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Part 7

Author: Teruaki Sueoka

12. Reforestation of the Besshi Copper Mines and Iba’s Conception of Nature

明治14年（1881）の別子銅山　植林前
Besshi Copper Mines in 1881 (14th year of the Meiji era) before reforestation

There is so much more that we can learn from Teigo Iba. In 1894 (27th year of the Meiji era), viewing the ravaged Besshi mountains, Iba commented: “Leaving the Besshi mountains so degraded would violate the natural order.” He believed that humankind is part of nature and so to destroy nature is inimical to all that is right and proper. Whereas this sensibility looms large in the cultures of East Asia, a pioneering spirit tends to animate the cultures of Europe and the Americas, with humankind at the pinnacle of a hierarchy. This powerful idea, namely, that humankind is part of nature and nature will take revenge if people do not respect it, is deeply embedded in Japan and the wider East Asian region. So we can readily appreciate why Iba embarked on a reforestation project, which at its peak involved the planting of more than two million saplings annually. As a result, forests once more flourish on the slopes of the Besshi mountains. This devotion to the planting of trees shaped Iba’s life during his retirement.

住友活機園
Sumitomo Kakkien

Kakkien—present-day Sumitomo Kakkien, a nationally designated important cultural property—is a villa in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, where Iba lived after he retired. He purchased this site many years before his retirement and planted seedlings there in 1889 (22nd year of the Meiji era) to commemorate the promulgation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, anticipating that they would grow into sturdy trees by the time he retired. Interestingly, he did not lay out a traditional Japanese garden replete with the customary pond and hillock. Iba’s retirement in 1904 (37th year of the Meiji era) at the age of 58 accorded with his conviction: “What is most harmful to business development are not the mistakes of youth but the dominance of the old.” He did not want to cling to power as a superannuated executive. Iba made sure that local timber, which the employees of the Besshi Copper Mines presented to him as a farewell gift when he left the position of general manager of the mines to return to the Osaka Head Office, was used in the construction of Kakkien. This offers an insight into Iba’s sensibility and the values he cherished.

One day, Jihei Ogawa VII, a celebrated garden designer in Kyoto known for his work at the Heian Shrine, Nomura Hekiunso Villa, Sumitomo Yuhoen, and Murin-an, visited Kakkien. On viewing the garden of Kakkien, he groaned and exclaimed, “I lost.” Far from being painstakingly designed, the garden at Kakkien was largely the work of nature despite vistas of trees and lawns indicating the hand of man. Jihei Ogawa VII felt he had lost because he realized that man cannot beat nature. No matter how one strives to emulate nature by making a pond and a hillock, laying stones, and planting trees, one cannot beat nature. In the fullness of time, the artificial hillock and pond will disappear and the carefully laid stones will be concealed by resurgent undergrowth. Iba knew that from the beginning and so he did not create a traditional garden.

Teigo Iba書「白髪老来」
Calligraphy by Teigo Iba

There are many interesting stories during Iba’s life at Kakkien. Toward the end of his life, Iba composed a Chinese poem, which is a favorite of mine.
“As I aged my hair turned white but my mind became free. Flowers bloom, wither and fall, the spring wind comes and then goes. The mountain, the river, plants, and trees are all my friends. All living things on this planet share a common nature.”
Whenever I read this poem, I recognize anew that Iba believed that everything sustained by the Earth is part of nature and that mankind is not the lord of creation. 100 years ago, he may have anticipated our current environmental issues. Iba puts it very well:
“As the sun also blesses the grass in the shade, one should respect bansei 晩晴, a state of mind reflecting clarity of thought and spirituality in later years.” 晩晴, poise, contrasts with the homonym bansei 晩成, signifying restlessness and the seeking of new challenges in old age, and is a state of mind one attains not intentionally but naturally. Iba’s words attest to his deep appreciation of nature, as well as his modest acknowledgment that humankind is part of the fabric of nature.

現在の別子銅山跡　植林後
Vestiges of the Besshi Copper Mines glimpsed through the greenery after reforestation

From these episodes, you may get the idea that Iba was a meek and saintly person. But Iba also writes, “When one is young, it is better to be assertive.” As a young man, Iba himself was certainly not lacking in self-confidence. For example, he complained to the Justice Minister without hesitation. Why is it better to be assertive? He explains: “If you mellow while still young, you will end up with nothing when you become old because you will lack the psychological armor needed to withstand the wear and tear of life. This heavy armor so necessary in one’s formative years will be worn away with the passage of time and you will become just right eventually.” Whenever I visit Kakkien, I think of Iba, recalling his words as I gaze at his residence among the trees.

13. The Contemporary Relevance of Saihei Hirose and Teigo Iba

In the 21st century, economic activities and environmental issues are increasingly subject to international scrutiny and we are expected to satisfy global standards of conduct. As harmony between economic development and nature is advocated worldwide, we should not forget the commitment demonstrated by Saihei Hirose and Teigo Iba at the Besshi Copper Mines over 100 years ago. Corporate governance, compliance, and corporate social responsibility are much discussed nowadays. Rather than being borrowed from the West, these concepts are anticipated by values that have long animated Japanese-style management, as the careers of Hirose and Iba so eloquently demonstrate. Sustainability is also a hallmark of Japanese-style management. In fact, many venerable enterprises whose roots go back to the Edo period are still in business in Japan. Companies are not the property of shareholders alone. Companies have other stakeholders, including employees and their families, suppliers, and local communities. Only by cultivating good relations with all stakeholders can companies hope to survive over the long haul. Moreover, environmental considerations have an important bearing on the sustainability of an enterprise. A company preoccupied with short-term gains is unlikely to endure and its collapse will be a misfortune not only for the company itself but also for all the stakeholders. In the 21st century, with an eye to the future, time spent reviewing the trails blazed by our distinguished predecessors Hirose and Iba is time well spent for they have so much to teach us.

And there is so much more that I would like to share with you but the time is up. Thank you. (End)

(Teruaki Sueoka, Deputy Director of Sumitomo Historical Archives and Honorary Director of the Hirose Memorial Museum in Niihama City)

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