Goto Shinpei

A politician from the Meiji and Taisho periods. Born on June 4, 1858, to a samurai family of the Mizusawa domain. After graduating from Sukagawa Medical School in Fukushima, he served as director of Aichi Prefectural Hospital before joining the Ministry of Home Affairs' Health Bureau in 1883 (Meiji 16). After two years studying in Germany, he became director of the Health Bureau in 1892, where he built the foundations of public health administration. During this time, he was involved in a property dispute involving the Soma family, and even spent time in prison. From 1898, he served as director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Taiwan Government Office for eight years under Governor-General Kodama Gentaro, where he demonstrated his skill in colonial management by suppressing rebellions by islanders, promoting various industries, and developing the railway. His achievements led to him being appointed the first president of the South Manchuria Railway Co., Ltd. in 1906 (Meiji 39). He was also appointed to the House of Peers by Imperial decree, and in 1908 he joined the second Katsura Taro cabinet as Minister of Communications and President of the Railway Bureau. In 1912 (Taisho 1), he also served as President of the Colonization Bureau in the third Katsura cabinet. In 1916, he served as Minister of the Interior and President of the Railway Bureau in the Terauchi Masatake cabinet. Later, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he promoted the Siberian Intervention. In 1920, he became Mayor of Tokyo, proposed a Tokyo City Reconstruction Plan worth 800 million yen, and in 1922, he founded the Tokyo Municipal Research Council. During the reconstruction after the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923), he worked hard to reconstruct the city, serving as Minister of the Interior and President of the Imperial Capital Reconstruction Board in the second Yamamoto Gonbei cabinet. In 1923, he also invited Soviet representative Ioffe to meet and sought to restore diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. He served as president of the Tokyo Broadcasting Station and leader of the Tokyo United Youth Corps, and led a political ethics movement. He became a count in 1928. He died on April 13, 1929, at the age of 73.

He walked the cutting edge of the Meiji state's development, leaving behind many achievements in sanitation administration, colonial management, and urban policy. These were attempts to direct the nation's interests through new methods. However, these attempts often clashed with the existing system, and his Tokyo City Renovation Plan was criticized as "big talk," and his 4 billion yen earthquake reconstruction plan was forced to be scaled back in all areas, including scale, cost, and planning body.

[Ryuichi Narita]

"Goto Shinpei" by Yusuke Tsurumi, 4 volumes (1937-1938, Goto Shinpei Biography Editorial Committee)" ▽ "Goto Shinpei: The True Story" by Yusuke Tsurumi and others, 8 volumes and 1 supplementary volume (2004-2007, Fujiwara Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治～大正時代の政治家。安政(あんせい)4年6月4日水沢藩士の家に生まれる。福島の須賀川(すかがわ)医学校を卒業後、愛知県病院長を経て1883年（明治16）に内務省衛生局に入る。2年間のドイツ留学ののち、1892年に衛生局長となり、公衆衛生行政の基礎を築いた。この間、相馬(そうま)家の財産騒動に巻き込まれ入獄も経験した。1898年より8年間、児玉源太郎総督のもとで台湾総督府民政局長を務め、島民の反乱を抑え、諸産業の振興や鉄道の育成を図るなど植民地経営に手腕を振るった。その実績を買われて1906年（明治39）には南満州鉄道株式会社初代総裁に就任した。また貴族院議員に勅選され、1908年第二次桂太郎(かつらたろう)内閣に入閣し逓信(ていしん)大臣兼鉄道院総裁、1912年（大正1）第三次桂内閣でさらに拓殖局総裁を兼ね、1916年寺内正毅(てらうちまさたけ)内閣では内務大臣、鉄道院総裁を務め、のちに外務大臣としてシベリア出兵を推し進めた。1920年に東京市長に就任、8億円の東京市改造計画を提案し、1922年には東京市政調査会を創立し、関東大震災（1923）後の復興にあたっては第二次山本権兵衛(やまもとごんべえ)内閣の内務大臣と帝都復興院総裁を兼任するなど都市改造に力を尽くした。また1923年にはソ連代表ヨッフェを招き会談、ソ連との国交回復を図った。東京放送局総裁、東京連合少年団団長を務め、政治倫理化運動を行い、1928年伯爵。昭和4年4月13日に73歳で没した。

　明治国家の発展とともにその最先端の領域を歩き、衛生行政、植民地経営、都市政策に多くの業績を残した。それは新たな方式による国家利益誘導の試みであった。しかしその試みはしばしば既存の体制と衝突し、東京市改造計画案は「大風呂敷(おおぶろしき)」と評され、40億円の震災復興計画は規模、費用、計画主体などすべての点で後退を迫られた。

［成田龍一］

『鶴見祐輔著『後藤新平』全4巻（1937～1938・後藤新平伯伝記編纂会）』▽『鶴見祐輔他著『正伝・後藤新平』全8巻・別巻1（2004～2007・藤原書店）』

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