Samurai Itō Hirobumi becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan after the Meiji Restoration

By Manini Manushi Gangal

Itō Hirobumi, Japan’s first prime minister, and the forefather of Japanese democracy, was a staunch monarchist. He was born into a farming family, but was later adopted by a low-ranking samurai family within the Chōshū Domain. However, despite his humble origins, Itō was a member of the Chōshū Five, a group that secretly travelled to England to study Western technology and governance. This experience exposed Itō to the industrial and military technologies which he later sought to replicate in Japan in his political career. The bombing of Chōshū by the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States of America and France in the Shimonoseki campaign in 1846 drove Itō’s desire to westernise his country and develop it into a global superpower, writing Japanese history as we know it today.

Japanese history is rife with tensions between conflicting samurai families, enhanced by the difficulties arising from the long and narrow geography of the country. In the Meiji period (1868-1912), power was restored to the emperor who governed Japan from Tokyo (re-named to mean ‘capital of the East’). Itō Hirobumi stood amongst the most powerful men in this government, advising the then-15-year-old emperor as a Meiji oligarch, and overseeing the development of Japan into a power to equal and rival the Western imperialists.

Before the Meiji period, however, myriad historical events brought the fates of Hirobumi and Japan together. Most notably, Japan was ‘opened’ to diplomatic relations with Western powers after the USA Naval corps sailed to and from the Tokugawa shogunate from 1852 to 1955 under the command of Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry. This expedition was launched to explore Japanese territory, establish diplomacy with Japanese governing bodies, and negotiate opening the country to trade, the latter being top priority for Western powers. The impetus behind the expeditions was catalysed by the illness of Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyoshi, as well as indecision within the shogunate as to how to respond to the USA’s unprecedented threat to Japan by the Perry Expedition’s arrival.

The end of Japan’s isolationist policies was acquired through Western demands resulting in ‘unequal treaties’, which imposed inequitable restrictions on Japan, such as disallowing Japanese tariffs on imports and mandating that Japan allow Western citizens to settle in the country. The political weakness of the shogunate during Japan’s opening was a cause of great anger to the southern domains of Chōshū and Satsuma, who formed an alliance. They rallied under the motto ‘sonnō jōi,’ meaning ‘revere the emperor, expel the barbarians.’ Itō Hirobumi joined this nationalist movement, establishing a taxation system modelled after the Western currency systems he studied in the United States. This won him the favour of Ōkubo Toshimichi, a leading figure in the Meiji government, greatly benefitting his political career. Itō took over the role of Home Minister after Ōkubo’s assassination in 1878. By 1881, Itō was the driving force for his prime ministerial predecessor’s resignation, allowing him to become the de facto leader of the Meiji government.

Itō spent 18 months in Europe studying Western constitutions to further his campaign of westernisation, and his desire to establish Japan’s reputation within the global consciousness. During this time, Itō wrote Japan’s first legislation governing the law of imperial succession – the Imperial Household Law – and established the Kazoku – solidifying hereditary peerage as modelled by the British system. The adoption of European economic models and legislative structures created a likeness between Japan and the Western powers to which Itō aspired, allowing his country to stand alongside them as he had hoped: with respect.

Itō Hirobumi’s legacy was forged alongside Japan’s entrance on the world stage and in this manner the fates of both the country and its first prime minister were intertwined. Itō Hirobumi worked towards the Japan he believed would be most prosperous. His ideals were swayed largely by the nationalism he adopted at an early age, and his rise to power was also heavily influenced by the tensions rife in Japan around the time of the Meiji Restoration. However his adaptation to shifting international relations meant that Japan not only kept up with Western powers, it developed its own imperialistic vision.  

From the USA’s intimidation through the Perry Expedition, to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, Itō Hirobumi’s legacy and work paved the way for both the victory and tragedy prevalent in Japanese international relations.

Edited by Isabel Armstrong