, formerly known as , was a Japanese statesman,

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 ...

and '' shishi'' who is considered one of the three great nobles who led 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 ...

Early life

Born Wada Kogorō on August 11, 1833 in Hagi,

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was based ...

(present-day

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

) as the son of a samurai physician and his second wife . In 1840, due to his brother-in-law already being the head of the Wada family, he was later adopted into the Katsura family at age seven and was known as . The Katsura family's stipend was originally 150 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...

'', but due to the late nature of his adoption which took place as his adoptive father was already on his deathbed, who died ten days later, it was reduced to 90 ''koku''. Katsura Kogorō thus became the head of the Katsura family. A year later in 1841, his adoptive mother also died, months later he was returned to his old home. In 1848, he lost his mother and elder half-sister Yaeko to illnesses. Katsura was educated at Meirinkan, in which he later became increasingly unhappy with and defied his father in order to be educated at Shōka Sonjuku in 1849, the academy of Yoshida Shōin, from whom he adopted the philosophy of Imperial loyalism. In 1851, his father had died. In 1852, Katsura went to

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

(present-day

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

) to study swordsmanship, established ties with radical ''samurai'' from the

Mito Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.Mito,

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

), learned artillery techniques with Egawa Tarōzaemon, and (after observing the construction of foreign ships in

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

and Shimoda), returned to Chōshū to supervise the construction of the domain's first western-style warship.

Overthrow of the Tokugawa

After 1858, Katsura Kogorō was based at the domain's Edo residence, where he served as a liaison between the domain bureaucracy and radical elements among the young, lower-echelon Chōshū ''samurai'' who supported the ''

Sonnō jōi was a '' yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s, during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement sou ...

'' movement. Coming under suspicion by the shogunate for his ties with Mito loyalists after the attempted assassination of Andō Nobumasa, he was transferred to Kyōto. However, while in Kyōto, he was unable to prevent the 30 September 1863 coup d'état by the forces of the Aizu and Satsuma domains, who drove the Chōshū forces out of the city.

Ikedaya incident

According to his personal diary regarding the Ikedaya incident, Katsura was at the loyalist meeting with the '' Ishin Shishi'' at the Ikedaya inn in the evening on July 8, 1864, he claimed that they had only met to discuss how to rescue Furutaka Shuntaro from the

Shinsengumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was ac ...

. Katsura later left the inn earlier, before the attack by the Shinsengumi troops on that night. However, there were rumors varied that Katsura was tipped off by his

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...

lover , that the Shinsengumi were coming for him and wisely chose not show up for the meeting, or that he climbed out the window of the upper floor of the inn during the attack by the Shinsengumi and escaped over the roofs. He spent the next five days in hiding under Nijō Bridge along the Kamo River, posing as a beggar, his lover would bring him rice balls from the shop of the Chōshū merchant Imai Tarōemon and later aided in his escape.

Kinmon incident

Katsura was involved but not present in the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion on 20 August 1864, with the unsuccessful attempt to capture

Emperor Kōmei Osahito (22 July 1831 – 30 January 1867), posthumously honored as Emperor Kōmei, was the 121st emperor of Japan, according to the List of Emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 ...

by the Chōshū forces at Hamaguri Gate in order to restore the Imperial household to its position of political supremacy, the Chōshū forces clashed with Aizu and Satsuma forces who led the defense of the Imperial palace. During the attempt, the Chōshū rebels put Kyoto on fire, starting with the residence of the Takatsukasa family, and that of a Chōshū official. The rebellion resulted in 28,000 houses being burnt down, with casualties of about 400 from the Chōshū forces, including his adopted son Katsuzaburō, and only 60 from Aizu and Satsuma forces, forcing Katsura into hiding again with his geisha lover. He would later use the name Niibori Matsusuke as an alias in 1865 to continue his work against the Tokugawa bakufu.

Satchō Alliance

After radical elements under Takasugi Shinsaku gained control of Chōshū politics, Katsura, under the new name was instrumental in establishing the

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the southwestern feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satc ...

with

Saigō Takamori Saigō Takamori (; 23 January 1828 – 24 September 1877) was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate ...

and

Ōkubo Toshimichi Ōkubo Toshimichi (; 26 September 1830 – 14 May 1878) was a Japanese statesman and samurai of the Satsuma Domain who played a central role in the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration (維新の� ...

through the mediation of Sakamoto Ryōma in 1866, which proved to be critical in 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 coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

and the subsequent

. Around the same time, he adopted Shojirō, another nephew who was the second son of his younger sister, Kuruhara Haruko, as his heir.

Meiji statesman

Following the overthrow of the

Tokugawa bakufu The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

in 1868, Kido claimed a large role in the establishment of the new

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 ...

. As a ''san'yo'' (Imperial Advisor) he helped draft the

Five Charter Oath The was promulgated on 6 April 1868 in Kyoto Imperial Palace. The Oath outlined the main aims and the course of action to be followed during Emperor Meiji's reign, setting the legal stage for Japan's modernization. This also set up a process of u ...

