Everything about It Hirobumi totally explained
was a
Japanese statesman,
Resident-General of Korea, four time
Prime Minister of Japan (the 1st, 5th, 7th and 10th) and
genrō. Itō was assassinated by
An Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist who was against the Annexation of Korea by the
Japanese Empire. Ironically, there's an argument that Itō's death resulted in the acceleration of the final stage of the colonization process.
Suematsu Kencho was Itō’s son-in-law, having married his second daughter, Ikuko.
Prime Minister of Japan
Early years
Itō was born as the adopted son of Hayashi Juzo, a lower class
samurai from
Hagi,
Chōshū domain (present-day
Yamaguchi prefecture). He was a student of
Yoshida Shoin at the
Shoka Sonjuku and later joined the
Sonno joi movement (“to revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians”), together with
Kido Takayoshi. Itō was chosen to be one of the
Chōshū Five who studied at
University College London in 1863, and the experience in
Great Britain convinced him of the necessity of Japan adopting Western ways.
In 1864, Itō returned to Japan with fellow student
Inoue Kaoru to attempt to warn the Chōshū clan against going to war with the foreign powers (the
Bombardment of Shimonoseki) over the right of passage through the
Straits of Shimonoseki. At that time, he met
Ernest Satow for the first time, later a lifelong friend.
Political career
After the
Meiji Restoration, Itō was appointed governor of
Hyōgo Prefecture, junior councilor for Foreign Affairs, and sent to the
United States in 1870 to study Western currency systems. Returning to Japan in 1871, he established Japan's taxation system. Later that year, he was sent on the
Iwakura Mission around the world as vice-envoy extraordinary, during which he won the confidence of
Okubo Toshimichi.
In 1873, Itō was made a full councilor, Minister of Public Works, and in 1875 chairman of the first Assembly of Prefectural Governors. After Okubo's assassination, he took over the post of
Home Minister and secured a central position in the
Meiji government. In 1881 he urged
Okuma Shigenobu to resign, leaving himself in unchallenged control.
Itō went to
Europe in 1882 to study the constitutions of those countries, spending nearly 18 months away from Japan. While working on a constitution for Japan, he also wrote the first
Imperial Household Law and established the Japanese
peerage system (
kazoku) in 1884.
In 1885, he negotiated the
Convention of Tianjin with
Li Hongzhang, normalizing Japan's diplomatic relations with
Qing Dynasty China.
As Prime Minister
Also in 1885, based on European ideas, Itō established a
cabinet system system of government, replacing the
Daijō-kan as the decision-making state organization, and on
December 22,
1885, he became the first
prime minister of Japan.
On
April 30,
1888, Itō resigned as prime minister, but headed the new
Privy Council to maintain power behind-the-scenes. In 1889, he also became the first
genro. The
Meiji Constitution was promulgated in February 1889.
He remained a powerful force while
Kuroda Kiyotaka and
Yamagata Aritomo, his political nemesis, were prime ministers.
During Itō’s second term as prime minister (
August 8,
1892 –
August 31,
1896), he supported the
First Sino-Japanese War and negotiated the
Treaty of Shimonoseki in March 1895 with his ailing foreign minister
Mutsu Munemitsu. In the
Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of 1894, he succeeded in removing some of the onerous
unequal treaty clauses that had plagued Japanese foreign relations since the start of the Meiji period.
During Itō’s third term as prime minister (
January 12,
1898 –
June 30,
1899), he encountered problems with
party politics. Both the
Jiyuto and the
Shimpoto opposed his proposed new land taxes, and in retaliation, Itō dissolved the
Diet and called for new elections. As a result, both parties merged into the
Kenseito, won a majority of the seats, and forced Itō to resign. This lesson taught Itō the need for a pro-government
political party, so he organized the
Rikken Seiyukai in 1900. Itō's womanizing was a popular theme in editorial cartoons and in parodies by contemporary comedians, and was used by his political enemies in their campaign against him.
Itō returned to office as prime minister for a fourth term from
October 19,
1900, to
May 10,
1901, this time facing political opposition from the
House of Peers. Weary of political back-stabbing, he resigned in 1901, but remained as head of the Privy Council as the premiership alternated between
Saionji Kimmochi and
Katsura Taro. Itō received an honorary doctorate from
Yale University around this time.
As Resident-General of Korea
In November 1905, following the
Russo-Japanese War, the Korean government signed the
Eulsa Treaty, making Korea a Japanese
protectorate. Itō became the first
Resident-General of Korea on
December 21,
1905. He urged the Korean
King Gojong to abdicate in 1907 in favor of his son
King Sunjong and pushed through the
Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1907, giving Japan control over Korean internal affairs. In spite of his dedication to the annexation, his political nemesis, politically influential
Imperial Japanese Army led by
Yamagata Aritomo, blamed him for the delay of the colonization over Korea, therefore Itō had to resign on
June 14,
1909.
Assassination
Itō arrived at the
Harbin train station on
October 26,
1909 for a meeting with a Russian representative in
Manchuria. When he arrived and proceeded to meet the Russian,
An Jung-geun, a
Korean nationalist, fired seven shots at him. Three of those shots hit Itō in the chest and he died shortly thereafter.
Legacy
A portrait of Itō Hirobumi was on the 1,000
yen note of Japan from 1963 until a new series was issued in 1984. His former house is preserved as a museum near the Shoin Jinja, in Hagi city, Yamaguchi prefecture. However, the actual structure was Itō’s second home, formerly located in
Shinagawa, Tokyo.
Further Information
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