Background Information to Assignment 107

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T O H I R O B U M I I C E D
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I D O T A K A Y O S H I R
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Across
3. The only surviving son of Emperor Komei. He
came to the throne on the death of his father in
1867. All of the reforms of the "Meiji
restoration" were done in his name, but it is
very difficult to tell how much influence he
really had. Certainly the initiative for these
reforms came from his Satsuma and Choshu
advisors, but they could not have happened
without his tacit support. (7,5)
[EMPERORMEIJI]
6. Treaty between Japan and the USA in 1858. It
provided for traty ports, low importa tariffs,
extraterritoriality anf most-favoured nation
status for Americans. The shogunate (bakufu)
asked the emperor to endorse this treaty, but
was refused. The leader fof the bakufu's
council was later assasinated by an outraged
samurai. (6,6) [HARRISTREATY]
Down
1. The original name of the city that is now
Tokyo. It was the centre of the Shogun!s
government. In 1869, the emperor was moved
to this city, at which point it was renamed
Tokyo. The emperor was installed in the
Shogun!s palace. (Some say to ensure that,
when he grew up, he could not be a focus of
opposition to the government as his father had
been.) [EDO]
2. Treaty between Japan and the USA in 1854. It
gave the USA athe right to trade in two
Japanese ports and the right to establish a
consulate on Japanese soil. Simiar treaties
with other powers followed quickly. (6,2,8)
[TREATYOFKANAGAWA]
Across
9. 121st emperor of Japan (reign: 1846-1867).
He was angered by the actions of the
shogunate during his reign. He opposed
opening Japan to foreign powers. He refused
to support the Harris treaty in 1858. In 1863,
urged on by advisors from Satsuma and
Choshu, he issued a decree ordering the
expulsion of the barbarians. This inspired
both futile efforts to attack the foreigners and
attacks on the shogunate. Although the
shogunate had little choice other than signing
agreements with foreigners, the emperor!s
attitude meant that they lost the support of
most ordinary Japanese. (7,5)
[EMPERORKOMEI]
14. Shogun: 1866-68 (8,9)
[TOKUGAWAYOSHINOBU]
Down
4. An outcast group in Japan. They often
performed jobs considered unclean by other
Japanese, such as butchering animals,
tanning leather and disposing of dead animals.
The rigid laws of the Tokugawa made it
impossible for them to climb out of this status.
In theory, they were liberated in 1871, but they
still suffer from discrimination today. Nowadays
they are called the burakumin. [ETA]
5. Shogun: 1858-66 (8,7)
[TOKUGAWAIEMOCHI]
7. Eldest surviving son of the Meiji Emperor
(lived 1879-1926, reigned 1912-26). He was
quite sickly all his life. He suffered from
meningitis (and possibly lead poisoning) as a
baby which seems to have lead to ongoing
neurological problems. Although he was good
at languages, he was unable to complete a
standard high-school education. This
weakness meant that the reigns of power
remained firmly in the hands of the emperor!s
advisors. (7,6) [EMPERORTAISHO]
8. Sometimes called the last true samurai. He
was born into a low-ranking samurai family in
Satsuma. In 1854, his daimyo took him to Edo
to help promote better relations between
Shogun and emperor. When the shogun
cracked down on pro-imperial officials, he fled
to Satsuma, where a new daimyo banished
him to a remote island. He was pardoned in
1864 and was put in charge of a Satsuma
army in Kyoto, home of the imperial court. He
was sent by the shogunate to help put down
the rebellious Choshu forces but he secretly
made an alliance with them. At the time of the
Meiji restoration, he opposed giving the
Tokugawa special status. In the civil war of
1867-8, he commanded the imperial forces.
He tried to get the government to go to war
with Korea in 1873. When he failed, he
resigned his positions. He led the Satsuma
Rebellion against the central government in
1877. When defeated, he committed suicide
(or got a friend to cut off his head accounts
vary). At first regarded as a traitor, his former
colleagues in the Meiji government quickly
rehabilitated him and he has gone down in
history as a hero. (5,8) [SAIGOTAKAMORI]
Across
17. Born into a low-ranking samurai family in
Choshu. He became involved in an
underground movement aimed at overthrowing
the shogunate and served as an officer of the
imperial forces in the fighting of 1867-8. In
1869, he was selected by the new government
to go on at fact-finding mission abroad (the
Iwakura Mission of 1869-73). He was very
impressed with the Prussian government and
military system. When he returned, he
recommended modeling the Japanese
systems on the Prussian example. In 1873, he
was appointed Minister for War. He introduced
conscription and began modernizing the
Japanese army. He led the Japanese army
against the Satusuma Rebellion in 1877 (It
was led by his former comrade, Saigo
Takamori- After the battle he had Saigo!s head
washed and pronounced a meditation in his
memory). To prevent future rebellions, he had
the emperor issue the Imperial Rescript to
Soldiers and Sailors in 1882. All soldiers and
sailors had to memorize this. It laid out rules
for their conduct. During the first Sino
Japanese war he was acting War Minister and
commanding General. He also commanded an
army in the Russo Japanese War. He was part
of a group of seven leaders who dominated
Japan in the Meiji period. He held numerous
government posts over the years, including
one term as Lord Chancellor and two as Prime
Minister. He used his influence to oppose
democracy and promote the position of the
military. (A position that brought him into
conflict with Ito Hirobumi) For instance, he
passed a law that only serving officers could
be war minister or minister of the Navy
(meaning the army effectively chose two
cabinet Ministers). He made it clear that the
army was to be independent of the
government and subordinate only to the
emperor. He also passed a law forbidding
members of political parties to hold posts in
the bureaucracy. In 1912, when the cabinet
failed to allocate enough money to the military,
he got the army and navy ministers to resign
and all the officers in the army and navy
refused to serve as their replacements. The
cabinet had to resign. It was replaced by a
cabinet more favourable to the army and navy.
