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. The ...

was a Japanese

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who served as

prime minister of Japan The 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 state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

from 1889 to 1891, and from 1898 to 1900. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior courtiers and statesmen who dominated the politics of Japan during the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

. As the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

's inaugural

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

, he shaped the military's

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and

reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

ideology, which has led some historians to consider him the "father" of Japanese militarism. Yamagata Aritomo was born in the Chōshū Domain to a low-ranking samurai family, and after the opening of Japan in 1854 became active in the movement to overthrow the shogunate. As a member of the new government 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 ...

of 1868, he went overseas to study military systems, and from 1873 headed the Army Ministry. Yamagata was instrumental in drafting the Conscription Ordinance of 1873 and quelling the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. He also was involved in the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors of 1882 and the

Imperial Rescript on Education The , or IRE for short, was signed by Emperor Meiji of Japan on 30 October 1890 to articulate government policy on the guiding principles of education on the Empire of Japan. The 315 kanji, character document was read aloud at all important school ...

of 1890. In 1900, he enacted a law permitting only generals and admirals on active duty to hold a cabinet post as army or navy minister, which gave the military control over the formation of future cabinets. Yamagata held senior military positions in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

and

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, achieving the rank of

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

('' Gensui'') and later the title of prince in 1907. From 1900 onwards, Yamagata vied against Itō Hirobumi for supremacy among the Meiji oligarchy. Following Ito's assassination in 1909, he emerged as the most powerful ''genrō'' within the imperial court. However, a political scandal involving his meddling in Crown Prince

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

's engagement led to him losing power shortly before his death in 1922.

Early career

Yamagata Tatsunosuke was born on 14 June 1838, in Kawashima, Abu, below Hagi Castle (present-day Hagi,

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

), the eldest son of

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 ...

foot soldier ('' ashigaru'') Yamagata Aritoshi. His father was a low-ranking samurai who carried weaponry during wartime and was a petty official at the town magistrate office ('' machi-bugyō-sho'') during peacetime. Yamagata's mother died when he was 4 years old, and he was raised by his strict grandmother. Although Aritoshi was a petty town magistrate official, he studied '' kokugaku'', wrote poetry, and excelled in academics. Yamagata was taught academics by his father Aritoshi. He had his coming of age ceremony ('' genpuku'') at age 15, and started off as a petty official at the Chōshū Domain and then at the Meirinkan. Later, he served the territorial magistrate (''

daikan ''Daikan'' (代官) was an official in ancient Japan that acted on behalf of a ruling monarch or a lord at the post they had been appointed to. Since the Middle Ages, ''daikan'' were in charge of their territory and territorial tax collection. In ...

''), going from village to village learning general duties of a samurai official. His childhood name was Tatsunosuke, after which he was briefly known as Kosuke and Kyōsuke, before changing his name to Aritomo after the

. He went to '' Shokasonjuku'', a private school run by Yoshida Shōin, where he was active in the growing underground movement to overthrow 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 ...

. He was a commander in the '' Kiheitai'', a paramilitary organization created on semi-western lines by the Chōshū domain. During the Boshin War, the revolution of 1867 and 1868 often called the

, he was a staff officer. After the defeat of the Tokugawa, Yamagata together with Saigō Tsugumichi was selected by the leaders of the new government to go to Europe in 1869 to research European military systems. Yamagata like many Japanese was strongly influenced by the striking success of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in transforming itself from an agricultural state to a leading industrial and military power. He accepted Prussian political ideas, which favored military expansion abroad and authoritarian government at home. On returning he was asked to organize a national army for Japan, and he became War Minister in 1873. Yamagata energetically modernized the fledgling

, and modeled it after the Prussian Army. He began a system of military conscription in 1873.Hackett, ''Yamagata Aritomo in the Rise of Modern Japan 1838–1922'' (1971).

