Itō Hirobumi

Itō Hirobumi was born in 1841 in the region now known as Yamaguchi Prefecture. He emerged from the movement associated with the restoration of imperial rule and became a leading figure in the Meiji government. As a vice envoy on the Iwakura Mission in 1871, and through later study in Europe, he examined institutions abroad that could inform Japan’s political reorganization. ¹

In 1885 Itō established the cabinet system and became Japan’s first prime minister. He helped direct the drafting of the Meiji Constitution with colleagues including Inoue Kowashi, Kaneko Kentarō, and Itō Miyoji. The constitution placed sovereignty in the emperor while providing for an Imperial Diet and defined legal institutions. Ministers advised the emperor and countersigned state acts; the arrangement did not make them responsible to a parliamentary majority. ^{1, 2, 3}

Itō served four times as prime minister and also chaired the Privy Council. These offices made him a central participant in the relationship between the throne, the cabinet, and representative institutions. His influence continued through his position among the elder statesmen who advised on major political questions. ¹

After Japan’s victory in the war with Qing China, Itō and Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu negotiated the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April 1895. China recognized Korea’s independence, ceded Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, and accepted a large indemnity. The settlement expanded Japan’s imperial position and removed Qing claims of suzerainty over Korea, without securing Korea against subsequent Japanese domination. ^{4, 5}

In 1905 Itō went to Korea as the Japanese emperor’s special envoy. Emperor Gojong opposed the proposed protectorate agreement, but Japanese pressure forced Korean ministers to accept it. Japan took control of Korea’s external relations, and Itō became its first resident general. The residency also intervened in domestic administration, while Koreans resisted the loss of sovereignty through diplomatic appeals and armed opposition. ^{5, 6}

An Jung-geun, a Korean independence activist, assassinated Itō at Harbin railway station on October 26, 1909. Japan formally annexed Korea the following year. Itō’s career thus joined the creation of constitutional institutions in Japan to the expansion of imperial authority beyond it. ^{1, 5}