Kōno Hironaka
Encyclopedia
was a politician and cabinet minister in the pre-war Empire of Japan
.
(modern-day Fukushima Prefecture
), where his father, Iwamura Hidetoshi, was a samurai
in the service of Miharu Domain
, who supplemented his 100 koku
income through trade in clothes, sake brewing and wholesale of marine products. Kōno was sent to Edo
for studies in Confucianism
and was drawn into the sonnō jōi
movement. During the Boshin War
, he fought against his family, whose Miharu Domain remained loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate
and which was a member of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei
. Following the Meiji restoration
, he served as an administrator in many locations in northern Japan for the new Meiji government, and became associated with Itagaki Taisuke
and the Freedom and People's Rights Movement
. With the Satsuma Rebellion
, Kōno resisted attempts to recruit him to the side of Saigō Takamori
, but instead joined Itagaki in forming the Aikokusha
movement, pushing for the creation of a national assembly
. He was one of the founding members of the Jiyūtō
political party
in 1881. He was leader of the Jiyūtō in Fukushima Prefecture
from 1882–1883, during the time of the Fukushima Incident
, when conservative forces within the government sought to curb the growing power of the Jiyūtō through illegal means.
Kōno won a seat in the Lower House
of the Diet of Japan
in the 1890 General Election
, and was subsequently reelected fourteen consecutive times to the same seat through the 1920 General Election
. In 1898, he became a member of the Kenseitō
. Over the course of his career, he migrated from the Rikken Seiyūkai
to the Rikken Kokumintō
to the Rikken Dōshikai
and finally to the Kenseikai
.
Kōno was briefly (for a six day period) Speaker of the Lower House in December 1903, causing an uproar for calling for the impeachment of Prime Minister Katsura Tarō
during his inaugural speech in front of Emperor Meiji
.
In 1909, he supported the Pan-Asian Movement
creating a group dedicated to the liberation of Asia from Western colonialism. From 1915-1916, Kōno was appointed Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce
under the Ōkuma Shigenobu
administration. Kōno died in 1923 at age74 and his grave is located at the temple of Gokoku-ji
in Bunkyo, Tokyo
.
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
Kōno was a native of Mutsu ProvinceMutsu Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...
(modern-day Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
), where his father, Iwamura Hidetoshi, was a samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
in the service of Miharu Domain
Miharu Domain
Miharu han was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Mutsu Province. It was ruled by three different families over the course of its history: the Katō , the Matsushita , and for the remainder of the Edo period by the Akita...
, who supplemented his 100 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
income through trade in clothes, sake brewing and wholesale of marine products. Kōno was sent to Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
for studies in Confucianism
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
and was drawn into the sonnō jōi
Sonno joi
is a Japanese political philosophy and a social movement derived from Neo-Confucianism; it became a political slogan in the 1850s and 1860s in the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, during the Bakumatsu period.-Origin:...
movement. During the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
, he fought against his family, whose Miharu Domain remained loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
and which was a member of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei
Ouetsu Reppan Domei
-External links:**...
. Following the Meiji restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, he served as an administrator in many locations in northern Japan for the new Meiji government, and became associated with Itagaki Taisuke
Itagaki Taisuke
Count was a Japanese politician and leader of the , which evolved into Japan's first political party.- Early life :Itagaki Taisuke was born into a middle-ranking samurai family in Tosa Domain, , After studies in Kōchi and in Edo, he was appointed as sobayonin to Tosa daimyo Yamauchi Toyoshige,...
and the Freedom and People's Rights Movement
Freedom and People's Rights Movement
The was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy in 1880s....
. With the Satsuma Rebellion
Satsuma Rebellion
The was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government.-Background:...
, Kōno resisted attempts to recruit him to the side of Saigō Takamori
Saigo Takamori
was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He has been dubbed the last true samurai.-Early life:...
