was a Japanese career diplomat and cabinet minister of Meiji-era Japan.

Early life

He was born Satō Shingoro in Sakura city,

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shimōsa''" in . It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from ...

(present-day

Chiba prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to t ...

),Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 144. as the son of Satō Taizen, a physician practising "Dutch medicine" for the

Sakura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Shimōsa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now the city of Sakura, Chiba. It was ruled for most of its hi ...

. He sometimes referred to himself as "Satō Tosaburō". He was adopted as a child by Hayashi Dokai, a physician in the service 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 ...

, from whom he received the name Hayashi Tadasu. He learned English at the Hepburn Academy (the forerunner of

Meiji Gakuin University is a Christian university in Tokyo and Yokohama that was established in 1863. The Reverend Dr. James Curtis Hepburn was one of its founders and served as the first president. The novelist and poet Shimazaki Toson graduated from this coll ...

) in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

. From 1866 to 1868, Hayashi studied in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

and King's College London as one of fourteen young Japanese students (including

Kikuchi Dairoku Baron was a Japanese mathematician, educator, and education administrator during the Meiji era. Biography Early life and family Kikuchi was born in Edo (present-day Tokyo), as the second son of Mitsukuri Shūhei, a professor at Bansho Shi ...

) sent by the Tokugawa government on the advice of the then British foreign minister Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby. Hayashi returned home in the midst of the Boshin War of 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 ...

, and joined with Tokugawa loyalists led by Enomoto Takeaki, whom he accompanied to Hokkaidō with the remnants of the Shogunate Army and its

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

. He was captured by the Imperial forces after the final defeat of the

Republic of Ezo The was a short-lived separatist state established in 1869 on the island of Ezo, now Hokkaido, by a part of the former military of the Tokugawa shogunate at the end of the ''Bakumatsu'' period in Japan. It was the first government to attempt t ...

at the

Battle of Hakodate The was fought in Japan from December 4, 1868 to June 27, 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate army, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the armies of the newly formed Imperial government (composed ...

and imprisoned in Yokohama. Released in 1871 by Kanagawa governor

Mutsu Munemitsu Count was a Japanese statesman and diplomat in Meiji period Japan. Early life Mutsu Munemitsu was born in Wakayama domain, Kii Province as the sixth son of Date Munehiro, a ''samurai'' retainer of the Kii Tokugawa clan. His father was acti ...

, he was recruited to work for 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 ...

in 1871, and because of his language abilities and previous overseas experience was selected to accompany 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 ...

to Europe and the United States in 1871–1873.

Government officer

Being a member of the Iwakura Mission in the Britain, he was instructed by

Yamao Yozo Yamao (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese rhythmic gymnast *, Japanese cyclist *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese poet *, Japanese politician *, Japanese samurai {{surname Japanese-language sur ...

to arrange appointment of the teaching staff for the Engineering Institution (Japan) in the end of 1872. He returned home with the staff lead by Henry Dyer as the principal, and endeavoured to set up the

Imperial College of Engineering The Imperial College of Engineering (工部大学校, ''Kōbudaigakkō'') was a Japanese institution of higher education that was founded during the Meiji Era. The college was established under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Works for ...

, Tokyo as an officer of the Engineering Institution of the

Ministry of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

. In 1875 he married Gamo Misao (1858 – 1942). They had a daughter and a son, Kiku and Masanosuke.

Political career

After the Ministry of Public Works was abolished, he moved to the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, then was appointed governor of Kagawa Prefecture, and then of Hyōgo Prefecture. In 1891, he was appointed Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was elevated to the title of baron (''danshaku'') 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 in 1895. Hayashi was appointed as resident minister to the court of

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

China at the Japanese legation in Beijing, then resident minister to Russia in St Petersburg, and finally resident minister to Great Britain. While serving in London from 1900, he worked to successfully conclude the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and signed on behalf of the government of Japan on 30 January 1902. He was elevated to 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 judicia ...

(''shishaku'') in February 1902. Viscountess Hayashi, later Countess Hayashi

On 2 December 1905 Hayashi became the first Japanese ambassador to the Court of St James's, as diplomatic relations were upgraded between the Empire of Japan and the British Empire. He was accompanied by his wife. At that time Sir Claude MacDonald was Hayashi's opposite number in Tokyo. On becoming Foreign Minister in the first Saionji cabinet in 1906, Hayashi concluded agreements with France (the Franco-Japanese Agreement of 1907) and Russia (the Russo-Japanese Agreement of 1907 and Russo-Japanese Agreement of 1910). He served as Minister of Communications in the second Saionji cabinet and as interim Foreign Minister (1911–12). 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 1907. On contracting diabetes, Hayashi retired in 1912, and in June 1913 he fractured his thigh in an accident, resulting in an amputation. Hayashi died a month later, and his grave is at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

Honors

Titles

*Baron (31 October 1895) *Viscount (27 February 1902) *Count (14 September 1907)

Decorations

*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (31 October 1895) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (27 December 1899) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (1 April 1906) *

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(GCVO) (4 July 1905)

Honorary degrees

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

(honorary)

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

– May 1902 * D.C.L. (honorary)

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

– June 1902

Order of precedence

*Third rank (21 July 1901) *Senior third rank (May 1910)

References

* ''The Secret Memoirs of Count Hayashi Tadasu'', edited by A.M. Pooley, 1915, reprinted 2002 *

External links

Portrait of Hayashi Tadasu
on the website of the National Diet Library, Tokyo *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashi, Tadasu Ambassadors of Japan to the United Kingdom Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom Foreign ministers of Japan Government ministers of Japan Governors of Kagawa Prefecture Governors of Hyōgo Prefecture People educated at University College School Alumni of King's College London Politicians from Chiba Prefecture Kazoku Meiji Restoration People of Meiji-period Japan Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun 1850 births 1913 deaths People from Sakura, Chiba Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Iwakura Mission