Jirō Shirasu (白洲 次郎, Shirasu Jirō, 17 February 1902 – 28 November 1985) was a *anese bureaucrat and businessman.

Biography

He was born in Ashiya in Hyogo Prefecture and studied at Clare College, Cambridge.

During the Occupation he was a member of Shigeru Yoshida's government. He is particularly remembered in *an for an incident in Christmas 1945 where he delivered a present from Hirohito, Emperor of *an to General Douglas MacArthur. When MacArthur told him to place it on the floor, Shirasu demanded a table to show respect. In 2009 he was the subject of an NHK drama.

His wife Masako Shirasu was a collector and expert of fine *anese art, on which she published a number of books. Their house Buaisō became a museum.

References

External links

• Old Shirasu Residence "Buaiso"
• 白洲次郎・正子が終の棲家に選んだ幕末期の養蚕農家〈The house of ericulture farmer in the end of Edo period that Jiro and Masako Shirasu chose as their final residence〉