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Yamagata Aritomo
Japanese military leader and statesman (1838–1922) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Prince Yamagata Aritomo (山縣 有朋; 14 June 1838 – 1 February 1922) was a Japanese politician and general who twice served as prime minister of Japan (1889–1891; 1898–1900). He was also a leading member of the genrō, a group of senior courtiers and statesmen who dominated the politics of Japan during the Meiji era. As the Imperial Japanese Army's inaugural Chief of Staff, he was the chief architect of its nationalist and reactionary ideology,[1] which has led some historians to consider him the "father" of Japanese militarism.[2][additional citation(s) needed]
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Born to a low-ranking samurai family in the Chōshū Domain, Yamagata became a leader in the loyalist movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. As a commander in the Boshin War, he helped lead the military forces of the Satsuma–Chōshū Alliance to victory in the Meiji Restoration. Following the Restoration, he traveled to Europe to study Western military systems and returned to become the central figure in the creation of the modern Imperial Japanese Army, implementing a nationwide conscription system. He led the new conscript army to victory over the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, which validated his military reforms and destroyed the last vestiges of the samurai class. He further secured the army's independence from civilian control by creating an autonomous Imperial Japanese Army General Staff which reported directly to the Emperor.
Entering civilian government, Yamagata served as Home Minister, where he established an efficient, centralized police and local government system. As Prime Minister from 1889 to 1891, he oversaw the opening of the first Imperial Diet under the new Meiji Constitution and articulated a foreign policy doctrine of national security that guided Japan's expansionism. After the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, he served a second term as Prime Minister from 1898 to 1900, during which he passed laws to prevent political party members from holding key bureaucratic posts.
From the outset of the 1900s, Yamagata vied against Itō Hirobumi for supremacy among the Meiji oligarchy. Following Ito's assassination in 1909, he emerged as the most powerful genrō within the imperial court.[3][4][5] However, a political scandal involving his meddling in Crown Prince Hirohito's engagement led to him losing power shortly before his death in 1922.[6][7]
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Early life
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Yamagata Aritomo, first named Tatsunosuke, was born on 14 June 1838, in the castle town of Hagi, the capital of the Chōshū Domain (present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture).[8][9] His father, Yamagata Arinori, was a low-ranking samurai of the chūgen class, the lowest rank of direct vassals to the daimyō.[10] The family was poor, and their duties were barely distinguishable from those of commoners, but they retained the privileges of the samurai class, including the right to bear swords.[11] Yamagata's mother died when he was five, and he was raised by his grandmother, Katsu, who instilled in him the ideals of the samurai.[11] Under his father's tutelage, he was schooled in the classical literature of China and Japan and developed a talent for writing poetry. He also received military training in fencing, spearmanship, and jujitsu.[12]
From the age of thirteen, Yamagata held a series of minor jobs in the han bureaucracy, first as an errand boy in the treasury office and later as a servant in the han school. He eventually became an informer in the han police organization, where his faithful service brought him to the attention of his superiors.[13] Yamagata grew up during a period of major reform in Chōshū. Stung by its defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the domain nurtured a tradition of hostility toward the Tokugawa shogunate.[14] In the 1830s, under the leadership of Daimyō Mōri Takachika, Chōshū underwent significant economic and military reforms, strengthening its finances and adopting Western military technology. This atmosphere of change and innovation influenced Yamagata, making him aware of the benefits of modernization.[15]
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Revolutionary loyalist
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Early political activity
In 1858, at the age of twenty, Yamagata was selected to go to Kyoto, the imperial capital, to serve as an intelligence agent for the domain.[16] His selection was recommended by Yoshida Shōin, an influential Chōshū intellectual whose teachings were inspiring a new generation of loyalist activists.[17] This was a turning point in Yamagata's career, moving him from the confines of han administration into the turbulent national politics of the Bakumatsu period.[14] The arrival of Commodore Perry in 1853 had shattered Japan's seclusion policy and exposed the weakness of the Tokugawa shogunate. A growing movement known as sonnō jōi (尊皇攘夷, Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarian) emerged, calling for the restoration of the emperor's political power and the expulsion of foreigners.[18]
