Australia and the World Past and Present

Itō Hirobumi is well-known figure in Japanese history.

He was the first Prime Minister of Japan (1885-1888). In fact, he was Prime Minister 4 times including 1892-1896, 1898, and 1900-1901.

He was an elder statesman of the Meiji era, a genrou (元老).

Itō came from a poor family from Chōshū Domain, in the far southwest of Japan.

Between 1870 and 1873, Itō traveled to Europe as part of a Japanese delegation to study Western political systems. He visited Great Britain where studied parliamentary government. He went to France where he examined their constitutional and legal system. He travelled to Germany / Prussia where he particularly admired the Prussian constitutional monarchy. He also visited Belgium and the Netherlands. These trips informed his role in drafting the Meiji Constitution and shaping modern Japanese institutions. The Meiji Constitution was based on the Prussian model, with strong power reserved for the Emperor.

Back in Japan, he rose to become Minister of Public Works.

In 1885 he introduced the Ministry Heads System.

He founded the Rikken Seiyuukai or “Friends of Constitutional Government.”

He oversaw the First Sino-Japanese War which, among other things, resulted in the annexation of Taiwan.

He became the first Resident-General of Korea, beginning in 1906. This was perhaps his most controversial role.

At the time, the term “Chōsen” (朝鮮) was used when referring to Korea. In early Japanese documents (16th–19th centuries), Chōsen was simply the Japanese reading of Joseon, the Korean kingdom. When Korea was under Japanese colonial rule, “Chōsen” became the official name for the colony. Japanese authorities often used it in ways that asserted Japanese dominance, framing Korea as subordinate.

Initially, Itō was in favour of making Korea a protectorate.

He sought the rapid modernisation of Korea. He sought indirect or “self-rule”.

He was keen to reform the Korean education system. Previously, education had been dominated by Confucian ideas. Itō wanted to change this towards a education system based on Western models.

Japanese authority became more and more embedded. Japanese vice-ministers were introduced in 1907. In the same year the Korean army was disbanded.

Eventually, he allowed full annexation.

He resigned his post in 1909 and was assassinated only four months later.

Itō was a major figure of the Meiji era. He had introduced the cabinet system to Japan. He had been a leading figure in the Diet (in the House of Peers). He was not elected – his position was by imperial appointment. He was also a member of the Privy Council. He had been present at the beginning of party politics. He set up the third major political party of the Meiji Era. It quickly became the most powerful. The party was conservative, pro-government, and close to the bureaucracy and oligarchic leaders (genrō). It became the dominant party in pre-war Japanese politics until the 1930s. Before founding Seiyūkai, Itō was more of a bureaucratic statesman and did not belong to mass parties like Jiyūtō or Kaishintō. He was very much a proponent of Constitutionalism and of a military subservient to civilian authority.

His role in Korea is controversial. He did much to build Japan’s strength and helped to lay the foundations of modern Japan. He had a key role in establishing many of the key institutions there. He sought to increase Japan’s power and influence. On the Peninsula, the rise of Japanese power often came at the expense of Koreans.