Count was a statesman, diplomat, and legal scholar in Meiji period

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. A graduate of

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, he drew on his connections in the American legal community over the course of his long career in Japanese government, particularly in his role helping to draft the new

Meiji Constitution The Constitution of the Empire of Japan ( Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in ...

(Imperial Japanese Constitution). During the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, he engaged in promotion activities in the United States and contributed to Japan's victory. Kaneko was one of the most influential proponents of a Japanese-American alliance in

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. In his later years, he opposed and worked to avoid the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, but his attempts failed. He was the first person to translate

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

into Japanese and is considered the first Burkean conservative in Japan.

Early life

Kaneko was born into a ''

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

'' family of Fukuoka Domain ( Chikuzen Province's Sawara district, present-day Chūō-ku, Fukuoka), being the son of Kaneko Naomichi (1821-1876), leader of the Ansei Expedition to the Philippines in 1855. At the age of 9, he began his studies at the Shuyukan Han school.Shuyukan Senior High School history
/ref> At 19, he was selected as a student member of the Iwakura Mission, and journeyed to the United States. He remained there while the rest of the mission continued on to Europe, with the instruction to obtain an education in any subject. At first, seeking a naval career, he planned to attend the United States Naval Academy in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, but a doctor assessed his physical fortitude as insufficient and discouraged any military pursuit. Instead, Kaneko decided to seek a legal education, enrolling at Harvard University in 1876. He prepared for the challenging curriculum by seeking out the personal tutelage of future Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. At Harvard, Kaneko shared lodgings with fellow Japanese student and future fellow-diplomat Komura Jutarō. He also developed a wide circle of contacts in America, including lawyers, scientists, journalists, and industrialists. While at Harvard, Kaneko and Komura visited the home of Alexander Graham Bell and spoke on an experimental

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

with a fellow Japanese student, Izawa Shunji. According to Bell, this was the first instance of any language besides English being spoken into the new invention. After graduating from Harvard in 1878, Kaneko returned to Japan as a lecturer at the University of Tokyo.

Government career

In 1880, Kaneko was appointed as a secretary in the '' Genrōin,'' and in 1884 had joined the Office for Investigation of Institutions, the body organized by the ''Genrōin'' to study the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

s of various western nations with the aim of creating a western-style constitution for Japan. The Meiji Constitution that was the product of this was promulgated by the Emperor in 1889. Kaneko worked closely with Itō Hirobumi, Inoue Kowashi and Itō Miyoji, and became personal secretary to Itō Hirobumi when the latter became first

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

. Kaneko was appointed to the House of Peers of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

in 1890, becoming its first secretary. He was subsequently appointed as Vice Minister, then briefly Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in 1898 in the third Itō administration. He was awarded an honorary doctorate (LL.D.) by Harvard in 1899 for his work on the

. Perhaps influenced by his own experiences, Kaneko actively promoted the value and necessity of education. His childhood primary school, Shuyukan, having closed in 1871, Kaneko campaigned the Fukuoka regional government to reopen the school and raised funds in support. In 1885, it was reopened as an English vocational school, with all classes held in English. In 1889, Kaneko became the first president of Nihon Law School (now

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...

), a post he held until 1893. In 1891, Kaneko was elected to the prestigious Institute of International Law, traveling to its general meeting in Geneva the next year as part of his campaigning to revise the unequal treaties Japan had signed during its forced "opening" in the late 1850s. In 1900, Kaneko was appointed as Minister of Justice under the fourth Itō administration and was made

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

(''danshaku'') in the '' kazoku'' peerage system in 1907.

Russo-Japanese War

In 1904, during the

, at the personal request of Itō Hirobumi, Kaneko returned to the United States as a special envoy from the Japanese government to enlist American diplomatic support in bringing the war to a speedy conclusion. Kaneko embarked on a public-relations blitz, publishing editorials in various periodicals and delivering speeches. In April 1904, Kaneko addressed the Japan Club of Harvard University, delivering the tailored message that Japan was fighting to maintain the peace of Asia and to conserve the influence of Anglo-American civilization in the East.Isabel Anderson, "The Spell of Japan", Boston, 1914, p.14.
/ref> While in the United States, Kaneko revived contacts with

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, with whom he had been contemporaneously at Harvard (though they did not meet until later, introduced by William Sturgis Bigelow in 1889), and requested that Roosevelt help Japan mediate a peace treaty. When Kaneko met Roosevelt, the president asked for a book that would help explain the character of the Japanese people—what motivates them, their culture and spiritual education in Japan. Kaneko gave Roosevelt a copy of '

Bushido is a Samurai moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. Its origins date back to the Kamakura period, but it was formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868). There are multiple types of bushido which evolved significantl ...

', and several months later, Roosevelt thanked Kaneko, remarking that it enlightened within him a deeper understanding of the Japanese culture and character. Thereafter, Roosevelt eagerly took on the task and presided over the subsequent Treaty of Portsmouth negotiations.

Later career

From 1906, Kaneko served as a member of the Privy Council, and was elevated in title to

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

(''shishaku'') in 1907. In his later years he was engaged in the compilation of a history of the

Imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

and served as secretary general of the association for compiling historical materials about 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. He completed an official biography of

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

in 1915. He was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in 1928, and elevated to ''hakushaku'' (count) in 1930. Kaneko was a strong proponent of good diplomatic relations with the United States all of his life. In 1900, he established the first . According to the records of the America-Japan Society, Kaneko Kentaro founded that organization in Tokyo, in March 1917, and became its first president. In 1938, during a time of increasingly strident anti-American rhetoric from the Japanese government and press, he established the , a political association calling for a "Japanese-American Alliance", together with future Prime Minister Takeo Miki. He was one of the few senior statesmen in Japan to speak out strongly against war with the United States as late as 1941. On his death in 1942, Kaneko was posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum.

Honors

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (April 1, 1906) * JPN Toka-sho BAR

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers (November 10, 1928) * Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (May 16, 1942; posthumous) * Junior First Rank (May 16, 1942; posthumous)

Notes

References

* Duus, Peter. ''The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910 (Twentieth-Century Japan - the Emergence of a World Power, 4).'' University of California Press (1998). . * Hane, Mikiso. ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey''. Westview Press (2001). * Kaneko, Kentarō. ''A sketch of the history of the constitution of Japan''. Unwin Brothers (1889) ASIN: B00086SR4M * Katz, Stan S. ''The Art of Peace'', an illustrated biography about Prince Iesato Tokugawa and his allies, Horizon Productions (2019) * Jansen, Marius B. (2000). ''The Making of Modern Japan.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
OCLC 44090600
* Matsumura, Masayoshi. ''Nichi-Ro senso to Kaneko Kentaro: Koho gaiko no kenkyu''. Shinyudo. , translated by Ian Ruxton as ''Baron Kaneko and the Russo-Japanese War: A Study in the Public Diplomacy of Japan'' (2009)
Preview
* Morris, Edmund. ''Theodore Rex''. Modern Library; Reprint edition (2002).

External links

History of Japanese at Harvard

1878 Portrait Photo
from the papers of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr {{Authority control 20th-century Japanese diplomats People of the Meiji era Government ministers of Japan Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Kazoku Japanese people of the Russo-Japanese War People from Fukuoka Harvard Law School alumni 1853 births 1942 deaths Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Nihon University people