Wikipedia
Kaientai
The was a trading and shipping company and private navy, considered to be the first modern corporation in Japan. Originally named Kameyama Shachū (亀山社中, "Kameyama Company"), it was founded by Sakamoto Ryōma in Nagasaki in 1865 during the Bakumatsu – a period of upheaval when Japan was seeking modernisation and shedding its feudal system and isolationist policies. It was funded by the Satsuma Domain and other groups.