Zeniya Gohei

was a Japanese merchant and engineer in the Edo period.

Gohei was born to a family of money-changers in Kaga province.

Coastal shipping Gohei was put in charge of developing a coastal shipping fleet (kitamae ships) for the Tokugawa shogunate; and he became very rich from trading,

In mid-1852, a large number of dead fish floated to the surface of the inlet near the worksite; and some local people died after eating the dead fish. Gohei and his family were deemed responsible; and they were imprisoned.

The seventy-eight-year-old Gohei died within three months of his incarceration.