was a Japanese

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and political theorist who was active during 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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Early life

Inagaki was born in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

, as the son of a ''

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 ...

'' of the Hirado Domain. As a young man he was a warder of the

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sout ...

men imprisoned in

after the unsuccessful Satsuma Rebellion and gained their respect and affection. After studying at the clan-established ''Ishinkan'' and ''Kagoshima Shigakko'' (private school), he entered the Department of Literature of the Tokyo Imperial University in 1882. Sent down from Tokyo University with many others after the Incident of 1883, when the student body rebelled and boycotted the graduation ceremonies because the time of the ceremony was changed, he never returned, unlike most of the others. Instead, Inagaki went to Britain from January 1888 to December 1890 and studied at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. He also founded the Japanese Club at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

to study the ways of English

gentlemen A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

. He also studied

classical literature Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and is the first Japanese known to have learned Greek. He became a very popular figure at the University, especially with the Master of Pembroke College and the Vice-Chancellor, the Reverend Dr.

Charles Edward Searle Charles Edward Searle (18 June 1828 in Hackney – 29 July 1902 in Cambridge) was an English clergyman and academic, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge from 1880 until his death in 1902. Biography Charles Edward Searle was the seventh son of ...

Later life

After graduating Inagaki returned to Japan, and became a temporary professor at Gakushuin Higher Commercial School. He entered the Foreign Ministry and became Japan's first deputy Minister Resident to the Kingdom of Siam on March 31, 1897. He was appointed Minister

Plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...

on 19 November 1899 and envoy extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in 1903. He continued in that role until July 1907, when he was transferred to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where he died of illness in 1908. Inagaki wrote a number of scholarly books in English and Japanese on international affairs but died relatively young with his potential unfulfilled. His writings urging

Japanese expansionism refers to the ideology in the Empire of Japan which advocates the belief that militarism should dominate the political and social life of the nation, and the belief that the strength of the military is equal to the strength of a nation. Histo ...

into the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

were part of the theoretical basis of the Southern Expansion Doctrine of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

and certain factions in the government in the early 20th century.

Writings

English

* ''Japan and the Pacific and the Japanese View of the Eastern Question'', 1890 (London: T. Fisher Unwin) - dedicated to

John Robert Seeley Sir John Robert Seeley, KCMG (10 September 1834 – 13 January 1895) was an English Liberal historian and political essayist. A founder of British imperial history, he was a prominent advocate for the British Empire, promoting a concept of Grea ...

who taught Inagaki at Gonville and Caius College.

Japanese

* ''Tohosaku'' (Policy for the East) (1891). * ''Shiberia tetsudoron'' (On the Siberian railways) (1891). * ''Kizokuron'' (On the nobility) (1891, 1893, 1894) * ''Kyoiku no Omoto'' (Great Fount of Education) (1894) * ''Nanyo Chosei dan'' (Expedition to the South seas) (1893) * ''Gaiko to Gaisei'' (Diplomacy and Foreign Campaigns) (1896)

References

External links

* *
Japanese Students at Cambridge University in the Meiji Era, 1868-1912: Pioneers for the Modernization of Japan
', by Noboru Koyama, translated by Ian Ruxton, (Lulu Press, September 2004, )

on the website of the National Diet Library of Japan {{DEFAULTSORT:Inagaki, Manjiro 1861 births 1908 deaths People from Nagasaki Prefecture Ambassadors of Japan to Spain Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom English-language writers from Japan Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Japanese diplomats University of Tokyo alumni People of Meiji-period Japan