His son-in-law, Shinroku, ran a kimono shop (Mukadeya) in Ukiyo-koji, Yodoyabashi, Osaka.

Around this time, the kanji characters of the Shibakawa family name were changed from 芝河 to 芝川.
The trading shop’s name was also changed from Mukadeya Shinsuke to Hyakushin.

Mataemon, born into a family of maki-e (Japanese lacquer sprinkled with gold or silver powder) craftsman in Kyoto, established himself as an independent makie craftsman at the age of 18.
Upon the invitation of an acquaintance, he later started a business producing copperplate-decorated ceramics (Kaseyama Ware). As part of his efforts to expand distribution, he visited Hyakushin, where Shibakawa Shinsuke recognized his business acumen and brought him into the Shibakawa family as a son-in-law.

After marrying into the family, Mataemon established a separate branch of the family business selling foreign goods under the name Hyakumata (named after Mukadeya Mataemon).
During the turbulent Bakumatsu period, he expanded his business to Sakai, Nagasaki, and Edo, amassing considerable wealth. Following the opening of Japan, his expertise in foreign trade was recognized, and he was entrusted with national foreign exchange operations, playing a key role.

In the early Meiji period, when a financial panic occurred at Kofukuin, a temple in Nara with which he had connections, he rushed over with 2,000 ryo and promptly calmed the unrest, which even the governor had failed to do.

After his retirement, he helped establish and manage the Dojima Rice Exchange and the Osaka Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, he supported young painters and founded a maki-e school, fostering the development of the next generation in the arts.

Matajiro, Mataemon’s only son, started helping with the family business at the age of 14 or 15. He became independent in 1870, opening a Western goods store, but later used the assets he had accumulated to purchase land, closing his imported goods business.
He then shifted his focus to the real estate business to safeguard the family’s future.
With a keen eye for land, he gradually expanded their holdings, also venturing into afforestation and, in Nishinomiya, acquired a fruit farm called Kotoen through foreclosure, where he cultivated pears and grapes that were later presented to Emperor Showa.

In 1944, a villa designed by architect Takeda Goichi was built at Kotoen. Along with a tea room and garden, infrastructure such as roads was also developed, and it is said that this later became a key factor in Kwansei Gakuin University’s decision to relocate to Kotoen (Uegahara).

During the opening of the Hanshin Express Railway (now Hankyu Railway), he negotiated with Kobayashi Ichizo and donated land, leading to the establishment of the station (now Kotoen Station).
He was a tea ceremony enthusiast, he formed a tea ceremony group with Fujita Denzaburo, Sumitomo Kichizaemon, and Murayama Ryohei. He was well known as a tea ceremony master.

He purchased Chitose Shinden (1878), Kagaya Shinden (1879), and Chishima Shinden (1886), totaling approximately 1.8 million square meters of reclaimed land. To ensure more stable asset inheritance, he transitioned the business from small goods trading (import-export business) to land management.

This incident involves the Onawachi (a water surface area with official reclamation permission) owned by the Shibakawa family near Chitose Shinden. The city of Osaka moved forward with plans to reclaim and sell the land without prior consultation.
As a result of mediation, the family’s claims were acknowledged, and the issue was resolved by selling the Onawachi land to the city of Osaka. However, the family contested the disregard for their rights, stating they had no intention of profiting and donated the entire sale amount, minus legal fees, to the city of Osaka to cover port construction expenses.

The company successively acquired the newly reclaimed land that the Shibakawa family owned, negotiated with tenant farmers, and converted agricultural land into industrial land, contributing to the development of modern Osaka.
To avoid using the Shibakawa name publicly, the company was named after the reclaimed land they owned (Chitose and Chishima).

In collaboration with neighboring landowners, a canal was excavated on their property, connecting the Shirinashi River and the Kizu River.
A waterway and a timber yard were also developed, laying the foundation for the area to prosper as a timber district.
(The timber yard was later relocated to Hirabayashi in Suminoe Ward after World War II as part of an Osaka City urban planning project.)

In 1928, land was purchased in Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, with the intention of developing housing, but these plans changed due to the impact of the war.
During World War II, the farm shifted its focus to the cultivation and sale of tree seedlings as well as livestock farming.

After the war, some of the land owned in Tsumori and Kitakagaya, where land readjustment projects had yet to be completed, was designated as farmland and became subject to acquisition.
The company argued that the land was residential and fought the case up to the Supreme Court, but their claim was rejected (final ruling in 1977), resulting in the loss of approximately 28,000 tsubo (92,500 square meters) of land.

Reclamation work was carried out on the Kitakagaya property, which had been a marshy area overgrown with reeds and was unsuitable for use. By 1960, 42,000 tsubo (approx. 138,800 square meters) had been converted into land for residential use.

Beginning with the completion of the Kyomachibori-Chishima Building in this year, the company actively pursued the construction and acquisition of buildings and apartments until around the year 2000, adding building leasing to their traditional land leasing business.

The company’s real estate, which had been concentrated in the Hanshin area, was expanded to Fukuoka.
Until around 1987, they continued to purchase new real estate, with the land in Fukuoka owned reaching a maximum of approximately 30,000 tsubo (about 99,000 square meters).

The company took part in leveraged lease deals for aircraft.
Following the discontinuation of leveraged leases, we shifted to operating leases from 1998 onward.

A shopping mall was planned and constructed as part of the community development efforts in Taisho Ward.

We started an initiative to support artists by making use of our properties, including providing long-term venues for art events.

The Former Namura Shipbuilding Osaka Site was returned to us in 1988 and designated as one of the 33 Heritage Constellations of Industrial Modernization by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry in 2007. It was renovated and is now utilized as a hub for the arts.
In 2009, the Kitakagaya Creative Village (KCV) Project was proposed, and various creative spaces were established around CCO, promoting the transformation of Kitakagaya into an art-centered community. (This project won the Grand Mécénat Award at the MECENAT Awards in 2011.)

Since 2005, efforts have been made to revitalize and repurpose the Shibakawa Building, constructed in 1927 on part of the Shibakawa family’s main estate, to take advantage of its historical and cultural value.
In collaboration with the owners of other historical buildings in the area, efforts have been made to enhance the appeal of the district.

The Shibakawa Mataemon Residence in Kotoen, Nishinomiya (completed in 1911), which had been damaged in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, was relocated to Museum Meiji-Mura.

The work “Rubber Duck” by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman was exhibited at Okawa (Hachikenyahama Pier) during Aqua Metropolis Osaka 2009, generating significant attention.
Since then, it has been exhibited in various locations, primarily around Osaka, with merchandise sold during its exhibition also being popular.

Reclamation work was done to make effective use of privately owned water surfaces that were previously being leased as timber ponds, repurposing them as rental real estate (completed in 2015).
Subsequently, reclamation of the west section of Pond No. 4 was carried out (from 2015 to 2019), and the land is now being leased out as commercial real estate for industrial and logistics purposes.

The foundation was established in 2011 as a project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of our company.
It is committed to improving Osaka’s creative scene and proactively supports artistic and cultural initiatives.

Funding is provided to both Japanese and international startup companies.

We started engaging in overseas real estate investment as part of a risk hedging strategy through geographic and currency diversification.