, and initiated policies of centralization and modernization. He helped direct the

Abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

. In August 1868, he had his lover Ikumatsu adopted into a samurai family of Okabe Tomitarō, and later made her his wife. He was later renamed to in 1869. Kido was a vocal opponent of hereditary privilege, advocating for appointments based on merit rather than social rank. In his diary, he warned that hereditary systems would lead to "stagnation in future generations," and resisted the notion of passing on rank or stipend to his descendants, even when personally offered a significant merit award. Despite accepting the stipend in 1869, he remained critical of the class-based limitations of Meiji governance. On 23 December 1871, he accompanied the

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

on its round-the-world voyage to America and Europe, and was especially interested in Western educational systems and politics. On his return to Japan on 13 September 1873, he would become a strong advocate of the establishment of

constitutional government 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 princ ...

. Realizing that Japan was not in any position to challenge the Western powers in its present state, he also returned to Japan just in time to prevent an invasion of

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

('' Seikanron''). In his later years, Kido became increasingly critical of excessive centralization and showed deep concern for those affected adversely by rapid modernization. He criticized policies that impoverished the shizoku (former samurai) and the peasantry, and called for relief efforts and localized development to aid his former comrades in Chōshū. Kido expressed guilt over the suffering of Restoration-era soldiers and advocated that foreign and domestic policy should prioritize the needs of "the suffering masses." His opposition to the 1874 Taiwan Expedition and the 1873 Korea invasion proposal stemmed in part from this concern. Kido lost his dominant position in the

Meiji oligarchy The Meiji oligarchy was the new ruling class of Meiji period Japan. In Japanese, the Meiji oligarchy is called the . The members of this class were adherents of '' kokugaku'' and believed they were the creators of a new order as grand as that e ...

, and resigned from government in protest of the Taiwan Expedition of 1874, which he had strenuously opposed. Following the Osaka Conference of 1875, Kido agreed to return to the government, and became chairman of the Assembly of Prefectural Governors that the Ōsaka Conference had created. He was also responsible for the education of the young

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 ...

Death

During the middle of the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in ...

in 1877, he died of

Colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

that had been plaguing him for a long time, which consisted of a combination of some form of mental disease and physical exhaustion, years of excessive alcohol consumption as well as an illness assumed to be

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

beriberi Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase (bæri bæri, “I canno ...

. With his dim consciousness, Kido shook Okubo's hand and said, "Enough Saigo " He is enshrined at Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine, where his tomb is located.

Legacy

His heir Shojirō, who had studied for ten years in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

before returning to Japan in 1882, however died of illness on the ship during the return journey near

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Kuruhara Hikotarō, another Kido's nephew and Shojirō's eldest brother, succeeded him as the new heir of the Kido family on 18 November 1884 and was known as the

Marquis A marquess (; ) 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 with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

Kido Takamasa. 20080505 Kido Shrine

Kido Takayoshi was enshrined as the Shinto deity of scholarship and the martial arts at the Kido Shrine in about 1886 at Kido Park, Yamaguchi,

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 ...

. His widow Matsuko survived him and died in 1887 at the age of 43. Kido's diary reveals an intense internal conflict between his loyalty to his home domain, Chōshū, and the greater interest of the country. He wrote often of having to fight rumors at home that he had betrayed his old friends; the idea of a nation was still relatively new in Japan and so the majority of samurai cared more for securing privileges for their own domain. He was friends with the English Legation interpreter

Ernest Satow Sir Ernest Mason Satow (30 June 1843 – 26 August 1929), was a British diplomat, scholar and Japanologist. He is better known in Japan, where he was known as , than in Britain or the other countries in which he served as a diplomat. He was ...

. The two met many times from the Shimonoseki incident onwards. Together with

and

, he was known as the Ishin-no-Sanketsu (維新の三傑), which means, roughly, " Three Great Nobles of the Restoration". His younger sister's grandson was

politician .

Kido Takayoshi former residence in Hagi

The house where Kido Takayoshi was born and where he lived for about 20 years before moving to Edo still exists in Hagi and is a memorial museum. Although he had been adopted into the Katsura family when he was seven years old, he continued to live in this family home. The former residence is located on a street called Edoya Yokocho, and is a two-story wooden building with a tiled roof. In the house there are hanging scrolls with examples of

Japanese calligraphy , also called , is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. Japanese writing system, Written Japanese was originally based on Man'yōgana, Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japane ...

Kido wrote as a child, with corrections in red ink by his teachers. Volunteer guides are stationed in the building. The building was designated a National Historic Site in 1934. File:木戶孝允舊宅.jpg File:Gate of former residence of Kido Takayoshi.jpg, Gate of former residence of Kido Takayoshi File:Garden of former residence of Kido Takayoshi 2.jpg, Garden of former residence of Kido Takayoshi File:Former residence of Kido Takayoshi.jpg File:Entrance of former residence of Kido Takayoshi.jpg File:少年時期的習字掛軸.jpg, Childhood room of Kido Takayoshi File:Edoya Lane near former residence of Kido Takayoshi.jpg, Edoya Lane near former residence of Kido Takayoshi

In popular culture

Kido, referred to by his initial name Katsura Kogorō, was among the historical personalities present in the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

and

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

Rurouni Kenshin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins in 1878, the 11th year of the Meiji era in Japan, and follows a former assassin of the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work against ...

