Takeda Chōbei I

Chobei Takeda I (, Takeda Chōbei; died 1858) was a Japanese merchant and the founder of the business that would eventually become the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, one of the oldest and largest pharmaceutical firms in Japan.

Takeda established his business, initially known as the Chobei Omiya Store, in 1781 when he was approximately 32 years old, during the Edo period. He established his shop in Dōshōmachi, a district in Osaka recognized as the center of the medicine trade in Japan, and specialized in selling traditional Japanese medicines and traditional Chinese medicines (herbal medicines).