was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician. He was born in Miyazu,

Kyoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Kyoto Prefecture has a population of 2,561,358 () and has a geographic area of . Kyoto Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the northeast, Shiga Prefecture ...

. He was the first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Keijō Imperial University Keijō Imperial University was an National Seven Universities, Imperial University in Keijō (Seoul), Korea, Empire of Japan that existed between 1924 and 1946. The university was seen as the preeminent educational institution in colonial Korea. ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, from May to July 1924 during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule. He served as governor of Chiba, Miyazaki,

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, Hyogo. He was mayor of

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

from 1925 to 1931.

Career

He was born on 2 June 1873 into a

Samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

family in Kyoto. He graduated from the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

in 1896 with a degree in

English Law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

, and started working for the

Home Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

. After spending some time in Europe, he served as governor of four prefectures: Chiba, Miyazaki, Kanagawa, and Hyogo. He held senior roles in the Government-General of Chōsen. During his six-year tenure as Mayor of

, he played a central role in rebuilding and reorganising the earthquake-struck city, including the decision to build

Yamashita Park is a public park in Naka Ward, Yokohama, Japan, famous for its waterfront views of the Port of Yokohama. History Much of Yokohama was destroyed on September 1, 1923, by the Great Kantō earthquake. A Scotsman, Marshall Martin, advisor to Ma ...

. File:Yamashita Park 1930s.jpg,

, a central piece in Ariyoshi's Yokohama reconstruction plan File:Emblem of Hyogo Prefecture.svg, Emplem of Hyogo Prefecture, conceived by Ariyoshi

Honours

Court Ranks

* Senior Fourth Rank (正四位) * Junior Third Rank (従三位) * Senior Third Rank (正三位)

Orders

* The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star (2nd class)『官報』第2640号「叙任及辞令」1921年5月21日。

Family

Source: Parents: * Sanshichi * Uta Spouse: * Hisae (有吉久榮) Siblings: * Akira ( 有吉明): Diplomat, served as ambassador to Switzerland, Brazil, and China * Minoru ( 有吉実): Senior bureaucrat, lawyer Children: * Yoshiya ( 有吉義弥): Chief Executive of

NYK Line The , also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a fleet of over 820 ships, which includes container ships, tankers, bulk and woodchip carriers, roll-on/ro ...

(1965-1971) * Fumiko (有吉文子): Married Iwao Yamazaki * Tokuko (有吉德子): Married Shigeru Yonezawa ( 米沢滋), president of NTT (1965-1977)

References