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 ...

was a Japanese

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 ...

and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

and fought against 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 ...

until the end of the Boshin War. He later served in the Meiji government as one of the founders of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

Biography

Early life

Enomoto was born as a member of a samurai family in the direct service of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...

in the Shitaya district of Edo (modern Taitō,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

). Enomoto started learning Dutch in the 1850s, and after Japan's forced "opening" by Commodore

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was an American and Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He gained international fame for starring as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994– ...

in 1854, he studied at the Tokugawa shogunate's Naval Training Center in Nagasaki and at the Tsukiji Warship Training Center in Edo. At the age of 26, Enomoto was sent to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

to study western techniques in naval warfare and to procure western technologies. He stayed in Europe from 1862 to 1867, and became fluent in both the Dutch and English languages. Enomoto returned to Japan on board the , a steam warship purchased from the Netherlands by the Shogunal government. During his stay in Europe, Enomoto had realized that the

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

would be an important means of communication in the future, and started planning a system to connect Edo and

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 ...

. Upon his return, Enomoto was promoted to , the second highest rank in the Tokugawa Navy, at the age of 31. He also received the court title of . File:Enomoto_takeaki.jpg, Enomoto in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, 1864 File:Enomoto Takeaki in Holland 1863-1866.png, Enomoto Takeaki in Holland 1863-1866

Boshin War and Meiji Restoration

During 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, after the surrender of Edo in 1868 during the Boshin War to forces loyal to the Satchō Alliance, Enomoto refused to deliver up his warships, and escaped to

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

with the remainder of the Tokugawa Navy and a handful of French military advisers and their leader

Jules Brunet Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French military officer who served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in Japan. Originally sent to Japan as a horse artillery instructor with the French military mission of 1867, ...

. His fleet of eight steam warships was the strongest in Japan at the time. Enomoto hoped to create an independent country under the rule of the Tokugawa family in

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, but the Meiji government refused to accept partition of Japan. On 27 January 1869, the Tokugawa loyalists declared the foundation of the Republic of Ezo and elected Enomoto as president. The Meiji government forces engaged and defeated Enomoto's forces in the Naval Battle of Hakodate in May 1869. Following the Battle of Hakodate on 27 June 1869, the Republic of Ezo collapsed, and Hokkaidō came under the rule of the central government headed by the Meiji Emperor. File:8 Tokugawa Warships Sailing Off Shinagawa 1868 by Masanoshin Kosugi.png, 8 Tokugawa Warships led by Enomoto sailing Off Shinagawa 1868 File:Takeaki_Enomoto.gif, Enomoto Takeaki in Ezo, aged 32 ()

As a Meiji politician

After his surrender, Enomoto was arrested, accused of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

and imprisoned. However, the leaders of the new Meiji government (largely at the insistence of Kuroda Kiyotaka) realized that Enomoto's various talents and accumulated knowledge could be of use, and pardoned him in 1872. Enomoto became one of the few former Tokugawa loyalists who made the transition to the new ruling elite, as politics at the time was dominated by men from Chōshū and Satsuma, who had a strong bias against outsiders in general, and former Tokugawa retainers in particular. However, Enomoto was an exception, and rose quickly within the new ruling clique, to a higher status than any other member of the former Tokugawa administrations. In 1874, Enomoto was given the rank of

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

in the fledgling

. The following year, he was sent to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

as a special envoy to negotiate the Treaty of St. Petersburg. The successful conclusion of the treaty was very well received in Japan and further raised Enomoto's prestige within the ruling circles, and the fact that Enomoto had been chosen for such an important mission was seen as evidence of reconciliation between former foes in the government. In 1880, Enomoto became . In 1885, his diplomatic skills were again called upon to assist

Itō Hirobumi Kazoku, Prince , born , was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888, and later from 1892 to 1896, in 1898, and from 1900 to 1901. He was a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior state ...

in concluding the Convention of Tientsin with

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...

. Afterwards, Enomoto held a series of high posts in the Japanese government. He was Japan's first Minister of Communications (1885–1888) after the introduction of the cabinet system in 1885. He was also Minister of Agriculture and Commerce from 1894 to 1897,

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

from 1889 to 1890 and

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

from 1891 to 1892. In 1887, Enomoto was ennobled to the rank of

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 ...

under 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, and was selected as a member of the Privy Council. Enomoto was especially active in promoting Japanese emigration through settler colonies in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. In 1891, he established—against the will of the cabinet of

Matsukata Masayoshi Prince was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1891 to 1892, and from 1896 to 1898. Born in the Satsuma Domain to a samurai family, Matsukata served as finance minister for 15 of the 20 years between 1881 and 1901, ...

—a "section for

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

" in the Foreign Ministry, with the task of encouraging emigration and finding new potential territories for Japanese settlement overseas. Two years later, after leaving the government, Enomoto also helped to establish a private organization, the "Colonial Association", to promote external trade and emigration.

Death

Enomoto died in 1908 at the age of 72. His grave is at the temple of Kisshō-ji, Bunkyō-ku,

Yamamoto (1997) pp. 56–59 (). File:Tomb of Enomoto Takeaki in Kichijoji large.jpg, Tomb of Enomoto Takeaki in Kisshō-ji File:Tomb of Enomoto Takeaki in Kichijoji.jpg, Close up Tomb of Enomoto Takeaki in Kisshō-ji

Honours

Grand Cordon 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 ...

(1886) *

Senior Second Rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese language, Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the Nation, state. ''Ikai'' as a system was the indication of the rank of burea ...

(1896) * Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers (1908)

Notes

References

*Kamo, Giichi. ''Enomoto Takeaki''. Chuo Koronsha (Japanese) *Yamamoto, Atsuko. ''Jidai o shissoshita kokusaijin Enomoto Takeaki: Raten Amerika iju no michi o hiraku''. Shinzansha (1997). (Japanese) *Akita, George. (1967) Foundations of constitutional government in modern Japan, 1868–1900. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, . *Hane, Mikiso. ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey''. Westview Press (2001). *Hillsborough, Romulus. ''Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps''. Tuttle Publishing (2005). * Jansen, Marius B. and

John Whitney Hall John Whitney Hall (September 13, 1916 – October 21, 1997)"John Whitney Hall papers, 1930–1999", Yale University Library was an American historian of Japan who specialized in premodern Japanese history. His life work was recognized by the Japan ...

, eds. (1989). ''The Emergence of Meiji Japan,'' ''The Cambridge History of Japan,'' Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ; ; * Keene, Donald. (1984). ''Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature of the Modern Era.'' New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ; ; * Ravina, Mark. (2004). ''The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori''. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. ; , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Enomoto, Takeaki Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Japanese military leaders Government ministers of Japan Kazoku People of the Meiji era People from Taitō Samurai Hatamoto People of the Boshin War People of Bakumatsu Empire of Japan 1836 births 1908 deaths 19th-century national presidents Heads of state in Asia Heads of state of former countries Ministers for foreign affairs of Japan Education ministers of Japan