Hanabusa Yoshitada

, also known as Hanabusa Yoshimoto, was a Japanese politician, diplomat and peer.

Biography

Hanabusa was the eldest son of Hanabusa Tanren, a samurai retainer of Okayama Domain and the first mayor of the city of Okayama, Japan. He studied ''rangaku'' under the famed Ogata Kōan, and immediately after the Meiji Restoration in 1867 was sent to Europe and North America as a student. On his return in 1870, he was accepted into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan), Foreign Ministry. The same year, he was sent to Beijing as part of the Japanese delegation negotiating the opening of diplomatic relations between the Empire of Japan and Qing dynasty Empire of China.

In 1872, he served as secretary to Soejima Taneomi during the negotiations involving the Maria Luz Incident. Soon afterwards, he was dispatched to Saint Petersburg to assist Enomoto Takeaki in negotiating the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), which formalized the border between Japan and the Empire of Russia.

In 1877, Hanabusa was sent to Busan to oversee the opening of that port as per the terms of the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 signed the previous year with Joseon dynasty Korea. In 1879, Hanabusa was the first Japanese diplomat to take up residence and to establish a permanent legation in Seoul.

Hanabusa was subsequently known for his involvement in the "Imo incident," which was a military revolt of some units of the Korean military in Seoul on July 23, 1882. While the exact causes and details of the incident remain a topic of controversy, violence did erupt, and Hanabusa and his aides were forced to flee the legation,Iwao, Seiichi. (2002). "''Saimoppo jōyaku''" in and were rescued by a British ship, the ''Flying Fish'' then in port at Chemulpo.

The Japanese government immediately sent Hanabusa back to Seoul, with his security ensured by four warships, three cargo ships and a battalion of armed soldiers. Hanabusa was the chief Japanese negotiator for the Treaty of Chemulpo, which permitted the permanent garrison of Japanese troops in Seoul.

In November 1882, Hanabusa was transferred from Korea to St. Petersburg as Japanese ambassador to Russia.National Diet Library (NDL), Hanabusa Yoshitada, related documents
花房義質関係文書
).

In July 1887, Hanabusa returned to Tokyo, where he was made a councilor to the Imperial Household Ministry. In 1896, he was accorded the title of baron (''danshaku'') under the ''kazoku'' peerage system. In September 1907, his rank was elevated to Viscount (''shishaku'').

In December 1911, Hanabusa was made a privy councillor. In December 1912, he became Chairman of the Japanese Red Cross.

Viscount Hanabusa died on July 9, 1917.

Honors

* 1896, Baron.
* 1907, Viscount.Unterstein
p. 23
NDL, Hanabusa Yoshitada, related documents

).

See also

* List of Ambassadors from Japan to South Korea

References

Further reading

* Iwao, Seiichi. (2002)
''Dictionnaire historique du Japon'' (Vol. I) (Vol. II)
(with Teizō Iyanaga, Susumu Ishii, Shōichirō Yoshida ''et al.''). Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose. ;
* Kang, Jae-eun and Suzanne Lee. (2006). ''The Land of Scholars : Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism.'' Paramus, New Jersey: Homa & Sekey Books. ;
* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ;
* Ono, Giichi and Hyoye Ouchi. (1922). ''War and Armament Expenditures of Japan.'' New York: Oxford university Press.
* Pratt, Keith L., Richard Rutt and James Hoare (1999). ''Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary.'' London: RoutledgeCurzon. ;
* Rhee, Syngman and Han-Kyo Kim. (2001). ''The Spirit of Independence: a Primer of Korean Modernization and Reform.'' Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ;

External links

* National Diet Library
国立国会図書館 憲政資料室 花房義質関係文書（ＭＦ：首都大学東京図書情報センター蔵）

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanabusa, Yoshitada
1842 births
1917 deaths
People from Okayama
People of Meiji-period Japan
Ambassadors of Japan to Russia
Kazoku