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 the Taishō period and early

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

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 ...

. He was the grandfather of Jun'ichirō Koizumi, who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006.

Early life

Koizumi was born in Mutsuura,

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, S ...

(part of present-day

Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 209,565 and a density of 6,760 persons per km². The total area was . The ward symbol, established 1987, expresse ...

)Biography at National Diet Library
/ref> to Koizumi Yoshibe, a scaffolder, and his wife Yuki. He moved to nearby

Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

with his parents, where his father worked as a procurer of

day labor Day labor (or day labour in Commonwealth spelling) is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future. It is a form of contingent work. Types Day laborers (also kn ...

ers, carpenters,

steeplejack A steeplejack is a craftsman who scales buildings, chimneys, and church steeples to carry out repairs or maintenance. Steeplejacks erect ladders on church spires, industrial chimneys, cooling towers, bell towers, clock towers, or any other hi ...

s and materials for the

Yokosuka Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama. History In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate government established the ...

. The young Koizumi grew up in a rough environment. In 1878, after graduating from the predecessor of Yokosuka Elementary School, he tried to enlist in a preparatory school for

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 ...

officer candidates, but was returned home when it was discovered he was underage and did not have his father’s permission. He attempted the same again in 1880 to a preparatory school for the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

. On the death of his elder brother, he was forced to inherit his father’s business and around this time obtained a large

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

of a red dragon which covered most of his back and upper arms, and was addressed as “boss” by his fellow steeplejacks. He also became a member of the

Rikken Kaishintō The was a political party in Empire of Japan. It was also known as simply the Kaishintō. The Kaishintō was founded by Ōkuma Shigenobu on 16 April 1882, with the assistance of Yano Ryūsuke, Inukai Tsuyoshi and Ozaki Yukio. It received fin ...

in 1887 and around this time married Ayabe Nao, a 30-year-old

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...

. In 1907, Koizumi fathered his only child, Yoshie, with Ishikawa Hatsu, one of his mistresses. Koizumi’s daughter gave birth in 1942 to a son, Junichirō, who later became

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. In 1889, Koizumi became a reporter for 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 ...

, and in 1903 was elected to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. Vocal in support of ultranationalist causes, he participated in the

Hibiya Incendiary Incident The , also known as the Hibiya riots, was a major riot that occurred in Tokyo, Japan, from 5 to 7 September 1905. Protests by residents of Tokyo in Hibiya Park against the terms of the Treaty of Portsmouth ending the Russo-Japanese War escalated ...

in protest of the

Treaty of Portsmouth A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

in 1905. In 1907, Koizumi was elected to the Yokosuka city assembly, and in the 1908 General Election successfully ran for a seat in the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

. He was reelected 12 consecutive times, holding his seat of 38 years until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He rose to the post of secretary-general of 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 '' ...

and was a leader in the movement towards universal

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

, leading mass rallies in Tokyo. In 1924, he became Vice-Chairman of the House and also served as secretary-general of the

Rikken Minseitō was one of the main political parties in pre-war Empire of Japan. It was commonly known as the ''Minseitō''. History The ''Minseitō'' was founded on 1 June 1927, by a merger of the ''Kenseikai'' and the ''Seiyu Hontō'' political parties. I ...

from 1928-1929 and 1937-1938. In 1929, Koizumi was appointed Communications Minister in the 4th Hamaguchi administration and 2nd Wakatsuki administration. page 159 During this time, he was nicknamed the "wild man" or "

irezumi (also spelled or sometimes ) is the Japanese word for tattoo, and is used in English to refer to a distinctive style of Japanese tattooing, though it is also used as a blanket term to describe a number of tattoo styles originating in Japan, inc ...

minister", from his flamboyant speeches. As minister, he unsuccessfully sought to

privatize Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

the Japanese postal system. In 1942, Koizumi became mayor of Yokosuka. In 1937, he joined the

Imperial Rule Assistance Association The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling organization during much of World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals of his ("New Order") movement. It evolved ...

and was appointed deputy chairman. In 1944, he was an advisor to Prime Minister

Kuniaki Koiso was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army, Governor-General of Korea and Prime Minister of Japan from 1944 to 1945. After Japan's defeat in World War II, he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. Early lif ...

. He was selected to be a member of the House of Peers, but in 1946, under the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

, he was purged from public office. He died in 1951.

Legacy

Koizumi's son-in-law,

Jun'ya Koizumi (January 24, 1904 – August 10, 1969) was a Japanese politician who served as Director General of the Japan Defense Agency during the 1960s. Life and career Koizumi was born in Higashi-Kaseda, Kagoshima Prefecture (now part of Minami-S ...

, became a director general of the Japan Defense Agency and a second-generation member of the Diet of Japan. Koizumi's grandson, Jun'ichirō Koizumi, served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006 and inherited his grandfather's idea of postal privatization; Jun'ichirō had himself been Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in 1992-93 under Prime Minister

Kiichi Miyazawa was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993. He was a member of the National Diet of Japan for over 50 years. Early life and education Miyazawa was born into a wealthy, politically active family in Fukuyama ...

References

External links

Biography at National Diet Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koizumi, Matajiro 1865 births 1951 deaths People from Yokohama Matajiro Government ministers of Japan Rikken Kaishintō politicians 19th-century Japanese politicians Kenseikai politicians Rikken Minseitō politicians Imperial Rule Assistance Association politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Empire of Japan) Members of the House of Peers (Japan)

Early life

Legacy

See also

References

External links