Yataro Iwasaki was born as the child of a rural samurai in Tosa Country Iguchi village in 1835. His father, Yajiro, was a heavy drinker, and his mother, Miwa, was a strict and passionate woman. Born to such a family, Yataro himself is also said to have been raised to be quick-witted, frank, and filled with curiosity.
Yataro's business sense as an industrialist was a skill to read the true feelings of his partner in a transaction and proceed the transaction to advantageous direction even a little more. While accumulating such various skills and experiences, he started the path of an industrialist through the changing period from the restoration of the imperial rule and into the Meiji era.