, but instead joined Itagaki in forming the Aikokusha
Aikokusha
The ' was a political party in Meiji period Japan.The Aikokusha was formed in February 1875 by Itagaki Taisuke, as part a liberal political federation to associate his Risshisha with the Freedom and People's Rights Movement...
movement, pushing for the creation of a national assembly
National Assembly
National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
. He was one of the founding members of the Jiyūtō
Liberal Party of Japan (1881)
The is the name of several liberal political parties in the history of Japan, two of which existed in the Empire of Japan prior to 1945.-Liberal Party of 1881:...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in 1881. He was leader of the Jiyūtō in Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
from 1882–1883, during the time of the Fukushima Incident
Fukushima Incident
The Fukushima Incident was a political tumult which took place in Fukushima Prefecture in 1882.The incident started with the appointment of Mishima Michitsune as governor...
, when conservative forces within the government sought to curb the growing power of the Jiyūtō through illegal means.
Kōno won a seat in the Lower House
House of Representatives of Japan
The is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,...
of the Diet of Japan
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
in the 1890 General Election
Japanese general election, 1890
was the Empire of Japan’s first general election for members of the House of Representatives of the Diet of Japan. It was the first example of a popularly elected national assembly in Asia -History and background:...
, and was subsequently reelected fourteen consecutive times to the same seat through the 1920 General Election
Japanese general election, 1920
The was the Empire of Japan’s fourteenth general election for members of the House of Representatives of the Diet of Japan, held on May 10, 1920. The Rikken Seiyūkai, led by Prime Minister Hara Takashi expanded on its majority of seats in the Diet.-Results:...
. In 1898, he became a member of the Kenseitō
Kenseito
The was a political party in the Meiji period Empire of Japan.The Kenseitō was founded in June 1898, as a merger of the Shimpotō headed by Ōkuma Shigenobu and the Jiyūtō led by Itagaki Taisuke, with Ōkuma as party president. The merger gave the new party an overwhelming majority in the Lower House...
. Over the course of his career, he migrated from the Rikken Seiyūkai
Rikken Seiyukai
The was one of the main political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the ‘Seiyūkai'Founded on September 15, 1900 by Itō Hirobumi , the Seiyūkai was a pro-government alliance of bureaucrats and former members of the Kenseitō. The Seiyūkai was the most powerful...
to the Rikken Kokumintō
Rikken Kokuminto
The was a minor political party in the Empire of Japan. It was also known as simply the 'Kokumintō’.The Kokumintō was founded in March 1910, by a merger of the Kensei Hontō with a number of minor political parties and groups within the Lower House of the Japanese Diet, and was dominated by Inukai...
to the Rikken Dōshikai
Rikken Doshikai
The was a political party active in the Empire of Japan in the early years of the 20th century. It was also known as simply the Dōshikai.Founded by Prime Minister Katsura Tarō on February 7, 1913, the Rikken Dōshikai largely served to support his cabinet against criticism by the Rikken Seiyūkai...
and finally to the Kenseikai
Kenseikai
The was a short-lived political party in the pre-war Empire of Japan.The Kenseikai was founded on 10 October 1916, as a merger of the Rikken Doshikai , Chuseikai and the Koyu Kurabu...
.
Kōno was briefly (for a six day period) Speaker of the Lower House in December 1903, causing an uproar for calling for the impeachment of Prime Minister Katsura Tarō
Katsura Taro
Prince , was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, politician and three-time Prime Minister of Japan.-Early life:Katsura was born into a samurai family from Hagi, Chōshū Domain...
during his inaugural speech in front of Emperor Meiji
Emperor Meiji
The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...
.
In 1909, he supported the Pan-Asian Movement
Pan-Asianism
Pan-Asianism is an ideology or a movement that Asian nations unite and solidify and create a continental identity to defeat the designs of the Western nations to perpetuate hegemony.-Japanese Asianism:...
creating a group dedicated to the liberation of Asia from Western colonialism. From 1915-1916, Kōno was appointed Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce
Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce
The was a cabinet-level ministry in the government of the Empire of Japan from 1881-1925. It was briefly recreated as the during World War II-History:...
under the Ōkuma Shigenobu
Okuma Shigenobu
Marquis ; was a statesman in the Empire of Japan and the 8th and 17th Prime Minister of Japan...
administration. Kōno died in 1923 at age74 and his grave is located at the temple of Gokoku-ji
Gokoku-ji
is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Tokyo's Bunkyō.-History:This Buddhist temple was established by the fifth shogun Tokugawa, Tsunayoshi, who dedicated it to his mother...
in Bunkyo, Tokyo
Bunkyo, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived there...
.