was a Japanese businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the corporate progenitor of the à Âkura-gumi zaibatsu, which later became the Taisei Corporation, and the à Âkura Shà Âgyà  Gakkà  ("Okura Commerce School") which later became Tokyo University of Economics in 1949. In contrast to most of the zaibatsu, the à Âkura zaibatsu was founded by someone from the peasant class.
à Âkura was born in Echigo Province, and moved to Edo and worked for three years before starting his own grocery store in 1857. After selling groceries for eight years, he became a weapons dealer during the turbulent years between the arrival of the Black Ships and the eventual overthrow in 1867 of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Despite being born a peasant, he became an expert in Shindà  Munen-ryà «. He became one of the principal business investors of the original Imperial Hotel completed in 1890.
Kihachiro's son, Kishichirà Â, is credited with introducing the automobile into Japan.
à Âkura first went to Korea when he was around 40 years old. He visited soon after Korea was forcefully opened by Japan. In 1878, he established the First Bank of Japan in Busan. He then worked in trade and supplies for the Japanese military. When Korea went under Japanese colonial rule, the colonial government began auctioning off buildings in the Korean royal palace Gyeongbokgung. à Âkura purchased the building and had it reassembled in his private home in Tokyo.
Kihachiro, who made a fortune in his lifetime and lived in Toranomon, was a collector of Oriental antiques. In fear of valuable artworks flowing out to other countries, he built Japan's first private museum, the à Âkura Shukokan, in 1917 by donating many cultural assets he had collected, the land, and the funds. The 5-story building stood on a property of about , but it was damaged in the 1923 Great Kantà  earthquake. The à Âkura Shukokan that now stands adjacent to the Hotel à Âkura was rebuilt in 1928; it was based on a design by Ità  Chà «ta, who is known for his design for Tsukiji Honganji Temple, and is designated as a cultural asset of Japan. The museum houses 2,000 pieces of Oriental paintings and sculptures, including such national treasures as the wooden statue of Samantabhadra and 35,000 volumes of Chinese literature.