How it started
1870-1900
The company traces its history back to the Tsukumo Shokai shipping company founded by the Tosa clan in 1870. In 1875, as the renamed Mitsubishi Shokai, the company inaugurated Japan's first passenger liner service, with a route from Yokohama to Shanghai; in that same year, the company name was changed to Mitsubishi Mail Steamship Company. In 1885, a merger with Kyodo Unyu Kaisha (founded 1882) led to the adoption of the company's present name.
The merged company had a fleet of 58 steamships and expanded its operations rapidly, first to other Asian ports and then worldwide, with a line service to Seattle established in 1896 and to London in 1899.
The company's Katori Maru was used by Chinese Muslims to travel to Singapore on their way to Mecca for the Hajj in 1925. From there, the company had the pilgrims travel on board other Japanese steamships to Suez and then to Mecca. The company promised to take responsibility for all the necessary formalities and helped contact other local transportation agencies that could take the pilgrims to Mecca. Chinese pilgrims were promised a 20% discount for their tickets. A third-class ticket that sold for £5/10/0 would be £4/8/0, while a second-class ticket sold for £14/0/0 would be sold for £11/5/0.
1900-1945
The majority of Japanese merchant ships, tankers, and liners sailed under the NYK banner in this period. Regular services linked Kobe and Yokohama with South America, Batavia, Melbourne, and Cape Town, with frequent crossings to San Francisco and Seattle. Other routes connected local Chinese cabotage vessels on the Chinese coasts and upper Yangtze River.
From Wikipedia’s article on Nippon Yusen, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2