Soejima Taneomi

Soejima Taneomi ( Japanese 副島種臣 ; born October 17, 1828 in Hizen Province , now Saga Prefecture ; died January 31, 1905 ) was a Japanese politician of the Meiji period .

Live and act

Grave in the Aoyama Cemetery

Soejima studied English in Nagasaki and joined the movement that sought to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate . After the Meiji Restoration in 1868 he was, together with Fukuoka Takachika ( 福岡孝弟 ; 1835-1919), involved in the formulation of the "Constitution of 1868", the Seitaisho ( 政体書 ). He was a member of the State Council from 1869 to 1871, then as Foreign Minister from 1871 to 1873 took a resolute stance in dealing with the Maria Luz incident and in the murder of fishermen on the Ryūkyū Islands in Taiwan, which eventually led to the Formosa expedition 1872 led. In 1873, Soejima led a mission to Beijing to discuss the Taiwan issue, but then resigned from his post because of his stance on a possible invasion of Korea known as Seikanron .

In 1874 he submitted, together with Itagaki Taisuke, a petition that had an elected Reichstag as its goal, but he then played no further role in the movement that wanted to enforce the rights of the people. He was appointed count in 1884, became advisor to the court in 1886 and was a member of the Secret Council of State from 1888 to 1905, serving as vice-president from 1891 to 1892. - Soejima was Minister of the Interior for a short time in 1892, he resigned because of influencing the election. In 1891 he founded the "Society of the East" ( 東方協会 , Tōhō kyōkai ) to study politics for East Asia.

Remarks

↑ “Maria Luz” was a Peruvian ship that had moored in the port of Yokohama with 230 Chinese day laborers on board due to bad weather. When a number of Chinese escaped, the Japanese government pushed for their release, but had to give in after mediation by Russia.
↑ The status of the Ryūkyū Islands was unclear at the time, but Japan sent an expedition to Taiwan, which was being claimed by China at the time, in order to receive compensation. The Chinese eventually paid and recognized that the Ryūkyū belonged to Japan.

literature

S. Noma (Ed.): Soejima Taneomi. In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , pp. 608-609.
Janet Hunter: Soejima Taneomi. In: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Kodansha International, 1984, ISBN 4-7700-1193-8 .

Web links

Commons : Soejima Taneomi - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Soejima, Taneomi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	副島種臣 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Japanese politician
DATE OF BIRTH	October 17, 1828
PLACE OF BIRTH	Hizen Province
DATE OF DEATH	January 31, 1905

[1] “Maria Luz” was a Peruvian ship that had moored in the port of Yokohama with 230 Chinese day laborers on board due to bad weather. When a number of Chinese escaped, the Japanese government pushed for their release, but had to give in after mediation by Russia.

[2] The status of the Ryūkyū Islands was unclear at the time, but Japan sent an expedition to Taiwan, which was being claimed by China at the time, in order to receive compensation. The Chinese eventually paid and recognized that the Ryūkyū belonged to Japan.