The Minning Operations of the Ono-Gumi

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  • 小野組の鉱山業について
  • オノグミ ノ コウザンギョウ ニ ツイテ

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The Ono-gumi, wealthy merchants of the Meiji Restoration, were from the bakumatsu period involved in mining in Morioka. The Ono Gonemon family especially, was engaged in iron manufacture and minting. Later in the Meiji period, with the profits realized from exchange drafts and prefectural money orders and by utilizing government funds related to their management of money orders, they initiated mining and other enterprises. Land was leased and mines were opened under the management of Segawa. Yasugoro in Akita-ken in December, 1872 and in Aomori-ken in December, 1873. Ono Zenjuro was in charge of Iwate-ken and Yoshida Seigoro began operations in Wakamatsu-ken in February, 1874. The Ono-gumi operated mines at twelve different sites in Akita-ken, including the mines at Mukaiyama, Hosoji, Tamagawa, Akitorizawa, Toyama, Kako, Taira, Hachimori, Kawaguchi, Arakawa, Innai, and Ani. The bold merchant Okada Heizo was in business in Akita-ken, but he utilized capital from the Ono-gumi. Although mining operations were already underway at Ani, Innai and Osaruzawa, relying on the Ono-gumi raw silk business for capital two Ono-gumi representatives, Furukawa Ichibei and Okada Heizo, combined their labor in mines they owned and operated. Later, after the death of Okada, Furukawa closed the mine at Osaruzawa and single-handedly operated the mines at Ani, Kawaguchi, Innai, Taira, Arakawa, and Hachimori and was closely affiliated with the Ono-gumi silk business. In addition, many other mines were operated by the Ono-gumi.

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