In Kyoto, Yamagata became associated with a group of radical sonnō jōi activists and was introduced to the loyalist scholars Yanagawa Seigan and Umeda Umpin. These men were at the center of the anti-bakufu movement in Kyoto, and their ideas, combined with the political events Yamagata witnessed, persuaded him that drastic measures were needed to restore imperial rule and resist the West.[19] Upon his return to Hagi in October 1858, he began nearly six months of study under Yoshida Shōin at his private academy, the Shōka Sonjuku (松下村塾, school beneath the pines).[20] Yoshida was a charismatic and radical teacher who preached loyalty to the emperor and the need for action to strengthen the nation. His teachings had a profound and lasting impact on Yamagata, transforming his local han loyalty into a broader national patriotism and dedicating him to revolutionary action.[21]
Following Yoshida's execution by the shogunate in 1859, Yamagata became a central figure among the young, radical Chōshū loyalists.[22] He participated in the Shimonoseki campaign and was wounded during the bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational Western fleet in 1864, an experience that convinced him of the overwhelming superiority of Western military technology.[23] Following this defeat, he became an officer in the Kiheitai (奇兵隊; lit. "Irregular Unit"), an innovative militia unit organized by Takasugi Shinsaku. Unlike traditional samurai units, the Kiheitai was composed of men from all social classes, including commoners. Yamagata's experience in the Kiheitai persuaded him of the fighting potential of well-trained, well-equipped commoner soldiers, a lesson he would later apply to the entire nation.[24]
When a conservative faction in the Chōshū government made peace with the shogunate, Yamagata and other radicals launched an internal coup known as the "Chōshū Restoration". In February 1865, he led a force in the decisive battle at Edo-Ota, which secured victory for the radical faction and committed Chōshū to a policy of overthrowing the Tokugawa bakufu.[25] Under new leadership, Chōshū entered into the secret Satsuma–Chōshū Alliance with the rival Satsuma Domain. Yamagata played a key role in the subsequent Boshin War of 1868, leading Chōshū forces in the campaigns in northern Japan that culminated in the overthrow of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration.[26]
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Founding the Imperial Japanese Army
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After the Restoration, Yamagata became a central figure in creating the new military foundations of the Meiji state.[27] From 1869 to 1870, he and Saigō Tsugumichi undertook a tour of Europe to study Western military systems. Yamagata was deeply impressed by the Prussian military, particularly its use of universal conscription, which he saw as the key to creating a modern, powerful army.[28] Upon his return, he was appointed Assistant Vice Minister of Military Affairs and set about organizing a national army. He was instrumental in establishing the Imperial Bodyguard (Goshimpei (御親兵)), the first military unit under the direct command of the central government, composed of troops from Satsuma, Chōshū, and Tosa. This force provided the military backing for the abolition of the feudal domains in 1871, a crucial step in the centralization of political power.[29]
Conscription and the Satsuma Rebellion
Yamagata's most significant contribution was the establishment of a nationwide conscription system. He was the primary driver behind the Conscription Act of 1873, which made military service compulsory for all male citizens, regardless of social class.[30] This was a revolutionary measure that effectively abolished the samurai class as the nation's exclusive military force.[31] The policy faced strong opposition, both from peasants who resented the "blood tax" and from samurai who saw it as a violation of their traditional status.[32] As Army Minister from 1873, Yamagata vigorously suppressed this opposition.[33]
The new conscript army faced its ultimate test in the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, led by the celebrated Restoration hero Saigō Takamori. Yamagata, as field commander of the government forces, led the conscript army to a decisive victory against Saigō's samurai army.[34] The victory validated the conscription system and ended the last major challenge to the authority of the Meiji government. Despite the military triumph, Yamagata expressed deep personal sorrow over the death of his former comrade Saigō.[35]
Creation of the General Staff
Following the Satsuma Rebellion, Yamagata worked to further professionalize and depoliticize the army. He reorganized the military along German lines and, in 1878, established an independent Imperial Japanese Army General Staff, modeled on the Prussian system.[36] This new body was responsible for military planning and command and reported directly to the emperor, not to the civilian government. This effectively separated military command from political administration, ensuring the army's autonomy from civilian control and becoming a major source of the military's political power in the following decades.[37]
To instill a uniform ideology in the new army, Yamagata was the principal force behind the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors of 1882. This document, which he personally presented to the emperor, served as the ethical code for all military personnel until the end of World War II. It emphasized absolute personal loyalty to the emperor as the soldier's highest duty and strictly forbade any involvement in politics.[38] It shaped the nationalist and reactionary ideological development of the army.[39]
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Political career
