Itō Hirobumi
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- This is a Japanese name; the family name is Itō.
| Itō Hirobumi | |
 Prime Minister of Japan |
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| In office 22 December 1885 – 30 April 1888 |
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| Preceded by | none |
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| Succeeded by | Kuroda Kiyotaka |
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| In office 8 August 1892 – 31 August 1896 |
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| Preceded by | Matsukata Masayoshi |
| Succeeded by | Matsukata Masayoshi |
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| In office 12 January 1898 – 30 June 1898 |
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| Preceded by | Matsukata Masayoshi |
| Succeeded by | Okuma Shigenobu |
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| Born | 16 October 1841 Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | 26 October 1909 |
| Political party | Rikken Seiyukai |
Itō Hirobumi (伊藤 博文 Itō Hirobumi?, 16 October 1841–26 October 1909, also called Hirofumi/Hakubun and Shunsuke in his youth) was a Japanese statesman, Resident-General of Korea, four times Prime Minister of Japan (the 1st, 5th, 7th and 10th) and genrō. Itō was assassinated by An Jung-geun, a Korean anti-Japanese underground worker.
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[edit] Prime Minister of Japan
- 1st: 22 December 1885 - 30 April 1888 861 days
- 5th: 8 August 1892 - 31 August 1896 1485 days
- 7th: 12 January 1898 - 30 June 1898 170 days
- 10th: 19 October 1900 - 10 May 1901 204 days
[edit] Early years
Itō was born as the adopted son of Hayashi Juzo, a lower class samurai from Hagi, Chōshū domain (present-day Hikari city, Yamaguchi prefecture). He was a student of Yoshida Shoin at the Shoka Sonjuku and later joined the Sonno joi movement (“to revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians”), together with Kido Takayoshi. Itō was chosen to be one of the Chōshū Five who studied at University College London in 1863, and the experience in Great Britain convinced him of the necessity of Japan adopting Western ways.
In 1864, Itō returned to Japan with fellow student Inoue Kaoru to attempt to warn the Chōshū clan against going to war with the foreign powers (the Bombardment of Shimonoseki) over the right of passage through the Straits of Shimonoseki. At that time, he met Ernest Satow for the first time, later a lifelong friend.
[edit] Political career
After the Meiji Restoration, Itō was appointed governor of Hyogo Prefecture, junior councillor for Foreign Affairs, and sent to the United States in 1870 to study Western currency systems. Returning to Japan in 1871, he established Japan’s taxation system. Later that year, he was sent on the Iwakura Mission around the world as vice-envoy extraordinary, during which he won the confidence of Okubo Toshimichi.
In 1873, Itō was made a full councillor, Minister of Public Works, and in 1875 chairman of the first Assembly of Prefectural Governors. After Okubo’s assassination, he took over the post of Home Minister and secured a central position in the Meiji government. In 1881 he urged Okuma Shigenobu to resign, leaving himself in unchallenged control.
Itō went to Europe in 1882 to study the constitutions of those countries, spending nearly 18 months away from Japan. While working on a constitution for Japan, he also wrote the first Imperial Household Law and established the Japanese peerage system ([[kazoku]]) in 1884.
In 1885, he negotiated the Convention of Tientsin with Li Hung-chang, normalizing Japan’s diplomatic relations with Qing Dynasty China. That year he also created Japan's cabinet system.
[edit] As Prime Minister
Also in 1885, based on European ideas, Itō established a cabinet system of government, replacing the Daijō-kan as the decision-making state organization, and on December 22, 1885, he became the first prime minister of Japan.
On April 30, 1888, Itō resigned as prime minister, but headed the new Privy Council to maintain power behind-the-scenes. In 1889, he also became the first genro. The Meiji Constitution was promulgated in February 1889.
He remained a powerful force while Kuroda Kiyotaka and Yamagata Aritomo were prime ministers.
During Itō’s second term as prime minister (August 8, 1892 – August 31, 1896), he supported the First Sino-Japanese War and negotiated the Treaty of Shimonoseki in March 1895 with his ailing foreign minister Mutsu Munemitsu. After the war, in the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of 1894, he succeeded in removing some of the onerous unequal treaty clauses that had plagued Japanese foreign relations since the start of the Meiji period.
