Japanese-Red-Cross-Membership-Certificate-1902

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

was a Japanese statesman and founder of the Japanese Red Cross Society. His son, Admiral Sano Tsuneha, was a leading figure in the establishment of the

Scout Association of Japan The is the major Scouting organization of Japan. Starting with boys only, the organization was known as Boy Scouts of Japan from 1922 to 1971, and as Boy Scouts of Nippon from 1971 to 1995, when it became coeducational in all sections, leading to ...

Biography

Sano was born in Hayatsue, Saga Domain (present-day

Saga city is the capital city of Saga Prefecture, located on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Saga was the capital of Saga Domain in the Edo period, and the largest city of former Hizen Province. As of August 1, 2020, the city had an estimated population of ...

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasak ...

) as the fifth son of the low ranking

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 ...

Shimomura Saburōzaemon. In 1831 he was adopted by the physician Sano Tsuneyoshi and was allowed to study at the domain academy ''Kōdōkan''. He accompanied his step-father to

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

in 1837, where he studied Confucianism, but returned to Saga in 1839 to continue his medical education. In 1846, he was sent by the

Nabeshima clan is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Nabeshima", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p.38 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The clan controlled Saga Do ...

, rulers of Saga, to study ''rangaku'' (western learning) in Kyoto under

Hirose Genkyō Hirose may refer to: *Hirose Electric Group, a Japanese company specializing in the manufacture of connectors *Hirose (surname), a Japanese surname *Hirose-gawa, a river in Sendai, Japan * Koichi Hirose (''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a ...

, and subsequently in Osaka under Ogata Kōan. He then returned to Edo in 1849 to study under Itō Gemboku, Totsuka Seikai, and others. In 1851, he returned to Saga to establish his own academy, which received official recognition from Nabeshima Naomasa, the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of Saga in 1853. Nabeshima Naomasa had a strong interest in western technology and with the opening of the

Nagasaki Naval Training Center The was a naval training institute, between 1855 when it was established by the government of the Tokugawa shogunate, until 1859, when it was transferred to Tsukiji in Edo. During the Bakumatsu period, the Japanese government faced increasing i ...

in 1855. Sano was selected by the domain as one of its first students. The goal of Saga Domain was to build a western-style steam warship, which Sano helped complete in 1865. Sano accompanied the Japanese delegation to the

Paris Exposition of 1867 The International Exposition of 1867 (french: Exposition universelle 'art et d'industriede 1867), was the second world's fair to be held in Paris, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. A number of nations were represented at the fair. Following a dec ...

, and while in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

learned of the International Red Cross. He traveled on to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he ordered the , and stayed on to supervise its construction and to learn of western shipbuilding techniques, but the image of the Red Cross remained in his memory. 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 ...

, Sano was called upon to assist in the formation 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 received a posting at the Ministry of War in 1870. In 1873, he was sent to visit the 1873 Vienna World Exposition, with

Alexander von Siebold Alexander George Gustav von Siebold (August 16, 1846 – January 1911) was a German translator and interpreter active in Japan during the Bakumatsu period and early Meiji period. He was the eldest son of Japanologist Philipp Franz Balthasar von ...

as his interpreter. In 1875, he was appointed to the '' Genrōin''. With the start of the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, Sano created the ''Hakuaisha'' ('Philanthropic Society'), a relief organization to provide medical assistance to wounded soldiers from both sides of the conflict. This idea met with tremendous opposition and incomprehension by many members of the government, but Sano was able to enlist the support of Prince Arisugawa Taruhito, nominal head of 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 ...

and

Prince Komatsu Akihito was a Japanese career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, who was a member of the Fushimi-no-miya, one of the ''shinnōke'' branches of the Imperial Family of Japan, which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Biography Early ...

. Sano’s organization became the Japanese Red Cross Society in 1887, with Sano as its first president. Sano also created the ''Ryuchikai'', the forerunner of the Japan Art Association in 1879, in an attempt to stem the outflow of Japanese important cultural properties to overseas collectors. From 1880-1881, he served in the Ministry of Finance, and in 1882 as president of the ''Genrōin''. In 1886, he helped establish the first Red Cross Hospital in Japan. In 1887, Sano was recognized for his accomplishments with elevation to the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ' ...

'' peerage with the title of

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

(''shishaku'') and was appointed a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1888. In 1892, during the 1st Matsukata administration, he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. In 1895, Sano was elevated to the title of count (''hakushaku''). On his death at his home in Tokyo in 1902, he was posthumously awarded with the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

(1st class with Paulownia Blossoms). His grave is at

Aoyama Cemetery is a cemetery in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, which many people would visit. History The cemetery was origin ...

in Tokyo. In 1939, the Japanese government issued a series of four commemorative postage stamps honoring the 75th anniversary of the Red Cross Treaty. A portrait of Sano Tsunetami appears on two of the stamps.

References

* Brunton, Richard. ''Building Japan 1868–1876''. RoutledgeCurzon (1995). * Checkland, Olive. ''Japan and Britain after 1859: Creating Cultural Bridges''. RoutledgeCurzon (2002). * Cobbing, Andrew. ''The Japanese Discovery of Victorian Britain''. RoutledgeCurzon (1989). . * Yoshikawa, Ryuko. ''Nisseki no soshisha Sano Tsunetami''. Yoshikawa Kobunkan (2001). (Japanese) * Asahi, Keiko: ''Sano Tsunetami - kindai-Kokka no Paionia''. In: W. Michel / Y. Torii / M.Kawashima (ed.): No rangaku Kyushu - ekkyō to Koryu. Kyoto: Shinbunkaku Shuppan, 2009 289–296 ( 朝日恵子「佐野常民- -越境と交流」思文閣出版 ). (Japanese)

External links

Sano Tsunetami Memorial Museum in Saga (Japanese site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sano, Tsunetami 1822 births 1902 deaths People from Saga (city) Kazoku People of Meiji-period Japan Nabeshima retainers Government ministers of Japan Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Japanese expatriates in the Netherlands Rangaku