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| Evolution on Saipan |
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| UPDATED: 09/06/07 |
This steam-engine was used to haul sugar cane to a Japanese factory before World War II.
Mr. Bill Eger, boatswain mate of the Naval Operating Base Fire Department, set this
steam-engine up as a landmark of the Fire Department in 1945.
30 years later, this engine was then completely restored through the efforts of Mr. Shiro
SHIMODA.
Mr. Bill Eger, boatswain mate of the Naval Operating Base Fire Department, set this
steam-engine up as a landmark of the Fire Department in 1945.
30 years later, this engine was then completely restored through the efforts of Mr. Shiro
SHIMODA.
Born in Aisu wakamatsu-city, Fukushima-prefecture, Japan. The first president of South
Seas Development Corporation. He was the pioneering Japanese entrepreneur known as
the “Sugar King” who established the sugar industry in the Northern Mariana Islands and
oversaw its highly successful operation from the 1920’s.
October, 2003
CNMI Museum of History and Culture Nanko-kai and Japanese volunteer
Seas Development Corporation. He was the pioneering Japanese entrepreneur known as
the “Sugar King” who established the sugar industry in the Northern Mariana Islands and
oversaw its highly successful operation from the 1920’s.
October, 2003
CNMI Museum of History and Culture Nanko-kai and Japanese volunteer
Matsue Haruji was born in Fukushima Prefecture in northern Japan on 5 January 1876. After graduating from Tokyo
Institute of Technology, Matsue was accepted to Louisiana State University where he earned a Master of Science degree
in sugar chemistry in 1905.
Following graduation, Matsue took a position with, the Suplex Sugar Refining Company in Philadelphia where he studied
cube sugar production. Matuse returned to Japan 1907 to join Dai Nihon Sugar Refinery and successfully produced cube
sugar in Japan for the first time. From 1915 to 1921 Matsue served as the director of the Niitaka Sugar Refining Company
in Taiwan during which time he greatly expanded the company’s output and revenues.
In 1921, Matsue visited Saipan and Tinian, islands in Japan’s newly acquired South Seas territories, where he spent
several weeks inspecting their topography, soils, and climate. Based on his survey Matsue became convinced that these
islands were ideally suited for sugar cane agriculture.
Upon completing his inspection trip, Matsue returned to Japan where he secured financial backing and established the
Nanyo Kohatsu Kaisha or the South Seas Development Corporation. Under his direction, thousands of agricultural
workers from Japan and Okinawa cleared Saipan’s dense jungle to make way for cane fields. Matsue also oversaw the
construction of a railroad system around the island to link the sugar plantations to the new refining mill located in Chalan
Kanoa.
After overcoming almost insurmountable obstacles, Matsue succeeded in establishing a profitable sugar industry on
Saipan. In 1930 Matsue expanded operations to nearby Tinian whose flat lands and rich soil were ideally suited for cane
production. A few hears later sugar plantations were established on Rota.
The sugar industry was the single most successful commercial enterprise in Japan’s South Seas territories. By the mid-
1930s it accounted for nearly 60% of the total South Seas revenues ushering in a level of economic prosperity in the
Northern Marianas unheard of in other parts of the tropical Pacific. Matsue, who became known as the “Sugar King”,
resigned as Chairman of the NKK in 1943. He died in Tokyo in 1954 at the age of 78.
A statute of Matsue was dedicated in 1934 in recognition of his success as a pioneering entrepreneur and his important
contributions to economic development of the islands. Remarkably, his statue survived the terrible destruction of the
Second World War. Here, in the peaceful scenery of Sugar King Park it continues to remind us of the hard work, vision,
and determination of a pioneering businessman who brought economic prosperity to these islands during the first half of
the twentieth century.
Institute of Technology, Matsue was accepted to Louisiana State University where he earned a Master of Science degree
in sugar chemistry in 1905.
Following graduation, Matsue took a position with, the Suplex Sugar Refining Company in Philadelphia where he studied
cube sugar production. Matuse returned to Japan 1907 to join Dai Nihon Sugar Refinery and successfully produced cube
sugar in Japan for the first time. From 1915 to 1921 Matsue served as the director of the Niitaka Sugar Refining Company
in Taiwan during which time he greatly expanded the company’s output and revenues.
In 1921, Matsue visited Saipan and Tinian, islands in Japan’s newly acquired South Seas territories, where he spent
several weeks inspecting their topography, soils, and climate. Based on his survey Matsue became convinced that these
islands were ideally suited for sugar cane agriculture.
Upon completing his inspection trip, Matsue returned to Japan where he secured financial backing and established the
Nanyo Kohatsu Kaisha or the South Seas Development Corporation. Under his direction, thousands of agricultural
workers from Japan and Okinawa cleared Saipan’s dense jungle to make way for cane fields. Matsue also oversaw the
construction of a railroad system around the island to link the sugar plantations to the new refining mill located in Chalan
Kanoa.
After overcoming almost insurmountable obstacles, Matsue succeeded in establishing a profitable sugar industry on
Saipan. In 1930 Matsue expanded operations to nearby Tinian whose flat lands and rich soil were ideally suited for cane
production. A few hears later sugar plantations were established on Rota.
The sugar industry was the single most successful commercial enterprise in Japan’s South Seas territories. By the mid-
1930s it accounted for nearly 60% of the total South Seas revenues ushering in a level of economic prosperity in the
Northern Marianas unheard of in other parts of the tropical Pacific. Matsue, who became known as the “Sugar King”,
resigned as Chairman of the NKK in 1943. He died in Tokyo in 1954 at the age of 78.
A statute of Matsue was dedicated in 1934 in recognition of his success as a pioneering entrepreneur and his important
contributions to economic development of the islands. Remarkably, his statue survived the terrible destruction of the
Second World War. Here, in the peaceful scenery of Sugar King Park it continues to remind us of the hard work, vision,
and determination of a pioneering businessman who brought economic prosperity to these islands during the first half of
the twentieth century.
| The History of Saipan’s Sugar King |
| Matsue Haruji (1876-1954) |
| Steam Engine |
Garapan Central Park