Georges Hilaire Bousquet
Encyclopedia
Georges Hilaire Bousquet (March 3, 1845 – January 15, 1937) was a French
legal scholar who contributed to the development of the legal codes of the Empire of Japan
.
. He was a graduate of the University of Paris
and was working as a lawyer for the Court of Appeals in Paris when approached by Samejima Naonobu, a Japanese diplomat recruiting foreign advisors for the government of Meiji period
Japan onDecember 24, 1871. Bousquet sailed from the port of Marseilles on February 16, 1872. Aged only 26 at the time, Bousquet was assigned to work with fellow Frenchman Gustave Emile Boissonade
for four years. He assisted in translation of the Napoleonic Code
in the Japanese language
, and in drafting much of Japan's civil code
.
Bousquet also taught at the Meihoryo (Law School of the Ministry of Justice).
After his return to France, he resumed his legal career, rising to the post of Deputy Director of Criminal Justice in France, and was subsequently elected to the Council of State in July 1879. In January 1898, he became Director of the Customs Department under the French Ministry of Finance, and is noted for having reduced import taxes on Japanese sake into France. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun
(2nd class) in October of the same year.
Bousquet also wrote a book Le Japon de Nos Jours et les Echelles de l'Extreme Orient: Ouvrage Contenant Trois Cartes in 1877, describing his time in Japan. He died in Paris in 1937, and his grave is at the Montmartre Cemetery
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
legal scholar who contributed to the development of the legal codes of the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
.
Biography
Bousquet was born in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was a graduate of the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
and was working as a lawyer for the Court of Appeals in Paris when approached by Samejima Naonobu, a Japanese diplomat recruiting foreign advisors for the government of Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
Japan onDecember 24, 1871. Bousquet sailed from the port of Marseilles on February 16, 1872. Aged only 26 at the time, Bousquet was assigned to work with fellow Frenchman Gustave Emile Boissonade
Gustave Emile Boissonade
Gustave Emile Boissonade de Fontarabie was a French legal scholar, responsible for drafting much of Japan's civil code during the Meiji Era, and honored as one of the founders of modern Japan's legal system.-Biography:...
for four years. He assisted in translation of the Napoleonic Code
Napoleonic code
The Napoleonic Code — or Code Napoléon — is the French civil code, established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified...
in the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, and in drafting much of Japan's civil code
Civil code
A civil code is a systematic collection of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure...
.
Bousquet also taught at the Meihoryo (Law School of the Ministry of Justice).
After his return to France, he resumed his legal career, rising to the post of Deputy Director of Criminal Justice in France, and was subsequently elected to the Council of State in July 1879. In January 1898, he became Director of the Customs Department under the French Ministry of Finance, and is noted for having reduced import taxes on Japanese sake into France. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
(2nd class) in October of the same year.
Bousquet also wrote a book Le Japon de Nos Jours et les Echelles de l'Extreme Orient: Ouvrage Contenant Trois Cartes in 1877, describing his time in Japan. He died in Paris in 1937, and his grave is at the Montmartre Cemetery
Montmartre Cemetery
Montmartre Cemetery is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France.-History:Cemeteries had been banned from Paris since the shutting down of the Cimetière des Innocents in 1786, as they presented health hazards...
.