A shipping company built around three leased ships
Mitsubishi’s beginning was modest in scale but ambitious in purpose. In 1870, Yataro Iwasaki established a shipping business using three steamships leased from the Tosa domain, the former feudal territory where he had worked. The ships gave the young firm a way to carry people and cargo between Japan’s ports at a time when steam-powered transport was becoming essential to the country’s modernization.
The business was first called Tsukumo Shokai and later took the name Mitsubishi. Shipping was not simply a starting point on the way to more famous products: it was a demanding industry that required ships, skilled workers, port access, and reliable schedules. Winning cargo and government business helped the firm grow those capabilities—and its reach.
From transport to a wider industrial group
As the company expanded, it moved into businesses that could support or complement large-scale commerce, including mining, shipbuilding, and finance. That diversification reduced its dependence on any single line of work and connected the group to the infrastructure behind Japan’s industrial growth.
Cars and electronics came much later, through separate Mitsubishi businesses rather than a sudden leap from ships to consumer products. The striking part of the origin story is how much changed in scale: a company that began with three leased vessels grew into a name spanning industries that shape daily life.
