Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

was a Japanese

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

who was

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') 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 S ...

from 1891 to 1892 and 1896 to 1898.

Early life

Matsukata Masayoshi was born on 25 February 1835, in Arata,

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

Satsuma Province was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation is . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Dur ...

(present-day Shimoarata,

, Kagoshima Prefecture), the fourth son of Matsukata Masayasu and his wife Kesaku. His family was of the ''

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

'' warrior nobility class. Both his parents died when he was 13 years old. At the age of 13, he entered the ''Zoshikan'', the Satsuma domain's Confucian academy, where he studied the teachings of Wang Yangming, which stressed loyalty to the Emperor. He started his career as a bureaucrat of the Satsuma Domain. In 1866, he was sent to

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

to study western science, mathematics and surveying. Matsukata was highly regarded by Ōkubo Toshimichi and

Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Sats ...

, who used him as their liaison between

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

and the domain government in Kagoshima. Knowing that war was coming between Satsuma and the Tokugawa, Matsukata purchased a ship available in Nagasaki for use in the coming conflict. This ship was then given the name Kasuga. The leaders of Satsuma felt the ship was best used as cargo vessel and so Matsukata resigned his position as captain of the ship he had purchased. Just a few months later the Kasuga did become a warship and it fought in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

against the Tokugawa ships. At the time of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, he helped maintain order in Nagasaki after the collapse of the

Tokugawa bakufu The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encycloped ...

. In 1868, Matsukata was appointed governor of Hita Prefecture (part of present-day Ōita Prefecture) by his friend Okubo who was the powerful minister of the interior for the new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

. As governor Matsukata instituted a number of reforms including road building, starting the port of

Beppu is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city had a population of 122,643Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

in 1871 and began work on drafting laws for the Land Tax Reform of 1873–1881. Under the new system: # a taxpayer paid taxes with money instead of rice # taxes were calculated based on the price of estates, not the amount of the agricultural product produced, and # tax rates were fixed at 3% of the value of estates and an estate holder was obliged to pay those taxes. The new tax system was radically different from the traditional tax gathering system, which required taxes to be paid with

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

varied according to location and the amount of rice produced. The new system took some years to be accepted by the Japanese people. Matsukata became Lord Home Minister in 1880. In the following year, when Ōkuma Shigenobu was expelled in a political upheaval, he became Lord Finance Minister. The Japanese economy was in a crisis situation due to rampant

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

. Matsukata introduced a policy of fiscal restraint that resulted in what has come to be called the "Matsukata Deflation". The economy was eventually stabilized, but the resulting crash in commodity prices caused many smaller landholders to lose their fields to money-lending neighbors. Matsukata also established the Bank of Japan in 1882. When

Itō Hirobumi was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Japan. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior statesmen that dictated Japanese policy during the Meiji era. A London-educated sa ...

was appointed the first modern-day

in 1885, he named Matsukata to be the first Finance Minister in his cabinet. Matsukata also sought to protect Japanese industry from foreign competition, but was restricted by the unequal treaties. The unavailability of protectionist devices probably benefited Japan in the long run, as it enabled Japan to develop its export industries. The national government also tried to create government industries to produce particular products or services. Lack of funds forced the government to turn these industries over to private businesses which in return for special privileges agreed to pursue the government's goals. This arrangement led to the rise of the '' zaibatsu'' system. Matsukata served as finance minister in seven of the first nine cabinets, and led the Finance Ministry for 15 of the 20-year period from 1881 to 1901. He is also believed to have had significant influence on drafting Articles 62–72 of the Meiji Constitution of 1890.

Prime minister

Matsukata followed Yamagata Aritomo as Prime Minister from 6 May 1891, to 8 August 1892, and followed Ito Hirobumi as Prime Minister from 18 September 1896, to 12 January 1898, during which times he concurrently also held office as finance minister. One issue of his term in office was the Black Ocean Society, which operated with the support of certain powerful figures in the government and in return was powerful enough to demand concessions from the government. They demanded and received promises of a strong foreign policy from the 1892 Matsukata Cabinet.

Later life

Matsukata successively held offices as president of the Japanese

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

Society, privy councillor, ''gijokan'', member of the House of Peers, and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan. Later, he was given the title of prince and '' genrō''. In 1902 he visited USA and Europe. He arrived in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from New York in late April. During his stay, he was received in audience by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

at Buckingham Palace on 2 May 1902, and received an honorary degree from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

the following month. In July he visited

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and St Petersburg before returning to Japan.

Honours and decorations

''Incorporates information from the Japanese Wikipedia article''

Titles

*Count (July 1884) *Marquess (1907) *Duke (18 September 1922)

Decorations

*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (22 July 1881) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (31 October 1899) * Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (14 July 1916; Grand Cordon: 1 April 1906) Matsukata was named an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of Order of St Michael and St George ( GCMG) in the November

1902 Birthday Honours The 1902 Birthday Honours were announced on 10 November 1902, to celebrate the birthday of Edward VII the previous day. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and the British Empire. The list was publi ...

list published to commemorate King Edward VII′s birthday.

Honorary degrees

* D.C.L. (honorary)

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

- June 1902, during a visit to the United Kingdom

Personal life and relatives

Matsukata had many children (at least 13 sons and 11 daughters) and grandchildren. It is said that Emperor Meiji asked him how many children he had; but Masayoshi was unable to give an exact answer. Matsukata's son, Kōjirō Matsukata (1865–1950) led a successful business career at the head of the

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headq ...

and K Line groups, while investing his significant personal fortune in the acquisition of several thousand examples of Western painting, sculpture and decorative arts. His intention was that the collection should serve as the nucleus of a national museum of western art. Although not achieved during his lifetime, the 1959 creation of the National Museum of Western Art in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

was a vindication of this passion for art and a demonstration of the foresight which benefits his countrymen and others. Another son, Shokuma Matsukata, married Miyo Arai (1891-1984), who, as Miyo A. Matsukata, was instrumental in introducing the Christian Science religion to Japan, and who became one of the first Japanese to engage in the public practice of Christian Science healing. His granddaughter, journalist Haru Matsukata Reischauer, married the American scholar of Japanese history, academic, statesman and United States Ambassador to Japan, Edwin Oldfather Reischauer.Stewart, Barbara
"Haru M. Reischauer, 83; Eased Tensions With Japan"
''New York Times.'' October 5, 1998.

References

Sources

* Bix, Herbert P. '' Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan''. Harper Perennial (2001). . * Matsukata, Masayoshi. ''Report on the Adoption of the Gold Standard in Japan''. Adamant Media Corporation (November 30, 2005). . * Reischauer, Haru Matsukata. ''Samurai and Silk: A Japanese and American Heritage''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1986. . *Sagers, John H. ''Origins of Japanese Wealth and Power : Reconciling Confucianism and Capitalism, 1830-1885''. 1st ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. * Sims, Richard. ''Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868–2000''. Palgrave Macmillan. .

External links

, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Matsukata, Masayoshi 1835 births 1924 deaths 19th-century prime ministers of Japan Ministers of Finance of Japan Government ministers of Japan Kazoku Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Japanese Shintoists Meiji Restoration Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Ministers of Home Affairs of Japan Nobles of the Meiji Restoration People from Satsuma Domain People of Meiji-period Japan Prime Ministers of Japan Samurai Matsukata family Politicians from Kagoshima Prefecture People from Kagoshima