|
Marquess was a Japanese politician in the Empire of Japan and the 8th (June 30, 1898 – November 8, 1898) and 17th (April 16, 1914 – October 9, 1916) Prime Minister of Japan. Ōkuma was also an early advocate of Western science and culture in Japan, and founder of Waseda University. ==Early life== Ōkuma was born Hachitarō, the first son of an artillery officer, in Saga, Hizen Province (modern day Saga Prefecture) in 1838. During his early years, his education consisted mainly of the study of Confucian literature and derivative works such as ''Hagakure''. However, he left school in 1853 to move to a Dutch studies institution.〔Borton, p. 91.〕 The Dutch school was merged with the provincial school in 1861, and Ōkuma took up a lecturing position there shortly afterward. Ōkuma sympathized with the ''sonnō jōi'' movement, which aimed at expelling the Europeans who had started to arrive in Japan. However, he also advocated mediation between the rebels in Chōshū and the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo. During a trip to Nagasaki, Ōkuma met a Dutch missionary named Guido Verbeck, who taught him the English language and provided him with copies of the New Testament and the American Declaration of Independence.〔Brownas, heading "A Wider Window on the West"〕 These works are often said to have affected his political thinking profoundly, and encouraged him to support efforts to abolish the existing feudal system and work toward the establishment of a constitutional government. Ōkuma frequently traveled between Nagasaki and Kyoto in the following years and became active in the Meiji Restoration. In 1867, together with Soejima Taneomi, he planned to recommend resignation to the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu.〔 Leaving Saga Domain without permission, they went to Kyoto, where the Shogun then resided.〔Tokugawa, p. 161. Unlike all 14 previous Tokugawa Shoguns, Yoshinobu never set foot in Edo during his tenure.〕 However, Ōkuma and his companions were arrested and sent back to Saga. They were subsequently sentenced to one month imprisonment. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ōkuma Shigenobu」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|