Military career

As War Minister, Yamagata pushed through the foundation of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff, which was the main source of Yamagata's political power and that of other military officers through the end of World War I. He was Chief of the Army General Staff in 1878–1882, 1884–85 and 1904–1905. Yamagata in 1877 led the newly modernized Imperial Army against the Satsuma Rebellion led by his former comrade in revolution, Saigō Takamori of Satsuma. At the end of the war, when Saigo's severed head was brought to Yamagata, he ordered it washed, and held the head in his arms as he pronounced a meditation on the fallen hero. He also prompted

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

to write the '' Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors'', in 1882. This document was considered the moral core of the Japanese Army and

Naval forces A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operati ...

until their dissolution in 1945. Yamagata was awarded the rank of

in 1898. Throughout his long career, he amassed extensive leadership experience managing battlefield strategy and other military-related issues as the acting War Minister and Commanding General during the

; the Commanding General of the Japanese First Army during the

; and as the Chief of the General Staff Office in Tokyo. Additionally, he was the founding father of Japan's '' Hokushin-ron'' policy due to his central role in drawing up a preliminary national defensive strategy against

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 ...

following the

Political career

Yamagata was one of seven elite political figures, later called the '' genrō'', who came to dominate the government of Japan. The word can be translated as principal elders or senior statesmen. The ''genrō'' were a subset of the revolutionary leaders who shared common objectives and who by about 1880 had forced out or isolated the other original leaders. These seven men (plus two who were chosen later after some of the first seven had died) led Japan for many years, through its great transformation from an agricultural country into a modern military and industrial state. All the ''genrō'' served at various times as cabinet ministers, and most were at times prime minister. As a body, the ''genrō'' had no official status, they were simply trusted advisers to the Emperor. Yet the ''genrō'' collectively made the most important decisions, such as peace and war and foreign policy, and when a cabinet resigned they chose the new prime minister. In the twentieth century their power diminished because of deaths and quarrels among themselves, and the growing political power of the Army and Navy. But the ''genrō'' clung to the power of naming prime ministers up to the death of the last ''genrō'',

Saionji in 1940. Yamagata also held a large and devoted power base among officers in the army and militarists in Japanese society. He profoundly distrusted all democratic institutions, and constantly strove to undercut their influence as a member of the ''genrō''. Likewise, he devoted the later part of his life defending the privileges of the Restoration regime's institutions, especially those held by the army. During his long and versatile career, Yamagata held numerous important governmental posts. In 1882, he became president of the Board of Legislation (''Sanjiin'') and as Home Minister (1883–87) he worked vigorously to suppress political parties and repress agitation in the labor and agrarian movements. He also organized a system of local administration, based on a prefecture-county-city structure which is still in use in Japan today. In 1883 Yamagata was appointed to the post of

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, the highest bureaucratic position in the government system before the

Meiji Constitution The Constitution of the Empire of Japan ( Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in ...

of 1889.

First premiership (1889–1891)

After the creation of the Cabinet of Japan, Yamagata became the third

Prime Minister of Japan The 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 state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

. During his first term from December 24, 1889, to May 6, 1891, he became the first prime minister compelled to share power with a partially-elected Imperial Diet under the

which took effect in 1890. On October 30, 1890, he presided over the enactment of the ''

''. In order to pass a budget for the fiscal year 1891 (beginning in April), he had to negotiate with a liberal majority in the House of Representatives, the elected lower house of the Diet.

Out of office (1891–1898)

Representatives of Japan at the coronation of Nicholas II

In addition to his service as prime minister, Yamagata obtained considerable experience traveling abroad as a diplomat. Attending the coronation of the Russian Czar Nicholas II on November 1, 1894, he made a tentative offer to Spain on buying the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

for £40 million. Likewise, in 1896, he led a diplomatic mission to Moscow, which produced the Yamagata–Lobanov Agreement confirming Japanese and Russian rights in

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 ...

. Yamagata also served as President of the Privy Council from 1893 to 1894 and 1905 to 1922. While serving his second term as president in 1907, he was elevated to the peerage and received the title of ''koshaku'' (prince) under the Japanese ''

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 ...

'' system.

Second premiership (1898–1900)

Yamagata became prime minister for a second term from November 8, 1898, to October 19, 1900. In 1900, while in his second term as prime minister, he ruled that only an active military officer could serve as War Minister or Navy Minister, a rule that gave the military control over the formation of any future cabinet. He also enacted laws preventing political party members from holding any key posts in the bureaucracy.

