Marquis was a bureaucrat, government minister and court official in late

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 ...

Biography

Sasaki was born into 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 ...

class family in Agawa District,

Tosa Domain The was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its history by t ...

(in the present-day city of Kōchi,

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

). He served the

Yamauchi clan The Yamauchi clan (山内氏) were a family of rulers over what was then the Tosa Province which spanned the southern half of Shikoku island. The province was given to the family in 1600 after Yamauchi Kazutoyo led troops under Tokugawa Ieyasu a ...

in several important posts, including '' kōri-bugyō'' (country magistrate) and '' ōmetsuke'' (inspector). He also supported

Sakamoto Ryōma was a Japanese ''samurai'', a '' shishi'' and influential figure of the ''Bakumatsu'' and establishment of the Empire of Japan in the late Edo period. He was a low-ranking ''samurai'' from the Tosa Domain on Shikoku and became an active oppon ...

in the ''Taisei hōkan'' movement to restore political power to the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

at the expense of 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 ...

. During the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

, he commanded the ''Kaientai'', a paramilitary group of Tosa samurai youths, and occupied the Tokugawa magistrate's office at

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 ...

. 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 ...

, Sasaki served the

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 ...

as ''sangi'' (councilor) and ''taifu'' (senior vice minister) of 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 ...

. In 1871, Sasaki was selected to be a member of the

Iwakura Mission The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (, ''Iwakura Shisetsudan'') was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to the United States and Europe conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. It was not the only such m ...

, and traveled around the globe. On his return, he found that many of his countrymen had quit the government over the ''

Seikanron The ''Seikanron'' ( ja, 征韓論; ko, 정한론; ) was a major political debate in Japan during 1873 regarding a punitive expedition against Korea. The ''Seikanron'' split the Meiji government and the restoration coalition that had been establ ...

'' debate; however, Sasaki chose to remain in the

Genrōin The was a national assembly in early Meiji Japan, established after the Osaka Conference of 1875. It is also referred to as the Senate of Japan, being the word used to describe the Roman Senate, and other western legislatures named after it. ...

as an active member of the new government. During 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 beca ...

, Sasaki was sent to his native Kōchi to ensure that the rebellion would not spread to the disaffected former samurai in

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

. For these efforts, he gained the deep confidence of

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

and was appointed as

privy councilor 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 ...

as well as one of Emperor Meiji’s

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

s and close confidant. In 1884, he was elevated to the title of

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: ...

(''hakushaku'') in 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 system. Sasaki was later selected to be one of the tutors involved in the education of Crown Prince Haru (the future

Emperor Taishō was the 123rd Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and the second ruler of the Empire of Japan from 30 July 1912 until his death in 1926. The Emperor's personal name was . According to Japanese custom, while reigni ...

), as well as Emperor Meiji’s daughters, Princesses Masako and Fusako. In his later years, Sasaki was known for his conservative political views. He was instrumental in the creation of the Jingi-in, the government body heading the

State Shinto was Imperial Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control of shrine finances and training regimes for priests to strongly encourage Shinto practices that emphasized the Emperor as ...

religion. He was also associated with

Nishimura Shigeki was a Japanese educator and leader of the Meiji Enlightenment during the Meiji period. He also went by his pen-name of Nishimura Hakuo. He wrote more than 130 books and over 200 articles in his long literary career. Born to the family of the ...

in promoting patriotic education and

emperor worship An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...

in the public school curriculum.Gluck, Carol. (1985). ''Japan’s Modern Myths: Ideology in the late Meiji Period,'' p. 145. He was one of the founders of the Kōgaku-in (later

Kokugakuin University Kokugakuin University (國學院大學; ''Kokugakuin Daigaku'', abbreviated as 國學大 ''Kokugakudai'' or 國大 ''Kokudai'') is a private university, whose main office is in Tokyo's Shibuya district. The academic programs and research include ...

). In 1909, he title was elevated to that of

marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

(''kōshaku''). He died in 1910, and his grave is at the

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.

Notes

References

* Gluck, Carol. (1985). ''Japan’s Modern Myths: Ideology in the late Meiji Period.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press. ;
OCLC 11676767
* Jansen, Marius B. (2000). ''The Making of Modern Japan.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
OCLC 44090600
* ___________. (1961). ''Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press
OCLC 413111
* Keene, Donald. (2002). ''Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912.'' New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

.
OCLC 46731178
* Sims, Richard. (2001). ''Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000.'' New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ;
OCLC 45172740

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasaki, Takayuki 1830 births 1910 deaths People from Kōchi, Kōchi People of Meiji-period Japan People of the Boshin War Samurai Kazoku Japanese Shintoists Members of the Iwakura Mission Burials in Japan