was a politician and cabinet minister in the pre-war

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

Biography

Hayashi Yūzō was a native of

Tosa Province was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syst ...

(modern-day

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...

), where his father, Iwamura Hidetoshi, was a

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 ...

in the service of

Tosa Domain The was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its ...

. His elder brother was

Iwamura Michitoshi Baron was a Japanese statesman, active in Meiji period Japan. He was the first Director of the Hokkaidō Agency from January 26, 1886 through June 15, 1888. Biography Iwamura was born in Kōchi as the eldest son to a samurai family serving t ...

and his younger brother was Iwamura Takatoshi, both of whom served in numerous posts within the

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 ...

. He was adopted into the Hayashi family at an early age. During the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

, he fought against the forces of 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 ...

Echigo Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

. Following 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 ...

, Hayashi joined the new

. He was sent on a mission to Europe in August 1870 to monitor the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, and arrived in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in October together with

Ōyama Iwao was a Japanese Field Marshal (Japan), field marshal, and one of the founders of the Imperial Japanese Army. He was representative of the outstanding military commanders of the late modern period. Biography Early life Ōyama was born in Kag ...

, Shinagawa Yajirō, and Arichi Shinanojō.Nish, '' The Iwakura Mission to America and Europe '', p. 103. After his return to Japan in May 1871, he worked with

Itagaki Taisuke Kazoku, Count Itagaki Taisuke (板垣退助, 21 May 1837 – 16 July 1919) was a Japanese samurai, politician, and leader of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement (自由民権運動, ''Jiyū Minken Undō''), which evolved into Japan's firs ...

but resigned in 1873 due to his disagreement with government policy in the ''

Seikanron The ''Seikanron'' (; ; or 'Proposal to Punish Korea' or 'Argument for a Conquest of Korea') was a major political debate in Japan during 1873 regarding a punitive expedition against Korea. The ''Seikanron'' split the Meiji government and the res ...

'' debate. He returned to Kōchi but was later arrested for supplying arms in support of

Saigō Takamori Saigō Takamori (; 23 January 1828 – 24 September 1877) was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate ...

in the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in ...

.Hunter, '' Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History '', p. 57. One of the leading advocates of the rebellion, Hayashi also planned to seize a Mitsubishi steamer and attack the government arsenal at Osaka. For these actions, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.Wray, '' Mitsubishi and the N.Y.K., 1870-1914'', p. 103. Following his release from prison in 1886, Hayashi rejoined Itagaki Taisuke and became a member of the ''Jiyūtō''

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. He was temporarily expelled from Tokyo under the

Safety Preservation Law Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 14 ...

of 1887 for his continued opposition to government policies.Notehelfer, '' Kotoku Shusui: Portrait of a Japanese Radical '', p. 18. He won a seat in the

Lower House A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

in the 1890 General Election, and was subsequently reelected eight times to the same seat. In the 1st

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese politician who served as the prime minister of Japan in 1898, and from 1914 to 1916. Born in the Saga Domain, Ōkuma was appointed minister of finance soon after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, aided by his friendship w ...

administration in 1898, Hayashi was appointed Minister of Communications. He rejoined the cabinet again in 1900 under the 4th

Itō Hirobumi Kazoku, Prince , born , was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888, and later from 1892 to 1896, in 1898, and from 1900 to 1901. He was a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior state ...

administration as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce and assisted in the formation of the

Rikken Seiyūkai The was one of the main political party, political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the ''Seiyūkai''. Founded on September 15, 1900, by Itō Hirobumi,David S. Spencer, "Some Thoughts on the Political Devel ...

political party. Hayashi retired from public life in 1908. Returning to his native

, Hayashi became an entrepreneur, forming a company to make

cultured pearl Cultured pearls are pearls which are formed within a cultured pearl sac with human intervention in the interior of productive living molluscs in a variety of conditions depending upon the mollusc and the goals. Having the same material as natur ...

s. He died in 1921 at age 80 and his grave is located in the city of

Sukumo, Kōchi 270px, Aerial view of Sukumo Bay is a city located in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 19,292 in 9,966 households, and a population density of 67 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Suku ...

References

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashi, Yuzo 1842 births 1921 deaths Samurai Politicians from Kōchi Prefecture Government ministers of Japan People of the Meiji era Members of the House of Representatives (Empire of Japan) People of the Boshin War Liberal Party (Japan, 1881) politicians