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 official and educator from the Meiji and Taishō periods, who served as President of the Privy Council from 1924 to 1925. He was a significant figure in the early development of 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 ...

. Hamao hailed from Toyooka, Hyōgo. He was an official in the Ministry of Education and an academic administrator, serving twice as the president of

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

and once as Minister of Education. He later served as a courtier, supervising the household and education of the future Emperor Hirohito.

Biography

Hamao Arata was born on 12 May 1849 to 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 of the Toyooka Domain in

Tajima Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of northern Hyōgo Prefecture. Tajima bordered on Tango Province, Tango and Tanba Province, Tanba to the east, Harima Province, Harima to the south, and Inaba Province, Inaba to the west. ...

. After 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 ...

, he studied at the Keio Gijuku. He entered the Ministry of Education in 1872, before being sent to study in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for a year. After returning to Japan he served as a school principal. The University of Tokyo, then simply the Imperial University, was founded in 1877, and Hamao became an assistant professor, becoming the right-hand man to its first president Katō Hiroyuki, his countryman from Tajima Province. Hamao later became chief of the Specialised Education Bureau in the Ministry of Education. In March 1893, Hamao was appointed president of the Imperial University on Katō's recommendation. During his tenure the university changed its name to Tokyo Imperial University due to the foundation of Kyoto Imperial University in 1897. In November of the same year Hamao was appointed Minister of Education in the Second Matsukata Cabinet, serving until the cabinet resigned in January 1898. He was reappointed president of Tokyo Imperial University in 1905. He was ennobled as a baron on 23 September 1907 and appointed to the privy council in 1911. In 1912, he stepped down as university president. In 1914, he was appointed Grand Master of Crown Prince's Household (東宮大夫, ''Togu no Daibu''). As such he supervised the education of the young Crown Prince Hirohito, concurrently serving as vice president of the palace school established especially for his education, with the revered Admiral

Tōgō Heihachirō , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. As Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, he successfully confine ...

as president. Hamao opposed the plan to have the Crown Prince undertake an European tour. Hamao was removed from his position in November 1921. At the same time he was elevated to viscount in the nobility. Hamao became vice president of the Privy Council in 1922 and was promoted to president two years later. Hamao exercised the functions of

Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan The was an administrative post not of Cabinet rank in the government of the Empire of Japan, responsible for being a direct, personal advisor to the Emperor of Japan, emperor, and keeping the Privy Seal of Japan and State Seal of Japan among oth ...

after the resignation of Hirata Tosuke, before

Makino Nobuaki Count , was a Japanese politician and imperial court official. As Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan, Makino served as Emperor Hirohito's chief counselor on the monarch's position in Japanese society and policymaking. After victory in W ...

was appointed on the same day. He died on 25 September 1925

Family

* Viscount Shirō Hamao (1896–1935) - A novelist and lawyer. Born Shirō Katō, the grandson of Arata's benefactor Hiroyuki Katō, he later became an adopted son of Arata, and succeeded to the viscountcy.日本人名大辞典+プラス:浜尾四郎 (Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese People Plus: Shirō Hamao)
(in Japanese). Retrieved on 2012-3-14. * Minoru Hamao (1925–2006) - The second son of Shirō, and an instructor and the Chamberlain of Crown Prince

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

(later the 125th

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

). * Stephen Fumio Hamao (1930–2007) - The third son of Shirō, and a Catholic

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamao, Arata 1849 births 1925 deaths Presidents of universities and colleges in Japan Kazoku People of the Meiji era Politicians from Hyōgo Prefecture Presidents of the University of Tokyo Government of the Empire of Japan