'' by

Nobuhiro Watsuki , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his samurai-themed series '' Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story'' (1994–1999), which has over 70 million copies in circulation, and a sequel he is cur ...

, as well as its OVA adaptation '' Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal''. While still portrayed as a ruthless radical leader of the Chōshū clan, he serves as a benevolent mentor of sorts to the young

Himura Kenshin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the manga ''Rurouni Kenshin'' created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Kenshin's story is set in a fictional version of Japan during the Meiji period. Kenshin is a former legendary assassin known as , more ...

, who worked under him as the ''Hitokiri Battōsai.'' He nonetheless regrets having Kenshin do the dirty work for him after Kenshin's affair with

Yukishiro Tomoe The manga series ''Rurouni Kenshin'' features a large cast of character (arts), fictional characters created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Set in Japan during the Meiji period, several of the characters are real historical figures who interact with the ...

(in ''Tsuiokuhen'', he actively encouraged Tomoe to stand by Kenshin to serve as a calming influence), which ultimately boiled over into her conflicting loyalties to the shogunate agent and her emerging feelings for Kenshin. He is voiced by

Tomokazu Seki is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He has previously worked with Haikyō. He is honorary president of and affiliated with Atomic Monkey and the chairman of theater company HeroHero Q. He is a special lecturer at Japan Newart College. Caree ...

in the OVA, and portrayed by Issey Takahashi in the 2021 live-action adaptation film '' Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning''. Japanese actor Ken Ishiguro portrayed him in the 2004 jdorama ''

Shinsengumi! is a 2004 Taiga drama historical fiction television series produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK. It was a popular drama about the Shinsengumi, a Japanese special police force from the Bakumatsu period. Actors include Koji Yamamoto (actor), Koji ...

'' as the old time friend of the protagonist Kondo Isami and also the leader of the Chōshū han. Japanese actor Shōsuke Tanihara portrayed him in the 2009 jdorama '' Ryōmaden'' as the leader of the Chōshū han. He is also the basis for the character of Katsura Kotarou in the

and

Gin Tama is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to September 2018, later in ''Jump Giga'' from De ...

'' by

Hideaki Sorachi is the pen name of a Japanese manga artist, most well known for his manga ''Gintama,'' which began serialization in 2003 and ended in 2019. He has also written numerous one-shots, including ''Dandelion'', for which he won the Tenkaichi Honourab ...

. He also appears in the video game '' Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!'', portrayed by the Yakuza character Shun Akiyama, and voiced by

Kōichi Yamadera is a Japanese actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Acto ...

. Katsura Kogorō has also a prominent supporting role in Team Ninjas 2024 Action-RPG Rise of the Rōnin and is one of the many popular personalities from the

Bakumatsu were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate Meiji Restoration, ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a Feudali ...

-Period, that the player can get acquainted with.

Honours

*Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, 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 feat ...

(May 24, 1877) *

Junior First Rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese language, Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the Nation, state. ''Ikai'' as a system was the indication of the rank of burea ...

(May 22, 1901; posthumous)

Notable works

* The Diary of Kido Takayoshi Volume 1 (1868-1871) * The Diary of Kido Takayoshi Volume 2 (1874-1877)

Notes

Reference and further reading

* Akamatsu, Paul. ''Meiji 1868: Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Japan.'' Trans.

Miriam Kochan Miriam Louise Kochan (; 5 October 1929 – 1 January 2018) was an English history writer and translator of French. A economics graduate of the University College of the South West, she was the first female graduate of the Reuters news agency, work ...

. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. * Beasley, William G. (1972). ''The Meiji Restoration.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press.
OCLC 579232
* Beasley, W. G. ''The Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850.'' New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. * Craig, Albert M. ''Chōshū in the Meiji Restoration.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961
OCLC 482814571
* Jansen, Marius B. and Gilbert Rozman, eds. (1986). ''Japan in Transition: from Tokugawa to Meiji.'' Princeton:

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

.
OCLC 12311985
* Kido, Takayoshi. (1983). ''The Diary of Kido Takayoshi'' (Sidney DeVere Brown and Akiko Hirota, translators), Vol. I (1868–1871), Vol. II (1871–1874), Vol. III (1874–1877). Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. * Nish, Ian. (1998) ''The Iwakura Mission to America and Europe: A New Assessment''. Richmond, Surrey: Japan Library. ;
OCLC 40410662

External links

Selected Diary Entries of Kido

Meiji Dignitaries
is a portrait of Takayoshi and others from 1877 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kido, Takayoshi 1833 births 1877 deaths People from Hagi, Yamaguchi Politicians from Yamaguchi Prefecture Meiji Restoration People from Chōshū Domain Nobles of the Meiji Restoration People of the Meiji era Samurai Mōri retainers Japanese swordfighters Japanese revolutionaries Deified Japanese men Members of the Iwakura Mission