Kuroda Kiyotaka

A politician of the Meiji period. Born on October 16, 1831, as the eldest son of Kiyoyuki, a samurai of the Satsuma clan. In 1863 (Bunkyu 3), he participated in the Anglo-Satsuma War. In the same year, he was ordered by the clan to enter the Egawa School in Edo to study artillery. In 1866, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance, and served as a staff officer in the Boshin War. He led the attack on Goryokaku in Hakodate. In 1869 (Meiji 2), he became Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, then Vice-Minister of War, and the following year in 1870, he was appointed Vice-Minister of Colonization in charge of Karafuto (Sakhalin). He recommended that Karafuto be abandoned and that the focus be on the development of Hokkaido, which was realized in 1875 as the Treaty of Exchange of Sakhalin for the Kuril Islands. In 1871, when the position of Commissioner for Colonization became vacant, he became Acting Commissioner, and in 1874, he was appointed Lieutenant General, Councillor, and Commissioner for Colonization. He invited American Capron and others to Japan, and promoted the introduction of Western-style farming methods, the establishment of government-run factories, the development of coal mines, and the construction of railways and roads. In 1874, he established the Tondenhei (garrison soldiers). In 1875, as Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, he handled the Ganghwa Island Incident, and the following year, in 1876, the Treaty of Amity between Japan and Korea was concluded. In 1877, during the Seinan War, he fought against Saigo Takamori's forces as a participant in the expeditionary force. In July 1881, the year before the end of the Hokkaido Development Agency's 10-year plan, he attempted to sell off the government property to his fellow countryman, Godai Tomoatsu, under extremely favorable terms, which drew strong public criticism (Hokkaido Development Agency's Sale of Government Property Incident). The sale was cancelled in the "Meiji 14th Year Coup" in October, and the Hokkaido Development Agency was abolished the following year in 1882, and he was replaced by a less important position as a cabinet adviser. In 1884, he was made a count. In 1885, there was a movement to appoint him as Minister of the Right, but this did not come to fruition due to opposition from the Emperor and others who were concerned about his bad drinking habits. In 1887, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the first Ito Hirobumi cabinet, and in 1888, he organized the cabinet. Under this cabinet, he carried out the ceremony for the promulgation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan. He expressed a transcendentalist stance, advancing policies without being restricted by the movements of political parties. However, as opposition to the 1889 treaty revision negotiations grew, he resigned and became a Privy Councillor when Foreign Minister Okuma Shigenobu was attacked. He was given the status of a Genro (elder statesman), and in 1892 he became Minister of Communications in the second Ito Cabinet, and in 1895 he became President of the Privy Council. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage on August 23, 1900. He was a central figure in the Satsuma faction after the death of Okubo Toshimichi, but was always at a disadvantage to the Choshu faction. In 1878, rumors spread that he had murdered his ill wife due to his alcoholism.

[Sumio Ohinata September 19, 2018]

"New edition of Kuroda Kiyotaka by Iguro Yataro (1987, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Biographies of Prime Ministers Series 2: Kuroda Kiyotaka, supervised by Mikuriya Takashi (2005, Yumani Shobo)" ▽ "At the End of the Rising Sun: The Battle of Warrior Kuroda Kiyotaka by Okuda Shizuo (2007, Hokkaido Publishing Planning Center)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治時代の政治家。天保(てんぽう)11年10月16日、薩摩(さつま)藩士清行の長男に生まれる。1863年（文久3）薩英戦争に参加。同年藩命により江戸の江川塾に入り砲術を学ぶ。1866年薩長連合の成立に尽力し、戊辰戦争(ぼしんせんそう)には参謀として従軍。箱館(はこだて)五稜郭(ごりょうかく)の攻撃を指揮した。1869年（明治2）外務権大丞(がいむごんのだいじょう)、ついで兵部大丞(ひょうぶだいじょう)となり、翌1870年樺太(からふと)（サハリン）専任の開拓次官に就任。樺太を放棄して北海道開拓に専念すべきを建議し、これは1875年樺太・千島交換条約として実現した。1871年開拓長官欠員につき長官代理となり、1874年陸軍中将兼参議、開拓長官に就任、アメリカ人ケプロンらを招いて、洋式農法の導入、官営工場の設置、炭鉱の開発、鉄道・道路の建設などを進めた。1874年には屯田兵(とんでんへい)を創設。1875年特命全権弁理大臣として江華島事件(こうかとうじけん)の処理にあたり、翌1876年日朝修好条規を締結。1877年西南戦争の際には征討参軍として、西郷隆盛(さいごうたかもり)軍と戦った。開拓使十年計画の満了を翌年に控えた1881年7月、その官有物を極端に有利な条件で同郷の五代友厚(ごだいともあつ)らに払い下げようとして激しい世論の批判を受け（開拓使官有物払下げ事件）、10月の「明治十四年の政変」によって払下げは中止、翌1882年開拓使は廃止されて、内閣顧問の閑職にかわった。1884年伯爵。1885年右大臣に登用の動きがおこったが、酒癖の悪さを問題とする天皇らの反対により実現しなかった。1887年第一次伊藤博文(いとうひろぶみ)内閣の農商務大臣に就任、ついで1888年内閣を組織した。同内閣のもとで大日本帝国憲法発布の式典を遂行。政党の動きに制約されず政策を推し進めるとの超然主義の立場を表明した。しかし、1889年条約改正交渉への反対運動が高まり、大隈重信(おおくましげのぶ)外相が襲撃されるに及んで辞職し、枢密顧問官となった。元老待遇を受け、1892年第二次伊藤内閣の逓信(ていしん)大臣、1895年枢密院議長に就任。明治33年8月23日脳出血のため死去した。大久保利通(おおくぼとしみち)没後の薩摩閥の中心人物であったが、長州閥に対しつねに劣勢であった。1878年には酒乱のため病妻を殺害したとの風評がたった。

［大日方純夫　2018年9月19日］

『井黒弥太郎著『黒田清隆』新装版（1987・吉川弘文館）』▽『御厨貴監修『歴代総理大臣伝記叢書2　黒田清隆』（2005・ゆまに書房）』▽『奥田静夫著『青雲の果て――武人黒田清隆の戦い』（2007・北海道出版企画センター）』

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