View source for Inoue Kaoru

{{Short description|Japanese politician (1836–1915)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific_prefix  = [[Junior First Rank]]<br />[[Kazoku|Marquess]]
|honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|GCMG|size=100%}}
|name              = Inoue Kaoru 
|native_name       = {{Nobold|井上 馨}}
|native_name_lang  = ja
|image             = Inoue Kaoru.jpg
|caption           = Marquis Inoue Kaoru
|office            = [[Minister of Finance (Japan)|Minister of Finance]]
|primeminister     = [[Itō Hirobumi]]
|term_start        = 12 January 1898
|term_end          = 30 June 1898
|predecessor       = [[Matsukata Masayoshi]] 
|successor         = [[Matsuda Masahisa]]
|office1           = [[Home Ministry (Japan)|Minister of Home Affairs]]
|primeminister1    = Itō Hirobumi
|term_start1       = 8 August 1892
|term_end1         = 15 October 1894
|predecessor1      = [[Kōno Togama]] 
|successor1        = [[Nomura Yasushi]]
|office2           = [[Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce|Minister of Agriculture and Commerce]]
|primeminister2    = [[Kuroda Kiyotaka]]
|term_start2       = 25 July 1888
|term_end2         = 23 December 1889
|predecessor2      = Kuroda Kiyotaka
|successor2        = [[Iwamura Michitoshi]]
|office3           = [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]]
|primeminister3    = Itō Hirobumi
|term_start3       = 22 December 1885
|term_end3         = 17 September 1887
|predecessor3      = ''Office established''
|successor3        = Itō Hirobumi
|office4           = Member of the [[House of Peers (Japan)|House of Peers]]
|term_start4       = 21 September 1907
|term_end4         = 1 September 1915 {{hanging indent|[[Kazoku|Hereditary peerage]]}}
|birth_date        = {{birth date|1836|01|16|df=y}} 
|birth_place       = Yuda, [[Chōshū Domain]], [[Tokugawa Shogunate|Japan]]
|death_date        = {{death date and age|1915|09|01|1836|01|16|df=y}} 
|death_place       = [[Shizuoka, Shizuoka|Shizuoka]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]
|nickname          = {{Nihongo|Shiji Bunta|志道 聞多}}
|relatives         = [[Katsunosuke Inoue]] (adopted nephew)
}}
{{family name hatnote|Inoue|lang=Japanese}} '''[[Kazoku|Marquess]] Inoue Kaoru''' {{postnominals|GCMG}} (井上 馨, January 16, 1836 – September 1, 1915) was a [[Japanese people|Japanese]] [[politician]] and a prominent member of the [[Meiji oligarchy]] during the [[Meiji period]] of the [[Empire of Japan]]. As one of the senior statesmen (''[[Genrō]]'') in Japan during that period, he had a tremendous influence on the selection of the nation's leaders and formation of its policies.

==Early life and education==
[[Image:Choshu-Kaoru Inoue.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Inoue Kaoru as a young samurai.]]
Born Yakichi (勇吉) to a lower-ranked ''samurai'' family in Yuda, [[Chōshū Domain|Chōshū domain]] (present day [[Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi|Yamaguchi]], [[Yamaguchi Prefecture]]), Inoue attended the ''[[Meirinkan]]'' [[Han school|domain school]] with his brother Ikutarō (幾太郎). He was a close boyhood friend of [[Itō Hirobumi]] who later became Japan's first [[Prime Minister of Japan|prime minister]], and he played an active part in the ''[[sonnō jōi]]'' movement. In 1858, he studied ''[[rangaku]]'', [[artillery]] and [[swordsmanship]] in [[Edo]].

In the [[Bakumatsu period]], Inoue emerged as a leader of the anti-foreigner movement in his native Chōshū. Desiring to rid Japan of foreigners, he and [[Takasugi Shinsaku]] set fire to the British legation in Edo in January 1863.

