I came across an industrialist named Tadasaburo Yamamoto (1860-1927), who is the man portrayed in this well-known caricature of the nouveau riche. He was also known as the Tiger Lord and was kind of the 1910s Japanese version of Joe Exotic.

Yamamoto was a shipping magnate who profited enormously from the WWI econ boom. He quickly became known as a narikin (nouveau riche). Legend has it that he once lit a wad 100yen bills on fire because the lighting at the ryotei he was dining at because it was too dark. (above)

Yamamoto decided that he wanted to enter politics. In 1916, he campaigned in Okayama but lost the election to Yamaya Torazo（山谷虎三). Note that Yamaya’s name has the kanji for tiger. Yamamoto was furious that he lost, and decided to take his anger out on *actual* tigers.

In 1917, Yamamoto arranged a three-week tiger hunting tour in Korea, then a Japanese colony. Korea was famous for its tigers, and by the turn of the 20th century, it had become a popular hunting spot for Westerners and Japanese.

Yamamoto took an entourage of 150 with him. As they marched through Korea, Yamamoto made everyone sing a song about him becoming the new Kato Kiyomasa, a daimyo who took part in the Tokugawa invasion of Korea in late 16C and is often depicted in paintings battling tigers there.

In the end, they managed to catch 2 tigers, a panther, a wild boar, and some deers. He documented this entire trip in a book called Seikoki, available here: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/908335?tocOpened=1

So what Yamamoto do with the tigers? He decided to have a dinner party. He arranged a tiger tasting at the Choson Hotel in Seoul, attended by 150 ppl. Although it was a tiger tasting event, there was only one tiger dish- tiger meat braised in red wine served with vegetables.

A few days later, Yamamoto had a second dinner at the Teikoku Hotel in Tokyo. This was an even grander affair and attended by the elite. Yamamoto made a speech, showed off his taxidermied cats to the audience, and had a “Tiger Hunting Dance” performance.

Guests were treated to a 7-course menu, again with only one tiger dish: cold tiger meat with ketchup. Some time had passed since the tigers were killed, and according to a newspaper article, the tiger meat was rather tough and tasteless.

Yamamoto never hunted again after this. Japanese colonialism was responsible for the extinction of tigers on the peninsula. The last tiger to be seen there was in 1922.