Kido Takayoshi
Kido Takayoshi ( Japanese 木 戸 孝 允 ; * August 11, 1833 in Hagi ; † May 26, 1877 ), from the fiefdom ( Han ) Chōshū , belonged with Saigō Takamori and Ōkubo Toshimichi to the "Three Greats of the Meiji Restoration " ( 維新の 三傑 , Ishin no Sanketsu ).
Live and act
Kido, member of a samurai family in Chōshū-han, was originally called Katsura Kogorō ( 桂 小五郎 ). He studied with Yoshida Shōin and held important posts in his Han after a short stay in Edo . He was one of the leading forces in the anti-Bakufu movement, negotiating a. a. with Thomas Glover , the Scottish merchant in Nagasaki, for arms deliveries and acted as Chōshū's representative in the negotiations on a joint approach with the fiefdom of Satsuma-han .
After the Meiji Restoration, Kido held important posts in the new government and from 1871 was State Councilor ( 参議 , Sangi ) in the executive ( 太 政 官 , Dajōkan ). He participated in the drafting of the "Oath in Five Articles" ( 五 箇 条 の 御 誓 文 , Gokajō no Goseimon ) and was committed to comprehensive training and education, to the abolition of fiefs ( Han ) and to a strong central state.
Kido initially advocated an invasion of Korea ( 征 韓 論 , Seikanron ), but after participating in the Iwakura mission , he decided against joining forces to rebuild the home. In 1874 he became minister of culture and the interior (at that time monbu- & naimu-kyō ) and organized the first chihōkan kaigi ( 地方官 会議 , for example "regional conference of officials "; cf. Zenkoku Chijikai ), which gathered the governors of all prefectures in the empire. Back in the same year he resigned from opposition to the Formosa expedition ( 征 台 の 役 , Seitai no eki ). He was after the conclusion of the " Osaka Conference " ( 大阪 Ō , Ōsaka kaigi ), was again active as a State Councilor for the government, but resigned in 1876 due to illness. With his death in 1877 the government lost a progressive and level-headed politician. His humorous side is shown in a sketch in which he, in Kyoto, surrounded by geishas , depicts himself as a “Minister of the Country” ( 田 舎 大臣 , inaka daijin ).
Kido's diaries, also translated into English, are an important source of information on contemporary history. His notes in volume 2 on political discussions during the Iwakura mission, in which he participated as one of the four representatives of the prince ( daimyo ) Iwakura, with the local representatives of Japan a supplement to Kume Kunitake's five-volume work on travel, which is available to the wider public was intended.
Remarks
- ↑ Basis of a series of Kido pictures.
- ↑ = in the lunisolar calendar of that time, 26.6. Tenpo 4
- ^ This conference was held from January to February 1875 to bring Itagaki Taisuke and Kido back into government. At the same time, plans for a constitution were specified.
estate
- Kido, Takayoshi. (1983). The Diary of Kido Takayoshi (Sidney DeVere Brown and Akiko Hirota, translators). University of Tokyo Press, 1983.
- Vol. 1 (1868-1871),
- Vol. 2 (1871-1874),
- Vol. 3 (1874-1877).
literature
- Janet Hunter: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Kodansha International, 1984, ISBN 4-7700-1193-8 (linen, made in Japan), ISBN 4-7700-1194-6 (cardboard, made in Japan)
- Kasumi Kaikan (Ed.): Uchi naru kaikoku. Tokyo 1993
Web links
- National Parliamentary Library : Portraits of Modern Japanese, Kido Takayoshi (Japanese, English )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kido, Takayoshi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 木 戸 孝 允 (Japanese); Kido Kōin (on reading); Katsura Kogorō (real name); 桂 小五郎 (real name, Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese politician and statesman from Japan |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 11, 1833 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hagi |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 26, 1877 |