Meiji oligarchy
The Hambatsu ( Japanese 藩 閥 , literally "fief clique", alternative transcription Hanbatsu ), usually referred to in European languages as the Meiji oligarchy , was the leading layer in politics and the military in Japan during the Meiji period .
It came mainly from the four former southern Japanese fiefs ( han ) Satsuma , Chōshū , Tosa or Kōchi and Hizen or Saga - together also called Satchōtohi ( 薩 長 土肥 ) - who had already supported the fall of the Tokugawa and the Meiji Restoration , and maintained significant influence on political decisions until the early 20th century.
Political leaders
- Enomoto Takeaki (1836–1908) - Bakufu (12)
- Etō Shimpei (1834-1874) - saga
- Gotō Shōjirō (1838-1897) - Tosa
- Inoue Kaoru (1836–1915) - Chōshū
- Itagaki Taisuke (1837-1919) - Tosa (10)
- Itō Hirobumi (1841–1909) - Chōshū
- Iwakura Tomomi (1825-1883) - Kuge (7)
- Katsu Kaishū (1823–1899) - Bakufu
- Katsura Tarō (1848–1913) - Chōshū
- Kawaji Toshiatsu (1856-1925) - Satsuma (11)
- Kido Takayoshi (1833–1877) - Chōshū (3)
- Kuroda Kiyotaka (1840-1900) - Satsuma
- Matsukata Masayoshi (1835-1924) - Satsuma
- Mori Arinori (1847-1889) - Satsuma
- Ōkubo Toshimichi (1830–1878) - Satsuma (1)
- Ōkuma Shigenobu (1838–1922) - saga
- Ōyama Iwao (1842-1916) - Satsuma
- Saigō Takamori (1828–1877) - Satsuma
- Saigō Tsugumichi (1843-1902) - Satsuma (9)
- Saionji Kimmochi (1849–1940) - Kuge
- Soejima Taneomi (1828-1905) - saga
- Tani Tateki (1837-1911) - Tosa (13)
- Yamada Akiyoshi (1844-1892) - Chōshū
- Yamagata Aritomo (1838-1922) - Chōshū (2)
For the picture on the right: Dated September 19, 1877 in the cartouche, shortly after the campaign against Saigō Takamori, some politicians and, above all, the military are shown. Not in the above list are Prince Arisugawa Taruhito (4) and General Nozu Michitsura (8). There is no information on (5) on the woodcut.
literature
- Janet Hunter: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History . University of California Press, 1984, p. 54: Hanbatsu Politics