Arinobu Fukuhara

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Arinobu Fukuhara (福原有信, Fukuhara Arinobu^?), 1848-1924, was the head of Apothecary Shiseidō (which in 1927 would be incorporated as Shiseidō) and Toku Fukuhara (福原とく, Fukuhara Toku^?). In addition, this businessman's name is known internationally because of the Arinobu Fukuhara House at Hakone, which Frank Lloyd Wright designed in 1918 as a Prairie-style vacation villa for the extended Fukuhara family.^[1]

Born 1848 in Awa, Chiba-ken, he rose in due course to become Chief Pharmacist of the Japanese Navy. In retirement, he embarked on a second career which would bring fame and fortune. He was also president of the Aikoko Insurance Company.^[2]

1 Family patriarch
2 Shisheido
3 Japan Pharmaceutical Association
4 Arinbou Fukuhara House
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Family patriarch

Arinobu was the father of photographers Rosō Fukuhara (福原路草, Fukuhara Rosō^?, 1892-1946), Shinzō Fukuhara (福原信三, Fukuhara Shinzō^?, 1883-1948) and Nobuyushi Fukuhara (福原信義, Fukuhara Nobuyushi^?, 1897-1958), who would gain fame as Tōru Namiki (並木透, Namiki Tōru^?).^[3] His sons became quintessential mobo, or "modern boys" —- the sobriquet coined to describe the young, sophisticated, up-to-date young men who frequented the fashionable Ginza district in the late 1920s^[4] -— and they shared a fascination and persistent attraction to photography as an art form. The Fukuharas helped to bring photography into the mainstream of Japanese modernism.^[5] The two brothers were founding organizers of the Japan Photographic Society] (日本写真会^[6], Nihon Shashinkai^?) in 1924; and Shinzō was its first president.^[7] The organization was a major pre-war influence on Japanese photography and still exists today despite a temporary dissolution during the years of the Pacific War.^[8]

Grandson Yoshiharu Fukuhara (福原義春, Fukuhara Yoshiharu^?, 1931-19__) continues this family tradition of fostering the development of Japanese photography. He has been Director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography since his appointment by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara in 2000.^[9]

[edit] Shisheido

"Beauty is universal, thus the products which serve beauty should also be universal."

-Yushin Fukuhara, company founder

As Shiseido has grown to become an international cosmetics giant, the company has managed to avoid some of the pitfalls and problems which have attended generational transitions in other successful family businesses.^[10] For example, Arinobu's grandson, Yoshiharu Fukuhara, joined Shiseido immediately after receiving his B.A. in economics from Keio University, Tokyo, in 1953. He was appointed President & CEO of Shiseido in 1987, then Chairman of the Board in 1997 and Honorary Chairman in 2001.^[11]

Three Fukuhara leaders in the Shiseido hierarchy were:

1st President: Fukuhara, Shinzo -- son of company founder
2nd President: Fukuhara, Nobuyoshi -- younger brother of company's 1st president
3rd President: Fukuhana, Yoshibaru -- son of company's 2nd president

[edit] Japan Pharmaceutical Association

Arinobu served as the third president of the Japan Pharmaceutical Association (日本薬剤師会, Nippon Yakuzaishi Kai^?), 1907-1909.^[12] During his administration, JPA applied for and obtained approval from the Japanese government to become what was known as a "corporate juridical person" (public corporation).^[13]

[edit] Arinbou Fukuhara House

The commissioned house was designed and built; but the siting near a hot spring left the building vulnerable to the cataclysmic earthquake of 1923. A fissure opened up below the structure, swallowing it up and then closing around the below-ground debris.