Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
was a
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
statesman of the
Meiji period
The is an era of 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 feudal society at risk of colonization ...
.
Early life
Fukuoka was born in
Tosa District in present-day
Kōchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...
, and served the
Yamauchi Yamauchi or Yamanouchi (やまうち or やまのうち, lit. "inside mountains") is a Japanese surname. Either name is written in kanji as 山内 while Yamanouchi can also be written as 山ノ内.
Notable people with the surname include:
*Yamanou ...
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
of Tosa as a
domain
Domain may refer to:
Mathematics
*Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined
**Domain of definition of a partial function
**Natural domain of a partial function
**Domain of holomorphy of a function
* Do ...
official. Together with fellow Tosa ''
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
''
Gotō Shōjirō
Count was a Japanese samurai and politician during the Bakumatsu and early Meiji period of Japanese history.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Gotō Shōjirō" in He was a leader of which would evolve into a political party.
Early life
...
, he went to
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
in 1867 to convince ''
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
''
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...
to return power peacefully to the Emperor, thus bringing about 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
.
Meiji statesman
After the Meiji Restoration, while serving as a ''San'yo'' (senior councillor), he helped draft the text of the
Charter Oath which set the tone and direction for the new
Meiji government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...
. In the new government, he concurrently served in a variety of offices, including Political system Affairs Officer and Parliament System Examination Officer. It was in this capacity that he was afterwards, asked to help draft the ''
Seitaisho,'' which set up the organizational structure of the early Meiji government.
In 1870, Fukuoka was transferred back to Kōchi and focused on the reforms of domain's administration, just prior to the
abolition of the han system
The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...
.
In 1872, Fukuoka re-entered the central government as ''Taifu'' (Senior Vice Minister) of Education and of Justice, but resigned in 1873 due to his opposition to the government policy with regards to the ''
Seikanron
The ''Seikanron'' ( ja, 征韓論; ko, 정한론; ) was a major political debate in Japan during 1873 regarding a punitive expedition against Korea. The ''Seikanron'' split the Meiji government and the restoration coalition that had been establ ...
'' debate on the invasion of
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
In 1880, Fukuoka returned to the government as a member of the ''
Genrōin
The was a national assembly in early Meiji Japan, established after the Osaka Conference of 1875. It is also referred to as the Senate of Japan, being the word used to describe the Roman Senate, and other western legislatures named after it.
...
'' and later served as
Minister of Education, ''Sangi'' (Councillor), chairman of the ''Sanjiin'' (legislative advisory council).
He also served as
Privy Councilor
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
. In 1884, he was elevated to the rank of ''shishaku'' (
viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
).
References
*
Beasley, William G. ''The Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850''. St. Martin's Press, New York 1995.
*
Jansen, Marius B. and
Gilbert Rozman
Gilbert Friedell Rozman (born 18 February 1943) is an American sociologist specializing in Asian studies.
Rozman completed an undergraduate degree in Chinese and Russian studies at Carleton College, and earned a doctorate in sociology at Princet ...
, eds. (1986). ''Japan in Transition: from Tokugawa to Meiji''. Princeton:
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...
.
OCLC 12311985*
Keene, Donald. (2002). ''Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912''. New York:
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
.
OCLC 46731178* Totten, George O. (1996). ''Democracy in Prewar Japan: Groundwork or Facade?''. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fukuoka, Takachika
1835 births
1919 deaths
Meiji Restoration
Samurai
People from Kōchi Prefecture
People from Tosa Domain
Kazoku
People of Meiji-period Japan
Education ministers of Japan
Ministers of Justice of Japan