Later career

From 1900 to 1909, Yamagata opposed Itō Hirobumi, leader of the civilian party, and exercised influence through his protégé, Katsura Tarō. After the assassination of Itō Hirobumi in 1909, Yamagata became the most influential statesman in Japan and remained so until his death in 1922, although he retired from active participation in politics after the Russo-Japanese War. As president of the Privy Council from 1909 to 1922, Yamagata remained the power behind the government and dictated the selection of future prime ministers until his death. In 1912 Yamagata set the precedent that the army could dismiss a cabinet. A dispute with Prime Minister Marquis Saionji Kinmochi over the military budget became a

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...

, known as the Taisho Crisis after the newly enthroned Emperor. The army minister, General Uehara Yūsaku, resigned when the cabinet would not grant him the budget he wanted. Saionji sought to replace him. Japanese law required that the ministers of the army and navy must be high-ranking generals and admirals on active duty (not retired). In this instance all the eligible generals at Yamagata's instigation refused to serve in the Saionji cabinet, and the cabinet was compelled to resign. However, his power was greatly damaged in 1921 when he expressed strong opposition to the engagement of

and Nagako citing color blindness of Nagako's family. The Imperial family struggled against the pressure from Yamagata and the couple eventually managed to get married. Yamagata died on 1 February 1922 and he was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

Personal life and family

Yamagata was a talented garden designer, and today the gardens he designed are considered masterpieces of

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

s. A noted example is the garden of the villa Murin-an in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. As Yamagata had no heir, in 1861 he adopted a nephew Katsu Isaburō, the second son of his eldest sister, to be his heir. Yamagata Isaburō subsequently assisted his adopted father by serving as a career bureaucrat, cabinet minister, and head of the civilian administration of

.Biography of Yamagata Isaburo at the National Diet Library
/ref> In April 1868 at the age of 29, Yamagata married the 16 year-old Tomoko, a daughter of the headman of the Chōshū Domain before his departure to Kyoto. Yamagata returned back to the Domain in July to hold a wedding ceremony. They had seven children, all except his second daughter Matsuko (born August 1878) had died young. After his wife Tomoko's death in 1893, Yamagata took in a geisha named Yoshida Sadako as his de facto wife; her name was never registered onto the Yamagata family registry.

Awards

Japanese

Peerages in 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 ...
'' and other titles

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(7 July 1884) *'' Genrō'' (26 May 1895) * Marquis (5 August 1895) *'' Gensui'' (20 January 1898) *

(21 September 1907)

Decorations

*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, ''2 November 1877'' *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, with Paulownia Blossoms, ''5 August 1895'' *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, ''3 June 1902''; Collar, ''1 April 1906'' * Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd Class, ''5 August 1895''; 1st Class, ''1 April 1906''

Order of precedence

*Fifth Rank, ''August 1870'' *Fourth Rank, ''December 1872'' *Third Rank, ''December 1884'' *Second Rank, ''October 1886'' *Senior Second Rank, ''20 December 1895'' * Junior First Rank, ''1 February 1922'' (posthumous)

Foreign

*: **Knight of the Royal Order of the Crown, 1st Class, ''22 December 1886'' **Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, ''14 June 1899'' *: Grand Cross of the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ, ''25 August 1887'' *: Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, ''30 October 1889'' *

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

: Knight of the Order of the Iron Crown, 1st Class, ''22 November 1890'' *: Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, ''7 May 1897'' *: ** Honorary Member of the Order of Merit, with Swords, ''21 February 1906'' **Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

, ''3 July 1918'' *: Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, ''14 January 1916''

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamagata, Aritomo 1838 births 1922 deaths 19th-century prime ministers of Japan Government ministers of Japan Marshals of Japan Japanese people of the Russo-Japanese War Japanese tea masters Kazoku Ministers of home affairs of Japan Mōri retainers Nobles of the Meiji Restoration People from Chōshū Domain People from Hagi, Yamaguchi Military personnel from Yamaguchi Prefecture People of the Boshin War Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War Imperial Japanese Army officers Samurai Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Honorary members of the Order of Merit Government of the Empire of Japan Aritomo