Keizo Shibusawa
Viscount Keizō Shibusawa was a Japanese businessman, central banker, politician, philanthropist, and folklorist. He served as the 16th Governor of the Bank of Japan and later as Minister of Finance in the immediate postwar government of Kijūrō Shidehara.
Early life
Shibusawa was born in Tokyo into a prominent family. He was the grandson of Shibusawa Eiichi, a noted industrialist and economic reformer.Career
Shibusawa served as Governor of the Bank of Japan from 18 March 1944 to 9 October 1945. He resigned from the post to become Minister of Finance in October 1945, under the cabinet of Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara.During his tenure as finance minister, Shibusawa oversaw initial steps toward the dissolution of the zaibatsu, Japan's large industrial and financial conglomerates, as part of postwar economic reforms.
Beyond finance and politics, Shibusawa was also known for his contributions to cultural preservation and academia. He was instrumental in forming the core ethnographic collections of what later became the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka.