507 Toukichi Niikura 新倉 藤吉

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
父 新倉藤吉は 明治39年12月1日 神奈川県三浦郡上宮田の農家の五男として生まれました。浦賀工業学校を出て深川木場の電気店に就職し 夜は実科工業学校(現墨田工業高校)に通い 後独立して新倉電工舎を設立しました。

当時 深川(現在 江東区木場)は材木の町で 父は昼夜なく働き 勝鬨橋 浅草国際劇場の電気工事も手掛けたようです。戦争が始まり 新倉電工は軍需工場として 中島飛行機の部品を作るようになり 工場も中島飛行機の近くの群馬県館林に疎開しました。 当時は食糧不足の為 昼は田圃で米作りをし 夜は部品を作る状態だったようです。

終戦後 軍の協力工場だった為 金融封鎖を受け資金没収 新倉という社名も使えなくなり 新橋に新橋電業(株)という名で会社を再開 その後松下電器の代理店として 製品販売 電気工事等を行い ある程度の蓄財を残しました。

父が一代で残した貴重な財産を無駄にしたくないとの思いから 平成21年にボランティアを目的とした財団法人新倉会を立ち上げました。 新倉会は現在 東南アジアの人材育成を目的とした様々な活動の応援や留学生の支援などを行っております。 この度 私の友人で新倉会の理事の栗山昌子(ICU三期生)様から 新しい時代を担う国際的視野をもった若者を育てる大学ICUが 中島飛行機跡地に建てら れたことを知りました。 中島飛行機に微力ながら協力し それを誇りにしていた父の名を残したいと思い この企画に参加させていただきました。 一般財団法人 新 倉 会

理事長 新倉 和歌子

My father, Tokichi Niikura, was born on 1 December 1906, the fifth son of a farmer's family in Kanagawa Prefecture. He graduated from the Uraga Technical High School, started to work at an electrical store in Fukagawa, downtown Tokyo while attending the Jikka Technical School (now Sumida Technical High School) at night. After that, he started his own company, Niikura Denko Co. Ltd. At the time, Fukagawa area was dominated by lumberyards, and my father worked day and night, including on the electrical work for the Kachidoki Bridge and the Asakusa International Theater.
When World War II began, Niikura Denko made parts for Nakajima Aircraft as a munition plant and the factory was relocated to Tatebayashi in Gunma Prefecture to be closer to Nakajima Aircraft. During the war, he worked in the daytime in the rice fields and at night making parts in the factory to support his family and the company.

After the war, since the company cooperated with the military, its funds were confiscated and even the name Niikura could not be used for the company. He restarted his company in Tokyo's Shinbashi area under the name Shinbashi Dengyo Later, as an agent for Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. now Panasonic, it sold products, performed electrical work for construction projects and was able to achieve some financial success.

With the hope that the valuable estate he created in his life was to be shared for the common good, I founded the Niikura Foundation in 2009 with the aim of supporting volunteerism. Today, it supports various activities and exchange students with the aim of cultivating superlative individuals from Southeast Asia.

I came to know about the ICU from a friend of mine and a fellow trustee of the Niikura Foundation, Masako Kuriyama (class of 1959 of the ICU). In this way, I came to know of ICU's commitment to cultivating young people with a broad international perspective and who can lead the next generation as well as its having been built on land once belonged to Nakajima Aircraft. In honor of my father, who was proud of his work for Nakajima Aircraft, I am participating in the Named Rooms project.

Wakako Niikura
Director, Board of Trustees
Niikura Foundation
DONORS
  • 新倉 和歌子 Wakako Niikura
PHOTO

新倉 籐吉 Toukichi Niikura
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