Count was a Japanese diplomat and an educator in

Meiji Meiji, the romanization of the Japanese characters 明治 , may refer to: Japanese history * Emperor Meiji, Emperor of Japan between 1867 and 1912 ** Meiji era, the name given to that period in Japanese history *** Meiji Restoration, the revol ...

- and Taishō-period Japan. He was the oldest son of

Mutsu Munemitsu Count was a Japanese statesman and diplomat in Meiji period Japan. Early life Mutsu Munemitsu was born in Wakayama domain, Kii Province as the sixth son of Date Munehiro, a ''samurai'' retainer of the Kii Tokugawa clan. His father was activ ...

who was

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between countr ...

. He was sent to the U.K. to study in 1887 as a barristerHota-Lister, A. ''The Japan-British Exhibition of 1910: Gateway to the Island Empire of the East''. London: Routledge, 2013. pp 49-50 and by 1895 was appointed to diplomatic positions, residing 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 ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. While in Europe he met Gertrude Ethel Passingham whom he later married in 1905. She took the Japanese name Mutsu Iso and followed him back to Japan 1910 where she created a name for herself as a writer. Mutsu was again called upon to serve as a diplomat in 1914 and was appointed

Envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an automobile brand used to sell Bri ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

but with failing health he retired to

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kama ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

until his death in 1942. Count Mustu and his wife were financial sponsors of ''Kamakura-jo-gakkō'', a girl's high school in Kamakura (now ''Kamakura-jo-gakuin'' girl's junior high and high school), and exerted themselves to conserve historic site.

Family tree

References

{{reflist 1869 births 1942 deaths Japanese diplomats People from Kamakura Kazoku People of Meiji-period Japan Foreign ministers of Japan