(8,7) [YAMAGATAARIMOTO]
18. Feudal state in Tokugawa Japan with a history
of opposition to the Tokugawa. It was among
the more financially stable feudal states. It
helped lead the opposition to the shogunate
between 1853-67. [SATSUMA]
19. Shogun: 1838-53 (8,7) [TOKUGAWAIEYOSHI]
Down
10. Born into a low ranking samurai family in
Satsuma. He joined forces with fellow
Satsuma and former schoolmate Saigo
Takamori and allied with Choshu!s Kido
Takayoshi to organize the overthrow of he
shogunate. After 1868, the three men formed a
provisional government. Okubo served as
Home Minister, in control of all local
appointments and the police force. From 1871,
he served as Finance minister in which
capacity he revamped the land tax. He took
part in the Iwakura mission of 1871-1873.
When he returned, he helped to block his old
colleague, Saigo Takamori!s hope of taking
over Korea. When Saigo rebelled in the
Satsuma rebellion of 1877, Okubu led the
army against him. Many samurai saw him as a
traitor for this reason and he was assassinated
by a group of them in 1878. (5,10)
[OKUBUTOSHIMICHI]
11. Shogun: 1853-58 (8,6) [TOKUGAWAIESADA]
12. A feudal state in Tokugawa Japan. [HAN]
13. Feudal state in Tokugawa Japan with a history
of opposition to the Tokugawa. It was among
the more financially stable feudal states. It
helped lead the opposition to the shogunate
between 1853-67. [CHOSHU]
15. Amrican commodore who led a squadron of
ships to Edo in 1853 and "convinced" Japan to
open its doors. (7,5) [MATTHEWPERRY]
16. Revere the Emperor; expel the barbarians. A
movement in late Tokugawa Japan among
Samurai, especially in Choshu and Satsuma.
To overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate and
replace it with a government centred on (but
not exactly run by) the emperor. (5,3)
[SONNOJOI]
20. The location of the emperor!s court during the
Tokugawa period. [KYOTO]
Across
21. Born into a lower-class samurai family in
Choshu. He joined the revere the emperor
and expel the barbarians movement. In 1863,
he and four other promising young men from
Choshu were sent to study at University
College in London. They had to be smuggled
out of the country, because it was still illegal to
travel abroad. He spent only one year in
London, returning to defend Choshu from
attacks by the allied powers after its attacks on
foreign ships in 1864. His experience in the
UK convinced him that Japan had to adopt
western ways. After the Meiji restoration, he
served as junior councilor for foreign affairs. In
1870, he was sent to the USA to study
Western currency systems. In 1871 he
introduced a new tax system in Japan. He took
part in the Iwakura mission from 1871-73. He
would go to Europe again to study
constitutions from 1882-4. He held various
government positions including Minister of
Public Works (1873) Home Minister (1878). He
was effectively in control of the whole Meiji
government from 1881 to 1909, serving as
Prime Minister four times. He designed the
new peerage system in 1874 (not entirely
coincidentally, he was given the rank of
prince), and wrote the Meiji constitution. In
general, he advocated civilian government and
opposed the growing power of the military.
After 1901, facing increasing opposition in
Japanese politics, he resigned. He served as
the first Japanese resident general in Korea
after that country became a Japanese
protectorate after the Russo-Japanese War.
He took steps to bring Korea more closely
under Japanese control, but opposed efforts
within the Japanese government to annex
Korea officially. Ironically, in 1909, while in
Harbin to meet a Russian representative in
Manchuria, he was assassinated by a Korean
nationalist. This assassination was used by his
opponents in Japan as an excuse to annex
Korea. (3,8) [ITOHIROBUMI]
Across
22. Born in Choshu, his real father was of Samurai
rank but worked as a doctor. He was adopted
by a different family and educated as a
samurai. He was an early member of the
conspiracy to overthrow the Shogunate. After
Choshu!s disastrous attempt to repel the
Westerners, he began to study Western ship-
building and gunnery. He designed Choshu!s
first modern ship in 1856. He served in Kyoto
in 1862, but he and all the other Choshu were
driven out by the Satsuma the following year.
He was involved in a failed attempt to take
back the city in 1864, but had to hide in the
home of a geisha (whom he later married) and
escape disguised as a shopkeeper. When the
radicals took over Choshu in 1865, He led the
new misxed samurai-peasant army which was
armed with modern weapons and which
defeated the shogunate armies sent against it.
In 1866, he made an alliance with Saigo
Takamori and Okubu Toshimichi of Satsuma.
The three men combined their forces to
overthrow the shogunate. They then formed a
provisional government. He helped write the
Meiji charter, helped abolish the daimyo, put
down a samurai rebellion in Choshu in 1870,
took part in the Iwakura Mission of 1871-73.
When he returned, he advocated constitutional
government. In 1874, he resigned his posts in
protest after the punitive expedition to Taiwan,
but he returned when the government agreed
to put together a constitution. In the last two
years of his life, he worked to improve the
position of the lower classes, but the
government was dominated by Okubu
Tashimichi. He died of a brain disease in 1877.
He left behind a diary which shows that he
was torn between loyalty to Choshu and the
interests of Japan as a whole. (4,9)
[KIDOTAKAYOSHI]