Mishima Michitsune

Mishima Michitsune

Grave in the Aoyama Cemetery

Mishima Michitsune ( Japanese 三島 通 庸 ; born June 26, 1835 in Satsuma Province , now Kagoshima Prefecture ; died October 23, 1888 ) was a Japanese government official.

Live and act

Mishima Michitsune was born the eldest son of a Satsuma-Han samurai . For generations, his family has provided drummers for the Nō theater with a salary of almost 50 koku . He participated in the " Sonnō jōi ", ie in the movement to help the emperor regain full rights. He took part in the Boshin War , with which the Tokugawa shogunate was ended, and received high posts in the administration of the Satsuma-Han.

From 1971 Mishima took over tasks in the central government in Tōkyō. Under his supervision, the Ginza was now lined with brick buildings. In 1872 he was given supervision over the educational area, with Shinto now becoming the basis of popular education. He came into conflict with Kido Takayoshi , the high Buddhist priest Shimaji Mokurai (島 地 黙 雷; 1838-1911) and others. In December 1874 he became governor of the short-lived Sakada Prefecture (酒 田 県), then he was governor of the also short-lived Tsuruoka Prefecture, then the prefectures of Yamagata , Fukushima and Tochigi .

Mishima had large connecting roads built through the prefectures, which on the one hand brought recognition and on the other hand also displeased the prefectures that were not in demand, especially since the expansion was associated with the suppression of freedom of expression and with special taxes. That led to the "Fukushima Riots" in 1882

After Mishima was appointed President of the Tōkyōter Police in 1885, he ensured that in 1887 the "Law to Maintain Public Security" (保安 条例, Hoan jōrei) was also applied. So 570 people of the "Movement for Freedom and People's Rights" (自由民 権 運動 。Jiyū minken undō) had to leave the city of Tōkyō. Mishima took on other offices at the same time and became deputy head of the building authority. It was typical for him to appear as Kojima Takanori at a costume party in the elegant Rokumeikan society house and to pretend to be the loyal vassal of Emperor Go-Daigo .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Asahi: Personalities in the history of Japan (朝日 日本 歴 史 人物 事 典).

Remarks

1. ↑ The Fukushima Riots ( 福島 事件 , Fukushima jiken ) developed when Governor Mishima introduced a compulsory labor program. The politician Kōno Hironaka was arrested as one of the working people's supporters and sentenced to seven years in prison.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Mishima Michitsune . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 976.

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Mishima is the family name, Michitsune the first name.