them a monopoly of the navigation around the shores of Japan, but 
by the persistent and successful efforts of the Yubin Kisen Mitsubi- 
shi Kaisha the independence of the J. apanese mercantile marine wag 
placed on a firm basis. 
Owing to the signal success which attended the Company’s 
efforts in transportation and other minor enterprises, the exchange 
business was entered into in 1880, and in the year 1884, the Nagasaki 
Shipbuilding Yard, the property of the Industrial Department of the 
Imperial Government, was loaned to the Company, later on being 
entirely transferred to and coming under the sole management of 
the Mitsubishi, and thus one of the most successful undertakings in 
the history of the Firm was embarked upon. The acquisition of 
this shipbuilding concern by the Company contributed in a great 
measure to the development of marine transportation in Japan. ‘In 
1885, a further advance in the activities of the Company was made 
by obtaining control of the One Hundred and Nineteenth Bank, 
when the business of general banking was taken up. 
Previous to this, in the year 1882, the Kyodo Unyu Kaisha 
(the Union Transport Company) was established and began to inter- 
est itself in marine transportation. This led to keen competition 
between the two concerns, which continued unabated for about three 
years, when the Government, in view of the conditions prevailing 
in those days, exerted its efforts to bring about a reconciliation. 
In February 1885, when negotiations to this end were about to be 
opened, Mr. Yataro Iwasaki died, and Baron Yanosuke Iwasaki, his 
younger brother, succeeded him. Thus the responsibility of finding 
a satisfactory solution to this delicate problem effecting the future 
of the Company devolved on him. However, after using his utmost 
endeavours to reach a settlement compatible with the aspirations of