Kojima Iken

Kojima Iken

Kojima Iken

Kojima Iken ( Japanese 児 島 惟 謙 , also read Kojima Korekata ; born March 7, 1837 in Uwajima ( province of Iyo ); died July 1, 1908 ) was a Japanese lawyer.

Live and act

Kojima Iken was born the son of the samurai Kaneko (金子 惟 彬). He later took the name "Kojima". He secretly made contact with Sakamoto Ryōma and stood on the side of those who wanted to overthrow the shogunate.

After the Meiji Restoration , he began working for the Ministry of Justice in 1871. In 1891 he became chief judge at the Supreme Court (大 審 院, Daishin'in). He was a member of the House of Lords from 1894 and of the House of Commons from 1898 .

As chief judge at the Supreme Court, he was confronted with the Ōtsu incident in 1891 , in which the guest Russian crown prince was injured by a sudden attack by an accompanying police officer. Although the government was very committed to the death penalty for the attacker, Kojima resisted and imposed a life sentence. This decision had great significance in demonstrating internally and externally the independence of the judiciary in Japan.

In his honor a statue was erected near Uwajima Castle.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Kojima Iken . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993. ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 812.

Remarks

1. ↑ On the grounds of Uwajima Castle .
2. ↑ Today Ehime Prefecture

Web links

• Biographies Kojima Iken in the Kotobank, Japanese

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Kojima is the family name, Iken is the first name.