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Yamagata's influence was not confined to the military. In 1883, he was appointed Home Minister and embarked on a major reform of the state's internal administration.[40] Using German models and with the assistance of the German advisor Albert Mosse, he established a new local government system that centralized authority and extended the reach of the central government down to the village level.[41] He also reformed the police system, creating a powerful, centralized force under the firm control of the Home Ministry.[42] A staunch conservative, Yamagata viewed the growing Freedom and People's Rights Movement with alarm and used his position as Home Minister to suppress political opposition, culminating in the harsh Peace Preservation Law of 1887, which gave the police broad powers to quell dissent.[43]
First premiership
In December 1889, Yamagata became the third Prime Minister of Japan.[44] His first cabinet oversaw the opening of the first Imperial Diet in 1890.[45] He articulated for the first time his strategic concept of national security, defining a "line of sovereignty" (主権線, shukensen) (the nation's borders) and a "line of advantage" (利益線, riekisen) (a buffer zone of strategic interest, specifically Korea, essential to the defense of the line of sovereignty).[46] This doctrine guided Japanese foreign policy for decades and was used to justify military expansion on the Asian continent.[47] Yamagata clashed with the opposition parties in the Diet over the budget, particularly his demands for increased military spending, but he eventually secured a compromise by working with a splinter faction of the Liberal Party.[48] During this period, he was also a key figure behind the promulgation of the Imperial Rescript on Education (1890), which established a conservative, emperor-centered moral framework for the national education system.[49] He resigned as Prime Minister in May 1891.[50]
Second premiership
Yamagata's political influence continued to grow throughout the 1890s. During the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), he was the commander of the First Army, though illness forced an early return from the field.[52] After the war, he used the victory to push for a massive expansion of the army, doubling its size from seven to thirteen divisions.[53]
In November 1898, Yamagata formed his second cabinet. His primary objective was to secure funding for the postwar military expansion, which required a significant increase in the land tax.[54] To overcome opposition in the Diet, he formed an unprecedented alliance with Itagaki Taisuke's Kenseitō, the successor to the Liberal Party, promising them concessions on other policies in exchange for their support on the tax bill.[55] After successfully passing the tax increase, however, Yamagata moved to undermine the political parties' influence. In 1899, he enacted a series of civil service ordinances that made it extremely difficult for party members to be appointed to high positions in the bureaucracy, effectively insulating it from political control.[56] The following year, he revised the regulations for service ministers, stipulating that only active-duty generals and admirals could serve as ministers of the army and navy, giving the military a powerful veto over the formation of any cabinet.[57] He resigned in October 1900, having secured the army's long-term expansion and strengthened the foundations of bureaucratic rule.[58]
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Elder statesman (genrō)
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After 1900, Yamagata retired from direct participation in cabinet government, but he continued to exercise influence as a member of the genrō (元老), an unofficial group of elder statesmen who advised the emperor and selected Japan's prime ministers.[59] He became the central figure in a long-standing political rivalry with Itō Hirobumi. Throughout 1900 to 1909, Yamagata vied against Itō Hirobumi for control of Japanese policy while exercising influence through his protégé, Katsura Tarō.[60] While both men were conservatives, Yamagata championed bureaucratic, non-party government, whereas Itō, believing cooperation with the parties was necessary, formed his own party, the Rikken Seiyūkai, in 1900.[61] In 1903, Yamagata engineered Itō's removal from the party leadership by having him appointed President of the Privy Council.[62] After the assassination of Itō Hirobumi in 1909, Yamagata emerged as the highest authority in the Meiji government below the Emperor.[63][64][4]
Yamagata was a central figure in Japan's foreign policy during this period. As a check against Russian expansionism, he was a strong proponent of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1902. [65] During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), as, he was the final authority on military strategy as Chief of the Army General Staff.[66] Believing Japan's resources were overextended, he successfully argued for an end to the war after the victory at Mukden, against the wishes of some field commanders who wanted to press on.[67] He was also a key force behind the annexation of Korea in 1910.[68]
Yamagata's authority was seriously challenged during the Taishō Political Crisis of 1912–1913. His support for the army's demand for two new divisions led to the resignation of the Seiyūkai cabinet of Saionji Kinmochi. He then orchestrated the appointment of his protégé, Katsura Tarō, as Prime Minister.[69] This move, however, sparked a nationwide popular uprising that forced Katsura's resignation and marked a turning point in the rise of party government.[70]
During World War I, Yamagata's influence remained decisive. He supported Japan's entry into the war but was critical of Foreign Minister Katō Takaaki's handling of the Twenty-One Demands to China in 1915, fearing it would alienate the Western powers. Yamagata led the other genrō in forcing Katō to moderate the demands, demonstrating the elders' continuing power over foreign policy.[71] Driven by a long-held fear of international racial conflict, he also engineered the secret Russo-Japanese Alliance of 1916 to secure Japan's position against the Western allies after the war.[72]
