The Pearl King

By Robert Eunson
1955 Greenberg: Publisher
55-10964

Greenberg writes:

The life story of a street peddler of noodles and sea food who became one of Japan’s richest and most beloved men.

Born in Toba on the southern coast of Japan, Mikimoto became acutely aware of the depletion of the once rich pearl fisheries off the shores of his village. Toward the end of the last century he began experiments to induce oysters to produce pearls. After twelve years of costly and discouraging failures, he hit upon the secret of inserting a granule of mother-of-pearl into the flesh of a three-year-old oyster. The defense mechanism of the oyster then coated the granule until it became a smooth, round pearl.

By 1913, Mikimoto had produced cultured pearls that were outwardly indistinguishable from natural ones. He created a sensation in the pearl marts of the world by offering his pearls at one quarter of the current price. Only a special x-ray machine could detect the difference between Mikimoto’s pearls and the natural ones.

Mikomoto pearl salons were opened in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Paris, Bombay, Shanghai, and Kobe. At the height of his career, Mikimoto had 12 million oysters producing 75 percent of the world’s pearls.

But the Pearl King is not merely the story of the birth and growth of a bizarre and gigantic commercial enterprise; it is also the story of the simple, lovable man who discovered the secret and built the business. So astounding were the reports and rumors about him that people came from far corners of the earth to visit him on his almost legendary Pearl Island.

Until he was almost 90 he entertained his factory workers with his juggling feats and conjuring magic. At 94, he was still hale and hearty, still actively managing his business.

Always a great friend and admirer of the United States, Mikimoto refused to support the Japanese warlords during World War II. He spent the war years in seclusion with his family on Pearl Island.

All in all, The Pearl King is one of the most unusual biographies of our century.