The tragedy of Mr. Kitsutani, man of honor

Born in 1873, the Japanese citizen Seikuma Kitsutani arrived in Lima in 1901. He was not an ordinary immigrant, since he came with capital that allowed him to almost immediately open a business on Plateros street in San Agustín. It was the typical bazaar where you could find a wide range of products. Kitsutani was rapidly prospering. He was an educated man, with fine manners, elegantly dressed. He was soon a well-known and well-received figure in the most respected circles of big business, banking, and the nascent national industry. He lived in a villa in the then beautiful Quinta Heeren where he received, with great lordship, his many friends at social gatherings and soirees.

For the growing and industrious Japanese community, which for the most part had already fulfilled their contracts to work on the large farms on the coast and came to Lima or went to other cities in the country to start businesses of the most varied nature, Seikuma Kitsutani was an example to follow. , someone who gave them prestige and pride. Let us remember that in the first decades of the 20th century, the area of ​​bazaars, large and small, as well as hairdressers scattered throughout all the districts of the capital, was in the hands of Japanese subjects.

Over the years Kitsutani had a chain of bazaars and frequently advertised new items for sale by placing prominent ads in El Comercio. He soon ventured into the industry as well, setting up a bamboo furniture factory on San Pedro Street, with Japanese and Peruvian personnel. The quality of the products, their magnificent finish, were remarkable, but the business was not profitable, leaving losses that worsened after 1923.

Kitsutani weathered the economic storm and in 1925 he undertook the business that would eventually ruin him: he exported wool from camelids bought in Arequipa to his homeland. He did everything well, no detail was neglected, but two very serious accidents caused him irreparable losses. An earthquake devastated Yokohama causing great fires, one of which burned to the ground the Seikuma warehouses, where he had wool valued at £30,000. Another important cargo, costing more than forty thousand pounds, was also lost when the steamer Anyo Maru, which was taking it to Japan, caught fire on the high seas. To make matters worse, insurance created conflicts, it was necessary to go to court and the economic disaster was inevitable.

We must add a matter that sank Kitsutani’s spirits. Many of his modest compatriots, from Lima and Callao, mistrusted banking institutions, giving them their savings achieved with effort and sacrifice in custody. An honest man, who always acted in good faith, was a victim of fate and he only had to save his honor. On the morning of Friday, February 24, 1928, as reported by El Comercio in its afternoon edition, Mr. Kitsutani committed suicide in the main living room of his house by cutting his neck with a razor. He left two letters explaining the causes of his tragic decision.

In Lima there was a terrible stir. Many people gave a wrong or self-serving version of the drama. There were people who spread the evil rumor that Seikuma Kitsutani, over the years, had diverted large sums of money to Japanese banks for the benefit of his wife, son and his younger brother. They had returned to Japan months earlier because Seikuma did not want them to witness the coming disaster. The truth was that the relatives of the disappeared merchant and businessman only had a small sum of money and when it was finished they began to experience great pressure and shortages. The echo of the perverse gossip circulating in Lima reached them, where it was said that they led a lavish life. To deny the falsehood, following the dictates of the fatum familiar, they made a frightening determination. They wrote and signed a long and thoughtful letter in the final part of which they said that they were taking their own lives out of shame and to avoid starvation. They fulfilled their agreement in September 1929. This was the culmination of the story of a man and his family who rendered a pure cult of honor.