Ishibashi Tanzan (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

Ishibashi Tanzan (Tokyo, September 25, 1884 – Osaka, April 25, 1973) was a Japanese journalist and politician. He was a prominent Japanese economist during 1940s to 1970s and became the one of the architects of Japanese economic miracle between 1950s and 1970s. He served as the Minister of Finance of Japan between 1946 to 1965 and the "chief treasurer" of Japanese Nationalist Party between 1957 to 1973. His economic and financial policies helped Japan to transform from a self-proclaimed autarky during 1930s into the second largest economy by the 1960s.

Ishibashi joined the Nationalist Party rank in 1925 and worked at its Financial Department for about 20 years, first as a staff and then appointed as the head of department in 1933. He also worked for the Toyo Keizai Shimpo and became its president later in 1941. He entered the government bureaucracy in 1927 after appointed as a secretary in the Ministry of Finance before resigned in 1935 over the disagreement of increasing economic mobilization by the government for the war preparation.

Ishibashi was one of prominent liberal economists and strongly opposed the government's autarkic policy. Although technically belong to the technocratic right-wing Zaimuha faction, Ishibashi sided with the party's left-wing leader, Suzuki Bunji, and his faction, Kenkyuha, for the implementation of economic reform. After the war, Ishibashi and moderate right leader, Hatoyama Ichiro formed the Keynesian centrist Shinzaimuha faction which sided with the emerging reformist party left-wing led by Nosaka Sanzo. He was elected to the General Political Office in 1957 and served as its economic chief until 1970s. After Hatoyama's death in 1959, Ishibashi became a sort-of spiritual leader of Shinzaimuha to his own death in 1973.