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Final years and death
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In his final years, Yamagata remained the "power behind the curtain". He was a central, though initially reluctant, figure in the decision to undertake the Siberian Intervention in 1918.[73] In the same year, after the 1918 rice riots, he reluctantly agreed to the appointment of Hara Kei as the first "commoner" and party Prime Minister, a landmark in Japanese constitutional history.[74] Though he distrusted party politics, he developed a working relationship with Hara, whom he respected for his conservative pragmatism.[75]
His final major political involvement was the "grave court affair" of 1920–1921 concerning the marriage of Crown Prince Hirohito.[76] Yamagata attempted to block the marriage, citing hereditary color blindness in the bride's family, the Shimazu clan of Satsuma. His effort was widely seen as an attack on Satsuma and was ultimately defeated by a coalition of court nobles and his political opponents, a major blow to his prestige.[77] Saddened by this defeat and the assassination of Prime Minister Hara in November 1921, Yamagata's health declined. He died on 1 February 1922, at his villa in Odawara. He was given a state funeral and buried at the Gokokuji temple in Tokyo.[78]
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Legacy
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Yamagata Aritomo was one of the most important and controversial figures in the history of modern Japan. For over half a century, his influence was a major factor in nearly every significant development, from the creation of the modern army to the conduct of foreign policy.[79] His career was one of extraordinary success, rising from an insignificant samurai to become the nation's most powerful military and political leader.[80] He was the architect of the modern Japanese army and the modern Japanese bureaucracy, both of which he molded in his own conservative, authoritarian image.[81] His political philosophy, which championed a strong, centralized state led by a non-partisan bureaucracy and military, set the pattern for Japanese government for decades and obstructed the development of a more liberal, democratic order.[82]
His legacy is deeply contested. In the West and in postwar Japan, he has often been depicted as the "arch-villain" of Japanese militarism and reaction, the primary force that led Japan down the path to aggressive war and defeat in 1945.[83] Others have argued that Yamagata, while an authoritarian, was also a cautious and pragmatic statesman whose primary goal was ensuring Japan's national security in a hostile world. His life was characterized by a deep and unwavering loyalty to the emperor and the nation, and his actions, however harsh, were consistently aimed at building a strong, independent Japan capable of standing among the great powers. In this, he was spectacularly successful. His life and career are inseparable from the story of Japan's phenomenal transformation into a modern state.[84]
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Personal life
Yamagata was a man of contrasts. In public, he was a stern, disciplined, and often ruthless military leader and politician. He disliked publicity and was not an able public speaker, preferring to exert his influence from behind the scenes.[85] In his private life, however, he was a man of refined tastes. He was a prolific writer of classical poetry, which he used to express his emotions, even in the heat of battle. He was also a master of landscape gardening, and his villas, including the Murinan in Kyoto and the Kokinan in Odawara, were famous for their beautifully designed gardens.[86]
In 1867, he married Yamagata Yūko. They had seven children, but only one daughter survived to adulthood. After his wife's death in 1893, he remained a widower. He adopted his nephew, Yamagata Isaburō, as his heir.[87]
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Awards
Japanese
Peerages in the Kazoku and other titles
Decorations
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2 November 1877
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, with Paulownia Blossoms, 5 August 1895
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 3 June 1902; Collar, 1 April 1906
- Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd Class, 5 August 1895; 1st Class, 1 April 1906
Order of precedence
- Fifth Rank, August 1870
- Fourth Rank, December 1872
- Third Rank, December 1884
- Second Rank, October 1886
- Senior Second Rank, 20 December 1895
- Junior First Rank, 1 February 1922 (posthumous)
Foreign
German Empire:
- Knight of the Royal Order of the Crown, 1st Class, 22 December 1886
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, 14 June 1899
Kingdom of Portugal: Grand Cross of the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 25 August 1887
Kingdom of Italy: Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, 30 October 1889
Austria-Hungary: Knight of the Order of the Iron Crown, 1st Class, 22 November 1890
France: Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, 7 May 1897
United Kingdom:
- Honorary Member of the Order of Merit, with Swords, 21 February 1906
- Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, 3 July 1918
Russian Empire: Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, 14 January 1916
References
Further reading
External links
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