Tani Tateki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tani Tateki | |
|---|---|
| 18 March 1837-13 May 1911 | |
 General Tani Tateki |
|
| Nickname | Tani Kanjo |
| Place of birth | Kochi, Tosa province, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Battles/wars | Boshin War Taiwan Expedition of 1874 |
| Other work | Minister of Agriculture & Commerce |
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Tani.
Tani Tateki (谷 干城? 18 March 1837-13 May 1911) was a statesman and lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army in Meiji period Japan. He was also known as Tani Kanjo.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Tani was born in Kochi, Tosa Province (present-day Kochi Prefecture) as the 4th son of a local samurai. He was sent to Edo in 1857, and became active in the sonno joi movement. In 1866, he was ordered by his domain to go to Nagasaki, where he met Goto Shojiro and Sakamoto Ryoma, who convinced him to meet with Saigo Takamori in Edo the following year, and to work for an alliance between Tosa and Satsuma.
[edit] Military career
Tani fought in the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, leading imperial forces in the north Kantō, and Aizu-Wakamatsu campaigns.
After the Meiji restoration, Tani became a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and helped suppress a number of samurai uprisings in Kyūshū, including the Saga Rebellion and Shimpūren Rebellion. He withstood a siege of 52 days in Kumamoto castle against Saigo Takamori during the Satsuma Rebellion. Tani also took part in the Taiwan Expedition of 1874.
Afterwards, Tani was commandant of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy before retiring from active service in 1881.
[edit] Meiji bureaucrat
Tani was one of the founders of the conservative political party, Chuseito, in 1881. He also became president of the Gakushuin Peers’ School in 1884.
In 1885, Tani joined the first Ito Hirobumi cabinet as the first Minister of Agriculture & Commerce, however, he soon resigned over dissatisfaction with what he perceived to be the weak and vacillating foreign policy of Inoue Kaoru, especially with regards to the revision of the unequal treaties.
In 1890, Tani was ennobled with the rank of shishaku (viscount) in the kazoku peerage system, and became a member of the House of Peers.
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Keene, Donald (2005). Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912. Tokyo: Columbia University Press. 978-0-231-12341-9.
- Hillsborough, Romulus (2005). Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. 978-0-8048-3627-2.
[edit] External links
- National Diet Library. Tani Takeki. Portraits of Modern Historical Figures.
