was a Japanese merchant and engineer in the Edo period.
Gohei was born to a family of money-changers in Kaga province.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005). "Zeniya Gohei" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see .
Coastal shipping Gohei was put in charge of developing a coastal shipping fleet (kitamae ships) for the Tokugawa shogunate; and he became very rich from trading, especially rice and lumber.
Land reclamation project In the summer of 1851, Gohei attempted a land reclamation project in Kahoku Lake, which is north of Kanazawa on the Sea of Japan. He planned to create rice paddies; but the project failed.Shimoda, Hiraku. "Bad Sushi or Bad Merchant? The ‘Dead Fish Poisoning Incident’ of 1852," Modern Asian Studies (2001), Vol. 35, pp. 513-531; JSTOR
In mid-1852, a large number of dead fish floated to the surface of the inlet near the worksite; and some local people died after eating the dead fish. Gohei and his family were deemed responsible; and they were imprisoned. It is likely that these criminal charges were contrived as a subterfuge which enabled the clan to seize his considerable wealth.Sansom, George. (1963).
The seventy-eight-year-old Gohei died within three months of his incarceration.
Notes
References Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 48943301 Sansom, George Bailey. (1963). A History of Japan, 1615-1867.] Stanford: Stanford University Press. ;
Further reading Wakabayashi, Kisaburo. (1957). Osaka: Sōgensha. OCLC 033644769
External links Zeniya Gohei Memorial Hall Zeniya Gohei Memorial Hall (Japan Travel) Kanazawa and Zeniya Gohei (Kitamae-bune Travel)
Gohei and Kitamae ships IMDb, Zeniya Gohei (1913) Zeniya Gohei (1913)