Recognizing Japan's need to learn from the Western powers, Inoue joined the [[Chōshū Five]] and was smuggled out of Japan to study at [[University College, London]]<ref>{{in lang|ja}} [https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/erp/we/gb/page24_000264.html Prime Minister Shinzō Abe visited UCL and the monument of Chōshū Five therein | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]</ref><ref>[https://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/embassy/ambassador/1405.html PM Abe visits the monument to commemorating the ‘Choshu Five’ | Prime Minister Abe’s visit boosts Japan-UK relations]</ref> in [[England]] in 1863. When he returned with Itō Hirobumi, he unsuccessfully tried to prevent war (the [[Battle of Shimonoseki]]) between Chōshū and the Western naval powers over the closing of the [[Straits of Shimonoseki]] to foreign shipping. 

Later, during the 1864 [[First Chōshū expedition|First Chōshū Expedition]] which he was severely wounded by assassins from a rival Chōshū faction. Suffering a near-fatal injury, Inoue asked his elder brother to behead him and end his unbearable pain. However, [[Tokoro Ikutarō|Ikutaro Tokoro]], who was in hiding from the Tokugawa shogunate alongside [[Sanjō Sanetomi|Prince Sanjō Sanetomi]], rushed to Inoue's aid. In an emergency procedure during the wartime chaos, Tokoro stitched Inoue's wounds—about 50 in total—using a tatami needle and without anesthesia. (According to a story featured in the National Japanese textbook of the 5th period, Inoue's mother, holding her bloodied son, dissuaded his elder brother from carrying out the beheading.)<ref>[https://www.sankei.com/smp/west/news/150503/wst1505030013-s.html Tokoro Ikutaro, masterless samurai who became staff officer of Takasugi Shinsaku and saved the life of Inoue Kaoru : Sankei News]</ref> 

He later played a key role in the formation of the [[Satchō Alliance]] against the Tokugawa shogunate.

==Statesman in the Meiji government==
[[File:Inoue Kaoru as Foreign Minister.jpg|thumb|Inoue Kaoru as Foreign Minister]]
After the [[Meiji Restoration]], Inoue served in several important positions in the new [[Meiji government]]. He was appointed [[Ministry of Finance (Japan)|Vice Minister of Finance]] in 1871 and was influential in reorganizing government finances on modern lines, especially in the [[Land Tax Reform (Japan 1873)|reform of the land tax system]], termination of government stipends to the ex-''samurai'' and former aristocracy and for promoting industrialization. Closely linked to business circles, including the emerging [[Mitsui]] ''[[zaibatsu]]'', he was also involved in the railway business. These measures created many political enemies, and Inoue was forced to resign in May 1873. Inoue took part in the [[Osaka Conference of 1875]] to support the creation of a representative [[Government of Meiji Japan#Establishment of a national assembly|national assembly]].

In 1876, Inoue was asked to assist in the field of foreign affairs, and was involved in the conclusion of the [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876|Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876]] as vice-ambassador extraordinary and [[plenipotentiary]]. He returned to government as [[Ministry of Public Works (Japan)|Minister of Public Works]] in 1878 and Lord of Foreign Affairs in 1879 under the early Meiji ''[[Dajō-kan]]'' Cabinet. In 1884, he was elevated to the rank of [[count]] (''hakushaku'') under the new ''[[kazoku]]'' peerage system.

In December 1885, Inoue officially became Japan's first [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] bearing that title in the first [[Itō Hirobumi]] cabinet. However, Inoue came under public criticism for his failure to negotiate a revision of the [[unequal treaties]], his building of the [[Rokumeikan]], and support of its Westernizing influences, which forced him to resign in August 1887.

Later he served as [[Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce|Minister of Agriculture and Commerce]] in the [[Kuroda Kiyotaka|Kuroda]] administration, as [[Home Ministry (Japan)|Home Minister]] in the second Itō administration and again as Finance Minister in the 3rd Itō administration.

From 1901 onwards, Inoue served as most senior of the ''[[genrō]]'', and considered himself the government's foremost advisor on financial affairs. He was advanced to the title of marquis (''kōshaku'') in 1907, and died in 1915 at his summer home at [[Okitsu-juku]], [[Shizuoka prefecture]].

