Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

was a Japanese

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was the

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

in 1924, during the period which historians have called the "

Taishō Democracy Taishō Democracy was a liberal and democratic trend across the political, economic, and cultural fields in Japan that began roughly after the Russo-Japanese War and continued until the end of the Taishō era (19121926). This trend was most eviden ...

Early life and education

Kiyoura was born Ōkubo Fujaku in Kamoto,

Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces. History The cas ...

(part of present-day

Yamaga, Kumamoto file:櫻湯.jpg, 290px, Yamaga Onsen file:Kikuchi-jyou.jpg, 290px, Kikuchi Castle ruins file:Yamaga yachiyoza.jpg, 290px, Yamaga Yachiyoza theatre is a Cities of Japan, city in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of ...

), as the fifth son of Ōkubo Ryōshi, the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Menshōji Temple. He studied at the private school of Hirose Tanso from 1865 to 1871. During this time, he befriended Governor Nomura Morihide and took up the name "Kiyoura Keigo".

Political career

Nomura was appointed governor of

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

in 1873 and appointed Kiyoura to a junior-grade civil service position there. In 1876, at the age of twenty-six, Kiyoura joined the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, and served as a prosecutor and helping draft Japan's first modern

Criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...

s laws. In 1884 he caught the attention of

Yamagata Aritomo Prince was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1889 to 1891, and from 1898 to 1900. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior courtiers and statesmen who dominated the politics ...

who appointed him head of the police forces in Japan, despite his relative youth of 34. Kiyoura went on to serve as Vice Minister of Justice, and Minister of Justice and while at the Ministry of Justice, he helped draft the

Peace Preservation Law The was a Japanese law enacted on April 22, 1925, with the aim of allowing the Special Higher Police to more effectively suppress alleged socialists and communists. In addition to criminalizing forming an association with the aim of altering the ...

of 1887. In 1891, he was selected as a member of the House of Peers by Imperial nomination. A close ally of

, he was rewarded with numerous cabinet positions, including that of Justice Minister in the second Matsukata and second Yamagata administrations, and Justice, Agriculture and Commerce ministers in the first Katsura administration. In 1902, Kiyoura was elevated to the title of

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

(''danshaku'') in the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' peerage system. He received the 1st class of the

Order of the Sacred Treasures The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest tw ...

the following year, and in 1906 was awarded with the 1st class of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

. In September 1907, his title was elevated to

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

(''shishaku''). In 1914, when Kiyoura was a Privy Councillor, he received an imperial order appointing him

following

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and twice Prime Minister of Japan from 1913 to 1914 and again from 1923 to 1924. Biography Early life Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima in Satsuma Province (now Kagoshima Prefecture) as the sixth son ...

. However, Kiyoura declined the post because of the controversy involving the ongoing

Siemens scandal The of January 1914 involved collusion between several high-ranking members of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the British company Vickers, and the German industrial conglomerate of Siemens AG. It was one of several spectacular political scandals of ...

and

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese politician who served as the prime minister of Japan in 1898, and from 1914 to 1916. Born in the Saga Domain, Ōkuma was appointed minister of finance soon after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, aided by his friendship w ...

was chosen to become prime minister instead.

Premiership (1924)

Kiyoura accepted a second imperial order in 1924 following the Toranomon Incident, and became

. However, his cabinet was formed at a time when non-partisan, aristocratic cabinets were falling out of favor, and the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

held up most of his initiatives for all six months of his administration. Perhaps the most important event during his term as prime minister was the royal wedding of Crown Prince

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

(the future Emperor Shōwa) with Nagako Kuniyoshi (the future

Empress Kōjun Nagako (6 March 190316 June 2000), posthumously honoured as Empress Kōjun, was a member of the Imperial House of Japan, the wife of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and the mother of Emperor Emeritus Akihito. She was Empress of Japan from 1926 unti ...

) on 26 January 1924. In 1924, he dissolved the

Lower House A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

when faced with the three party coalition of the ''

Kenseikai The was a short-lived political party in the pre-war Empire of Japan. History The ''Kenseikai'' was founded on 10 October 1916, as a merger of the ''Rikken Dōshikai'' (led by Katō Takaaki), ''Chūseikai'' (led by Ozaki Yukio) and the ''Kōy� ...

'', ''

Rikken Seiyūkai The was one of the main political party, political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the ''Seiyūkai''. Founded on September 15, 1900, by Itō Hirobumi,David S. Spencer, "Some Thoughts on the Political Devel ...

'' and ''

Kakushin Club The Kakushin Club () was a political party in Japan. History The party was established on 8 November 1922 as a merger of the Rikken Kokumintō (29 National Diet members), the Mushozoku Club (14 Diet members) and three independents.Haruhiro Fuku ...

'' which had formed a majority in Diet of more than 150 seats. As a result of his massive rout in the subsequent general election, his cabinet resigned en masse.

Later life

In November 1928, Kiyoura was elevated to the title of

(''hakushaku''). He was posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1942.

Honours

''From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia''

Peerages

*Baron (27 February 1902) *Viscount (21 September 1907) *Count (10 November 1928)

Decorations

*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (26 December 1903; Second Class: 26 June 1897; Third Class: 29 December 1895; Fourth Class: 28 December 1893; Fifth Class: 26 December 1890) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (1 April 1906; Sixth Class: 25 November 1887) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (4 September 1920) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (5 November 1942; posthumous)

Notes

References

* Bix, Herbert P. (2000). ''

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'' is a book by Herbert P. Bix covering the reign of Emperor Shōwa of Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989. It won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction The Pulitzer Prize for General No ...

.'' New York:

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. ; * Hane, Mikiso. ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey''. Westview Press (2001). * Jansen, Marius B. (2000). ''The Making of Modern Japan.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
OCLC 44090600
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 58053128

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiyoura, Keigo 1850 births 1942 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Japan Kazoku Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Government ministers of Japan Ministers of home affairs of Japan People of the Meiji era Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Politicians from Kumamoto Prefecture