The first of the Mitsubishi companies was a trading and shipping concern, Mitsubishi Commercial Company (Mitsubishi Shōkai), formed in 1873 by Iwasaki Yatarō out of a government-operated shipping company he had purchased in 1871.

In its effort to promote Japanese commerce and industry, the government gave Iwasaki considerable financial assistance for several years, and the company grew to be Japan’s largest shipping firm.

Mitsubishi Zaibatsu

Iwasaki diversified the company’s interests, first into mining and then finance, warehousing, shipbuilding, real estate, and bankinng.