==Honours==
''From the article in the Japanese Wikipedia''

===Japanese===
====Peerages and other titles====
*[[Count]] (July 7, 1884)
*''[[Genrō]]'' (February 18, 1904)
*[[Marquess]] (September 21, 1907)

====Decorations====
*Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Rising Sun]] (February 10, 1879)
*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (October 7, 1895)
*[[Order of the Chrysanthemum#Ordinary awards of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum|Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum]] (April 1, 1906)
*[[Order of the Chrysanthemum#Ordinary awards of the Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum|Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum]] (September 1, 1915; posthumous)

===Foreign===
*{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}: Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Crown of Italy|Order of the Crown]] (December 2, 1879)
*{{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}: Grand Officer of the [[Legion of Honour]] (March 26, 1883)
*{{flag|German Empire}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Red Eagle]] (May 25, 1883)
* {{flagcountry|Restoration (Spain)}}: [[Order of Charles III]], 3rd Class (March 1, 1884)
*{{flag|Kingdom of Portugal}}: Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa]] (May 7, 1884)
*{{flag|Russian Empire}}: [[Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire)|Knight of the White Eagle]] (March 8, 1885)
*{{flag|Austria-Hungary}}: [[Order of the Iron Crown (Austria)|Knight of the Iron Crown]], 1st Class (November 10, 1892)
*{{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of St. Michael and St. George]] (GCMG) (February 20, 1906)<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/27913/pages/3324 London Gazette, 15 May 1906]</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Ambassadors from Japan to South Korea]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Akamatsu, Paul. (1972). ''Meiji 1868: Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Japan'' (trans., [[Miriam Kochan]]). New York: Harper & Row.
* [[William G. Beasley|Beasley, William G.]] (1972). ''The Meiji Restoration.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press.
* __________. (1995). ''The Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850.'' New York: St. Martin's Press.
*Cobbing, Andrew (2010). “Inoue Kaoru (1836–1915): A Controversial Meiji Statesman”. in ''Biographical Portraits''. Leiden: BRILL.
* [[Albert M. Craig|Craig, Albert M.]] (1961). ''Chōshū in the Meiji Restoration.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
* [[Marius Jansen|Jansen, Marius B.]] and [[Gilbert Rozman]], eds. (1986). ''Japan in Transition: from Tokugawa to Meiji.'' Princeton: [[Princeton University Press]]. {{ISBN|9780691054599}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/12311985  OCLC 12311985]

==External links==
* {{commons-inline}}
* [http://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/18.html?c=3 National Diet Library bio]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Inouye, Kaoru, Marquess|short=x}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box | before= none | title=[[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]] of [[Japan]] | years=Dec 1885 – Sept 1887 | after=[[Itō Hirobumi]]}}
{{succession box | before=[[Kuroda Kiyotaka]] | title=[[Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce|Minister of Agriculture and Commerce]] | years= Jul 1888 – Dec 1889 | after=[[Iwamura Michitoshi]]}}
{{succession box | before=[[Kōno Togama]] | title=[[Home Ministry (Japan)|Home Minister]] | years= Aug 1892 – Oct 1894 | after=[[Nomura Yasushi]]}}
{{succession box | before=[[Matsukata Masayoshi]] | title=[[Ministry of Finance (Japan)|Finance Minister]]| years= Jan 1898 – Jun 1898| after=[[Matsuda Masahisa]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Japanese foreign ministers}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue, Kaoru}}
[[Category:1836 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yamaguchi (city)]]
[[Category:People from Chōshū Domain]]
[[Category:Kazoku]]
[[Category:Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Peers (Japan)]]
[[Category:Ministers of finance of Japan]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Japan]]
[[Category:Ministers for foreign affairs of Japan]]
[[Category:Ministers of home affairs of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese art collectors]]
[[Category:People of the Meiji Restoration]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College London]]
[[Category:Samurai]]
[[Category:Mōri retainers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers]]
[[Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun]]
[[Category:Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)]]
[[Category:Inoue Kaoru family|Kaoru]]