Itō Hirobumi

was a Japanese statesman, Resident-General of Korea, four time Prime Minister of Japan (the 1st, 5th, 7th and 10th) and genrō. Itō was assassinated by An Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist who was against the Annexation of Korea by the Japanese Empire. Ironically, there is an argument that Itō's death resulted in the acceleration of the final stage of the colonization process.

Suematsu Kenchō was Itō’s son-in-law, having married his second daughter, Ikuko.

Early years

Itō was born as the adopted son of Hayashi Juzo, a lower class samurai from Hagi, Chōshū domain (present-day Yamaguchi prefecture). He was a student of Yoshida Shoin at the Shoka Sonjuku and later joined the Sonno joi movement (“to revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians”), together with Kido Takayoshi. Itō was chosen to be one of the Chōshū Five who studied at University College London in 1863, and the experience in Great Britain convinced him of the necessity of Japan adopting Western ways.

In 1864, Itō returned to Japan with fellow student Inoue Kaoru to attempt to warn the Chōshū clan against going to war with the foreign powers (the Bombardment of Shimonoseki) over the right of passage through the Straits of Shimonoseki. At that time, he met Ernest Satow for the first time, later a lifelong friend.

Political career

After the Meiji Restoration, Itō was appointed governor of Hyōgo Prefecture, junior councilor for Foreign Affairs, and sent to the United States in 1870 to study Western currency systems. Returning to Japan in 1871, he established Japan's taxation system. Later that year, he was sent on the Iwakura Mission around the world as vice-envoy extraordinary, during which he won the confidence of Okubo Toshimichi.

In 1873, Itō was made a full councilor, Minister of Public Works, and in 1875 chairman of the first Assembly of Prefectural Governors. After Okubo's assassination, he took over the post of Home Minister and secured a central position in the Meiji government. In 1881 he urged Okuma Shigenobu to resign, leaving himself in unchallenged control.

Itō went to Europe in 1882 to study the constitutions of those countries, spending nearly 18 months away from Japan. While working on a constitution for Japan, he also wrote the first Imperial Household Law and established the Japanese peerage system (kazoku) in 1884.

In 1885, he negotiated the Convention of Tianjin with Li Hongzhang, normalizing Japan's diplomatic relations with Qing Dynasty China.

As Prime Minister

Also in 1885, based on European ideas, Itō established a cabinet system of government, replacing the Daijō-kan as the decision-making state organization, and on December 22, 1885, he became the first prime minister of Japan.

On April 30, 1888, Itō resigned as prime minister, but headed the new Privy Council to maintain power behind-the-scenes. In 1889, he also became the first genro. The Meiji Constitution was promulgated in February 1889.

He remained a powerful force while Kuroda Kiyotaka and Yamagata Aritomo, his political nemesis, were prime ministers.

During Itō’s second term as prime minister (August 8, 1892 – August 31, 1896), he supported the First Sino-Japanese War and negotiated the Treaty of Shimonoseki in March 1895 with his ailing foreign minister Mutsu Munemitsu. In the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of 1894, he succeeded in removing some of the onerous unequal treaty clauses that had plagued Japanese foreign relations since the start of the Meiji period.

During Itō’s third term as prime minister (January 12, 1898 – June 30, 1899), he encountered problems with party politics. Both the Jiyuto and the Shimpoto opposed his proposed new land taxes, and in retaliation, Itō dissolved the Diet and called for new elections. As a result, both parties merged into the Kenseito, won a majority of the seats, and forced Itō to resign. This lesson taught Itō the need for a pro-government political party, so he organized the Rikken Seiyukai in 1900. Itō's womanizing was a popular theme in editorial cartoons and in parodies by contemporary comedians, and was used by his political enemies in their campaign against him.

Itō returned to office as prime minister for a fourth term from October 19, 1900, to May 10, 1901, this time facing political opposition from the House of Peers. Weary of political back-stabbing, he resigned in 1901, but remained as head of the Privy Council as the premiership alternated between Saionji Kimmochi and Katsura Taro. Itō received an honorary doctorate from Yale University around this time.

As Resident-General of Korea

In November 1905, following the Russo-Japanese War, the Korean government signed the Eulsa Treaty, making Korea a Japanese protectorate. After the Eulsa Treaty had been signed, Itō became the first Resident-General of Korea on December 21, 1905. He urged Gojong to abdicate in 1907 in favor of his son Emperor Sunjong and pushed through the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1907, giving Japan control over Korean internal affairs. However, Ito's position was nuanced. He was, firmly against Korea falling into the hand of China and Russia, which would cause grave threat to Japan's national security. However, he was actually against the annexation, instead advocating that Korea remain a protectorate. When cabinet eventually voted to annex Korea, he insisted and obtained a delay, hoping that the decision of annexation could be reversed in the future. His political nemesis, the politically influential Imperial Japanese Army, led by Yamagata Aritomo, whose main faction was advocating annexation forced Itō to resign on June 14, 1909. His assassination ironically tipped the power balance in Japan and resulted in Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910.

Assassination

Itō arrived at the Harbin train station on October 26, 1909 for a meeting with a Russian representative in Manchuria. When he arrived and proceeded to meet the Russian, An Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist, fired seven shots at him. Three of those shots hit Itō in the chest and he died shortly thereafter.

Itō and Emperor Gojong on March 1904; in which Itō proclaimed that if East Asia would be not cooperative together like brothers, all would be absorbed into Western countries. Gojong and the Joseon government believed Itō's claim, so agreed to help the Japanese military on the basis of this claim. However, Joseon people turned against that attitude because the Japanese people were considered to be too brutal and barbaric..

According to Sunjong Sillok, Gojong said on October 28, 1909 that Itō Hirobumi made great efforts to development of civilization. He was the cornerstone of East Asian peace. He also invoked Korea-Japan relations with his whole heart, taking a broad view of the world. He educated the crown prince well when he was the governor of Korea. However, it should be noted that Gojong sillok and Sujong sillok are regarded as "unreliable documents" by Korean academics, given that the two sillok are not designated as National Treasures of South Korea and UNESCO's World Heritage unlike other sillok due to Japanese influence exerted on them during their compulation and falsification..

Legacy

A portrait of Itō Hirobumi was on the 1,000 yen note of Japan from 1963 until a new series was issued in 1984. His former house is preserved as a museum near the Shoin Jinja, in Hagi city, Yamaguchi prefecture. However, the actual structure was Itō’s second home, formerly located in Shinagawa, Tokyo.

The publishing company Hakubunkan was named after Itō, based on an alternate pronunciation of his given name.