During Itō’s third term as prime minister (January 12, 1898 – June 30, 1899), he encountered problems with party politics. Both the Jiyuto and the Shimpoto opposed his proposed new land taxes, and in retaliation, Itō dissolved the Diet and called for new elections. As a result, both parties merged into the Kenseito, won a majority of the seats, and forced Itō to resign. This lesson taught Itō the need for a pro-government political party, so he organized the Rikken Seiyukai in 1900.
Itō returned to office as prime minister for a fourth term from October 19, 1900, to May 10, 1901, this time facing political opposition from the House of Peers. Weary of political back-stabbing, he resigned in 1901, but remained as head of the Privy Council as the premiership alternated between Saionji Kimmochi and Katsura Taro.
[edit] As Resident-General of Korea
In November 1905, following the Russo-Japanese War, the Korean government signed the Eulsa Treaty, making Korea a Japanese protectorate. Itō became the first Resident-General of Korea on December 21, 1905. He urged the Korean King Gojong to abdicate in 1907 in favor of his son King Sunjong and pushed through the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1907, giving Japan control over Korean internal affairs. Itō resigned on June 14, 1909.
[edit] Assasination
Ito arrived at the Harbin train station on October 26, 1909 for a meeting with a Russian representative in Manchuria. When he arrived and proceeded to meet the Russian, An Jung-geun, a Korean anti-Japanese underground worker, fired seven shots at him. Three of those shots hit Ito on the chest and died shortly thereafter.
[edit] Trivia
- Suematsu Kencho was Itō’s son-in-law, having married his second daughter, Ikuko.
- Itō’s house is preserved as a museum near the Shoin Jinja, in Hagi city, Yamaguchi prefecture. However, the actual structure was Itō’s second home, formerly located in Shinagawa, Tokyo.
- Itō's womanizing was a popular theme in editorial cartoons and in parodies by contemporary comedians.
- Itō received an honorary doctorate from Yale University.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
| Preceded by office created |
1st Prime Minister of Japan | Succeeded by Kuroda Kiyotaka |
| Preceded by Matsukata Masayoshi |
5th Prime Minister of Japan | Succeeded by Matsukata Masayoshi |
| Preceded by Matsukata Masayoshi |
7th Prime Minister of Japan | Succeeded by Okuma Shigenobu |
| Preceded by Yamagata Aritomo |
10th Prime Minister of Japan | Succeeded by Katsura Tarō |
| Prime Ministers of Japan |  |
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| Itō · Kuroda · Yamagata · Matsukata · Itō (2nd) · Matsukata (2nd) · Itō (3rd) · Okuma · Yamagata (2nd) · Itō (4th) · Katsura · Saionji · Katsura (2nd) · Saionji (2nd) · Katsura (3rd) · Yamamoto · Okuma (2nd) · Terauchi · Hara · Takahashi · To. Kato · Yamamoto (2nd) · Kiyoura · Ta. Kato · Wakatsuki · G. Tanaka · Hamaguchi · Wakatsuki (2nd) · Inukai · Saitō · Okada · Hirota · Hayashi · Konoe · Hiranuma · N. Abe · Yonai · Konoe (2nd) · Tojo · Koiso · K. Suzuki · Prince Higashikuni · Shidehara · Yoshida · Katayama · Ashida · Yoshida (2nd) · Hatoyama · Ishibashi · Kishi · Ikeda · Sato · K. Tanaka · Miki · Fukuda · Ohira · Z. Suzuki · Nakasone · Takeshita · Uno · Kaifu · Miyazawa · Hosokawa · Hata · Murayama · Hashimoto · Obuchi · Mori · Koizumi · S. Abe | ||
Categories: Prime Ministers of Japan | Meiji Restoration | Japanese diplomats | Japanese statesmen | Japanese politicians | People of the First Sino-Japanese War | People of the Russo-Japanese War | People in Meiji period Japan | Korea under Japanese rule | Japanese-Korean relations | Japanese people in Britain | History of the foreign relations of Japan | Assassinated Japanese politicians | Alumni of University College London | Deaths by firearm | People from Yamaguchi Prefecture | Kazoku | 1841 births | 1909 deaths
