Mori Arinori

Mori Arinori

Mori Arinori ( Japanese 森 有礼 ; born August 23, 1847 in Kagoshima ; † February 12, 1889 ) was a Japanese politician of the Meiji period and founder of the modern Japanese educational system.

Life

Mori was the son of a lesser samurai of Satsuma-han . He received his first education at the Han School Zōshikan and at the School of Western Knowledge, Kaiseijo in Kagoshima. After the experience of the bombardment of Kagoshima by British ships in 1863, he went to London for further training in 1865 at the instigation of the Han , then to the USA. There he was u. a. impressed by the mystical-religious preacher Thomas Lake Harris (1823–1906). In 1868 he returned to Japan.

After his return, he became the external relations officer within the Meiji government, was entrusted with various other tasks, but was unable to assert himself and resigned. In 1870 he was sent to the US as an envoy , where he took care of foreign loans and cultural exchanges. During this time he wrote in English such as "Theory of Free Exercise of Religion" and "Education in Japan". After his return in 1873 he was appointed foreign representative ( 外務 大 丞 , gaimu daijō ), ambassador to China from 1875 to 1878 and deputy foreign minister ( 外務 卿 代理 , gaimu-kyō dairi ).

As early as 1873, Mori proposed the establishment of the “Meiroku Society” ( 明 六 社 , Meiroku-sha ), which was supposed to bring together those interested in the modernization of Japan. It was founded on January 1, 1874. Mori campaigned for the social equality of men and women (not for their right to vote), demanded modern trade laws and commercial training, entirely in keeping with the civic enlightenment ( 啓蒙 , keimō ).

In 1879 Mori became ambassador to England , where he endeavored to negotiate the " Unequal Treaties ". In the summer of 1882 he met Itō Hirobumi in Paris, who wanted to find out about measures in the field of education. After his return to Japan, Mori was then advisor to the legislative office ( 参事 院 議 官 , Sanjiin gikan ) and at the same time advisor to the Ministry of Culture ( 文部省 御用 掛 , Mombu-shō goyō-kake ). When Itō formed his first cabinet in 1885 , Mori became minister of culture. In 1886 a number of education and training laws were enacted, such as the Law Establishing Imperial Universities and the School Law. According to Moris, teacher training also included physical training in a military manner.

During his three years of service, Mori traveled all over Japan to explain his parenting ideas and to review their implementation. But Mori's progressive ideas also aroused resistance. On February 11, 1889, the day the constitution was promulgated , he was attacked with a knife by the ultra-nationalist Nishino Buntarō and died the following day.

Remarks

1. ↑ See Namamugi incident .
2. ↑ Meiroku is an abbreviation for 6th year Meiji = 1873.
3. ↑ Mori is credited with raising the curtain in front of the inside of the shrine with his walking stick during a visit to the Ise shrine and asking "Where is the supernatural here?"

literature

• Suzuki, Toshihiko (ed.): Nihon daihyakka zensho (Denshibukku-han) , Shogakukan, 1996.
• Noma, S. (Ed.): Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , pp. 608-609.

Web links

Commons : Mori Arinori  - collection of images, videos and audio files

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