Gotō Shōjirō

nihongo|Gotō Shōjirō|後藤象二郎|extra=13 April 1838 - 4 August 1897 was a Japanese politician and leader of the nihongo|Freedom and People's Rights Movement|自由見民権運動|jiyū minken undō.

Early life

Gotō was born in Tosa Domain (present day Kochi Prefecture, Together with fellow Tosa "samurai" Sakamoto Ryoma, he was attracted by the radical pro-Imperial "Sonnō jōi" movement. After being promoted, he essentially seized power within the Tosa domain's politics and exerted influence on Tosa "daimyo" Yamauchi Toyoshige to call on "Shogun" Tokugawa Yoshinobu to return power peacefully to the Emperor.

Meiji statesman and liberal agitator

After the Meiji Restoration, Gotō was appointed to a number of posts, including that of Governor of Osaka, and "sangi" (councillor), but later from the Meiji government in 1873 over disagreement with the government's policy of restraint toward Korea "(Seikanron)" and, more generally, in opposition to the Chōshū-Satsuma domination of the new government. Jointly with Itagaki Taisuke, he submitted a memorandum calling for the establishment of a popularly-elected parliament. In 1874, together with Itagaki Taisuke, and Eto Shimpei and Soejima Taneomi of Hizen, he formed the "Aikoku Koto" (Public Party of Patriots), declaring, "We, the thirty millions of people in Japan are all equally endowed with certain definite rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring and possessing property, and obtaining a livelihood and pursuing happiness. These rights are by Nature bestowed upon all men, and, therefore, cannot be taken away by the power of any man." This anti-government stance appealed to the discontented remnants of the "samurai" class and the rural aristocracy (who resented centralized taxation) and peasants (who were discontented with high prices and low wages).

After the Osaka Conference of 1875, he returned briefly to the government, participating in the Genroin. He also managed a coal mine in Kyūshū (the Takashima Coal Mine), but finding it to be losing money, sold his interest to Iwasaki Yataro.

In 1881, he returned to politics, assisting Itagaki Taisuke found the Jiyūto (Liberal Party) which developed the "daido danketsu" (coalition) movement in 1887.

Meiji bureaucrat

In 1889, Gotō joined the Kuroda administration as Communications Minister, remaining in that post under the first Yamagata cabinet and first Matsukata cabinet. Under the new "kazoku" peerage system, he was elevated to "hakushaku" (count).In the second Ito cabinet he became Agriculture and Commerce minister. He was implicated in a scandal and forced to retire.

Further reading

* Beasley, W. G. "The Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850." St. Martin's Press, New York 1995.
*Hane, Mikiso. "Modern Japan: A Historical Sur"vey. Westview Press (2001). ISBN 0-8133-3756-9
*Hillsborough, Romulus. "Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps". Tuttle Publishing (2005). ISBN 0-8048-3627-2
* Jansen, Marius B. and Gilbert Rozman, eds. "Japan in Transition: From Tokugawa to Meiji." Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986.
*Totten, George O. (compiled by). "Democracy in Prewar Japan: Groundwork or Facade?". D.C. Heath and Company, Boston (1966).

External links

* [http://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/78.html?c=0 National Diet Library biography & photo]