Yamada Akiyoshi

Yamada Akiyoshi (1892)

Yamada Akiyoshi ( Japanese : 山田 顕 義 ; * November 17, 1844 in Hagi ; † November 11, 1892 in Hyōgo Prefecture ) was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army and politician , who was an important political leader of the Meiji oligarchy and several times a minister . On July 7, 1884 he was raised as a count (Hakushaku) to the hereditary nobility ( Kazoku ) . During his tenure as Minister of Justice, the so-called Ōtsu incident occurred on May 11, 1891, a failed assassination attempt on Tsarevich Nikolaus, who later became Tsar Nicholas II , in Ōtsu on May 11, 1891 , during his trip to East Asia.

Life

Military career and lieutenant general

Yamada Akiyoshi, son of a samurai from the Chōshū fiefdom , first attended the Han School Meirinkan , where he learned the tradition of sword fighting Yagyū Shinkage-ryū , and in June 1857 the renowned private school Shōka Sonjuku , directed by Yoshida Shōin . In the fall of 1862 he joined the Mōri clan under Mōri Motonori and the Sonnō jōi movement, which wanted to free Japan from foreign influences under the slogan "Adore the emperor, drive out the barbarians". He signed the petition for this with his blood. After the Chōshū forces were driven out of Kyoto by supporters of the Kōbu gattai movement, the so-called "Union of the Imperial Court and the Shogunate" , he went into exile in Dazaifu with Sanjō Sanetomi . During this time he studied Western military science with Ōmura Masujirō and took part as an active warrior in 1864 in the uprising at the Hamaguri Gate , the bombardment of Shimonoseki and the second Chōshū battle on June 7, 1866. In the subsequent Boshin War (January 27, 1868 to June 27, 1869) he played a leading role as the commander of a group of 700 warriors under the influence of the daimyo of Chōshū, Mōri Takachika at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi (January 27th until January 31, 1868). He was also the commander of the naval units of the Satsuma Chōshū Alliance in Mutsu Bay.

At the end of the Boshin War Yamada Akiyoshi was appointed senior staff officer in the Ministry of War (Hyōbu-shō) in June 1869 . After his promotion to major general he took part from October 22, 1871 in the Iwakura mission led by Iwakura Tomomi to the USA and Europe , where he visited San Francisco , Salt Lake City , Chicago and Washington, DC and also the Philadelphia Naval Visited Shipyard , the shipyard of the United States Navy . On the way back he visited Paris , Berlin , the Netherlands , Belgium , Lausanne , Bulgaria and Russia . He also attended the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 before returning to Japan on June 2, 1873. He was then appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Chinese Empire and took part in the suppression of the Saga Rebellion (February 16 to April 9, 1874). On July 5, 1874 he was appointed judicial councilor of the Great Council of State (Daijō-kan) and held this office until September 10, 1879. For his services, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun Second Class (Kyokujitsu daijushō) in 1875 and also took participated in the suppression of the Satsuma rebellion (January 29 to September 24, 1877). In November 1878 he was promoted to lieutenant general (rikugun-chūshō) .

minister

Lieutenant General Yamada Akiyoshi

On September 10, 1879, Yamada Akiyoshi succeeded Inoue Kaoru Minister of Public Works (Kōbu-kyō) and held this office until February 28, 1880, whereupon Yamao Yōzō succeeded him. On October 21, 1881 he took over the office of Lord Chancellor (Naimu-kyō) from Matsukata Masayoshi and held this position until he was replaced by Yamagata Aritomo on December 12, 1883. In November 1882 he founded the Research Institute for the Japanese Classics ( Kōten Kōkyūjo ) . On December 12, 1883, he replaced Ōki Takatō as Minister of Justice (Shihōshō) and held this until the introduction of the cabinet government on December 22, 1885. On July 7, 1884 he was raised as a count (Hakushaku) to the hereditary nobility ( Kazoku ) .

After the introduction of the cabinet governments, Yamada Akiyoshi became Minister of Justice (Hōmu Daijin) in the Itō I cabinet (December 22, 1885 to April 30, 1888) and also held this position in the Kuroda cabinet (April 30, 1888 to December 24, 1889), in The Yamagata I cabinet (December 24, 1889 to May 6, 1891) and the Matsukata I cabinet (May 6, 1891 to June 1, 1891). In October 1889 he founded the Nihon School of Law (Nihon hōritsu gakkō) . After the introduction of the parliamentary system, he became a member of the manor house ( Kizokuin ) in 1890 , to which he belonged until his death. During his tenure as Minister of Justice, the so-called Ōtsu incident occurred on May 11, 1891 , a failed attempt on May 11, 1891 in Ōtsu on Tsarevich Nikolaus, later Tsar Nicholas II , during his trip to East Asia. He threatened the declaration of martial law, which would have priority over civil law. Contrary to the fears of many members of the government, the Ōtsu incident did not lead to war with Russia. However, he was then replaced as Minister of Justice on June 1, 1891 by Tanaka Fujimarō . On January 28, 1892 he was appointed a member of the Secret Privy Council ( Sūmitsu-in ) , which he also belonged to until his death during an inspection trip to the silver mine of Ikuno in Hyōgo prefecture on November 11, 1892. He was then posthumously awarded the Order of the Paulownia Blossom, the highest level of the Order of the Rising Sun.

Web links

• Entry in Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures

Individual evidence

1. ^ Itō I cabinet
2. ^ Kuroda Cabinet
3. ^ Cabinet Yamagata I.

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