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 ...

politician and cabinet minister in

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 ...

Japan.

Early life

Hoshi was born in Edo in what is now part of

Tsukiji Tsukiji (築地) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Literally meaning "reclaimed land", it lies near the Sumida River on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 18th century during the Edo period. The eponymous Tsukiji fish market opened in 193 ...

, Tokyo; little is known about his biological father other than that he was a plasterer. His mother remarried to a medical doctor in Uraga, and he adopted the Hoshi surname. Initially intending to pursue a career in medicine, he learned English at

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

, and eventually became an English language instructor. After 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 ...

, he enjoyed the patronage of

Mutsu Munemitsu Count was a Japanese statesman and diplomat in Meiji period Japan. Early life Mutsu Munemitsu was born in Wakayama domain, Kii Province as the sixth son of Date Munehiro, a ''samurai'' retainer of the Kii Tokugawa clan. His father was acti ...

and entered into the service of 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 ...

, serving as head of the Yokohama Customs Office. At one point he precipitated a minor diplomatic incident over a disagreement with British minister

Harry Smith Parkes Sir Harry Smith Parkes (24 February 1828 – 22 March 1885) was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General of the United Kingdom to the Empire of Japan from 1865 to 1883 and the Chinese ...

over what ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' to use in translating the title of “queen” as in

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

, and refusing to agree to Parkes's position, resigned his post. He then travelled to England, where he studied at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

, and in 1877 became the first Japanese to qualify as a barrister in the United Kingdom. On his return to Japan, Hoshi entered the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

, and was outspoken in his criticism of the ''hanbatsu'', or clan-based politics, and what he perceived as the weak position of the Japanese government over the revision of the imequal treaties with the western powers. He was briefly expelled from Tokyo under the Peace Preservation Law and forbidden to publish in 1887 and jailed in 1888. Hoshi left Japan for the United States and Canada in 1888 soon after his release, remaining for a year, and continued on to England and Germany, only returning to Japan in 1890. In 1892, he was elected to the

House of Representatives of Japan The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a f ...

in the 1892 General Election under the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and became

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

in May 1892. However, he was removed from office in December 1893 following a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

page 99-100 . Well versed in legal issues concerning the United States from his time as Resident Minister in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, from 1896 to 1898, Hoshi was scheduled to be appointed Foreign Minister under the 1st Ōkuma administration; however, due to internal political issues within the

Kenseitō The was a political party in the Meiji period Empire of Japan. History The ''Kenseitō'' was founded in June 1898, as a merger of the Shimpotō headed by Ōkuma Shigenobu and the Liberal Party (Jiyūtō) led by Itagaki Taisuke, with Ōkuma as pa ...

, the appointment never came through. Instead, Hoshi was appointed Communications Minister in the 4th Itō administration in October 1900. He also left the Kenseitō to join Itō’s Rikken Seiyūkai. page 36 However, the same month he was accused by the ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

'' of involvement in a corruption scandal within the Tokyo City Assembly. Although he protested his innocence, he was forced to resign three months later due to a relentless campaign against his name by the newspaper. In March, he was found innocent due to lack of evidence, but during the middle of the trial he was assassinated by a middle-aged man with a short sword.

References

External links

*
Biography at National Diet Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoshi, Toru 1850 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Japanese lawyers Government ministers of Japan People from Tokyo Members of the House of Representatives (Empire of Japan) Speakers of the House of Representatives (Japan) Liberal Party (Japan, 1881) politicians Kenseikai politicians Rikken Seiyūkai politicians Assassinated Japanese politicians People murdered in Tokyo