Zeniya Gohei

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

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

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.

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.

The seventy-eight-year-old Gohei died within three months of his incarceration.