財閥(ざいばつ)

ざいばつ
noun
zaibatsu, financial conglomerate
1. zaibatsu, financial conglomerate, industrial-financial combine
A large family-controlled industrial and financial conglomerate, particularly those that dominated the Japanese economy from the Meiji era through World War II. The major zaibatsu (Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Yasuda) were formally dissolved after WWII but their successor companies remain influential.
戦前(せんぜん)の日本(にほん)は財閥(ざいばつ)が経済(けいざい)を支配(しはい)していた。
Prewar Japan's economy was dominated by zaibatsu.
GHQは財閥(ざいばつ)解体(かいたい)を命(めい)じた。
GHQ ordered the dissolution of the zaibatsu.
三菱(みつびし)は日本(にほん)を代表(だいひょう)する財閥(ざいばつ)の一(ひと)つだった。
Mitsubishi was one of Japan's most prominent zaibatsu.

USAGE:
The term 財閥(ざいばつ) is used as a loanword in English ("zaibatsu"). In modern Japanese, it sometimes appears in drama and fiction to describe wealthy, powerful families. The 四大(よんだい)財閥(ざいばつ) (four great zaibatsu) were 三菱(みつびし), 三井(みつい), 住友(すみとも), and 安田(やすだ).

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 財閥(ざいばつ)解体(かいたい): dissolution of zaibatsu
  • 四大(よんだい)財閥(ざいばつ): the four great zaibatsu
  • 財閥(ざいばつ)系(けい): zaibatsu-affiliated
  • 財閥(ざいばつ)企業(きぎょう): zaibatsu company
  • 新興(しんこう)財閥(ざいばつ): newly-risen conglomerate

SIMILAR WORDS:
In modern usage, 企業(きぎょう)グループ (corporate group) or 系列(けいれつ) (keiretsu) describes the successor structures. In Korean context, チェボル (財閥(ざいばつ), chaebol) uses the same kanji and refers to similar family-controlled conglomerates.

general
Added 2026.2.28 12:11
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