was a politician and cabinet minister in the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...

Biography

Kōno was a native of Mutsu Province (modern-day Fukushima Prefecture), where his father, Iwamura Hidetoshi, was 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 ...

in the service of

Miharu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003). It was based at Miharu Castle in southern Mutsu Province in ...

, who supplemented his 100 '' koku'' income through trade in clothes, ''

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

'' brewing and wholesale of marine products. Kōno was sent to Edo for studies in

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...

and was drawn into the ''

sonnō jōi was a ''yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement soug ...

'' movement. During the Boshin War, he fought against his family, whose Miharu Domain remained loyal to the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

and which was a member of the

Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black i ...

. 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, he served as an administrator in many locations in northern Japan 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 ...

, and became associated with

Itagaki Taisuke Count was a Japanese politician. He was a leader of the "Freedom and People's Rights Movement" and founded Japan's first political party, the Liberal Party. Biography Early life Itagaki Taisuke was born into a middle-ranking ''samurai'' ...

and the

Freedom and People's Rights Movement The (abbreviated as ) or Popular Rights Movement was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy in the 1880s. It pursued the formation of an elected legislature, revision of the Unequal Treaties with the United States and European c ...

. With the

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

, Kōno resisted attempts to recruit him to the side of

Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Satsum ...

, but instead joined Itagaki in forming the ''

Aikokusha The was a political party in the early Meiji-period Japan from 1875 to 1880. The Aikokusha was formed in February 1875 by Itagaki Taisuke, as part a liberal political federation to associate his '' Risshisha'' with the Freedom and People's Rig ...

'' movement, pushing for the creation of a

national assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. He was one of the founding members of the ''Jiyūtō''

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

in 1881. He was leader of the ''Jiyūtō'' in Fukushima Prefecture from 1882–1883, during the time of the Fukushima Incident of 1882, when conservative forces within the government sought to curb the growing power of the ''Jiyūtō'' through illegal means. Kōno won a seat in the Lower House of the Diet of Japan in the 1890 General Election, and was subsequently reelected fourteen consecutive times to the same seat through the 1920 General Election . In 1898, he became a member of 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 ...

''. Over the course of his career, he migrated from the Rikken Seiyūkai to the ''

Rikken Kokumintō The Rikken Kokumintō ( ja, 立憲国民党, , "Constitutional Nationalist Party") was a minor political party in the Empire of Japan. It was also known as simply the Kokumintō. History The ''Kokumintō'' was founded in March 1910, by a merger o ...

'' to the ''

Rikken Dōshikai The Rikken-Dōshi Kai ( ja, 立憲同志会, , Association of Comrades of the Constitution) was a political party active in the Empire of Japan in the early years of the 20th century. It was also known as simply the Dōshikai. Founded by Prime Mi ...

'' and finally to the ''

Kenseikai The was a short-lived political party in the pre-war Empire of Japan. History The ''Kenseikai'' was founded on 10 October 1916, as a merger of the '' Rikken Dōshikai'' (led by Katō Takaaki), '' Chūseikai'' (led by Ozaki Yukio) and the '' ...

''. Kōno was briefly (for a six-day period) Speaker of the Lower House in December 1903, causing an uproar for calling for the impeachment of Prime Minister

Katsura Tarō Prince was a Japanese politician and general of the Imperial Japanese Army who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1901 to 1906, from 1908 to 1911, and from 1912 to 1913. Katsura was a distinguished general of the First Sino-Japanese W ...

during his inaugural speech in front of Emperor Meiji. In 1909, he supported the Pan-Asian Movement creating a group dedicated to the liberation of Asia from Western colonialism. From 1915-1916, Kōno was appointed Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce under the

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese statesman and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy. He served as Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan in 1898 and from 1914 to 1916. Ōkuma was also an early advocate of Western science and culture in Japan, and ...

administration. Kōno died in 1923 at age74 and his grave is located at the temple of

Gokoku-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Tokyo's Bunkyō. History This Buddhist temple was established by the fifth shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who dedicated it to his mother. It is notable for surviving the American air raids during World War II, w ...

in Bunkyo, Tokyo.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kono, Hironaka 1844 births 1923 deaths Samurai Politicians from Fukushima Prefecture Government ministers of Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Empire of Japan) People of the Boshin War Liberal Party (Japan, 1881) politicians Kenseikai politicians Rikken Dōshikai politicians Rikken Kokumintō politicians Rikken Seiyūkai politicians Kenseitō politicians