pieces he collected continue to have high artistic value, and are preserved as national treasures and important cultural properties. He also created tea bowls himself.
