Zeniya Gohei

Zeniya Gohei (銭屋五兵衛, 1774-1852) was a Japanese merchant and engineer in the Edo period.

Gohei was born to a family of money-changers in Kaga province.

[1] Gohei was put in charge of developing a coastal shipping fleet (kitamae ships) for the Tokugawa shogunate; and he became very rich from trading,[1] especially rice and lumber.

In the summer of 1851, Gohei attempted a land reclamation project in Kahoku Lake, which is north of Kanazawa on the Sea of Japan.

[2] It is likely that these criminal charges were contrived as a subterfuge which enabled the clan to seize his considerable wealth.