Mishima Michitsune

Japanese: 三島通庸 - みしま・みちつね

Year of death: October 23, 1888
Year of birth: Tenpo 6.6.1 (1835.6.26)
A Meiji-era bureaucrat. Also known as Hayashitaro, Yabei, and Chigi. Son of Mishima Michizumi and Hide, samurai of the Satsuma (Kagoshima) domain. For generations his family had served as the Noh drummers, and at the end of the Edo period his stipend was just under 50 koku. A radical Sonno Joi supporter, he was implicated in the Teradaya Uprising in 1862 and placed under house arrest. He later participated in the Choshu Expedition and the Boshin War. During this time he was involved in the reorganization of temples and the anti-Buddhist movement within the domain, and was also ordered to investigate the imperial tombs. After the Meiji Restoration, he served as the domain's treasurer and land steward of Miyakonojo. In 1871 he joined the Tokyo government, and as a deputy councilor he promoted the construction of the Ginza Brick Town. In 1872 he became head of the Ministry of Education, and promoted national education based on Shinto, bringing him into conflict with Kido Takayoshi, Shimaji Mokurai, and others. In December 1882, he was transferred to Sakata Prefecture, and thereafter served as prefecture governor in Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Fukushima, and Tochigi until November 1884, when he was transferred to the position of Director-General of the Civil Engineering Bureau of the Ministry of Home Affairs. During that time, he promoted large-scale civil engineering works such as the Kuriko Tunnel and the Aizu Three-Way Road, and worked to develop industry in the Tohoku region, earning him the nickname "Civil Engineering Prefectural Governor." His heavy-handed methods drew opposition from the local residents, and he was also called the "Demon Prefectural Governor." In particular, over the construction of roads in Aizu, he came into conflict with members of the Liberal Party and the prefectural assembly, which led to the Fukushima Incident (1882). In December 1883, he was appointed Superintendent-General of the Metropolitan Police, and when the Security Ordinance came into effect in December 1820, he expelled 570 civil rights movement activists from Tokyo. In July 1884, he also assumed the position of Vice-President of the Provisional Construction Bureau, and proposed moving the capital to Joshu. It was very much like him to dress up as Kojima Takanori, a Southern Court military commander who was loyal to Emperor Godaigo, at a costume party held at the Rokumeikan at that time. <References> Hirata Motoyoshi, "Mishima Tsuyoshi", Sato Kunio, "Mishima Tsuyoshi Biography", National Diet Library, "Mishima Tsuyoshi Related Documents", Sakatani Yoshinao, "Three Generations of Genealogy"

(Toshio Arai)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：明治21.10.23(1888)
生年：天保6.6.1(1835.6.26)
明治時代の官僚。林太郎,弥兵衛,千木とも。薩摩(鹿児島)藩士三島通純,秀の子。家は代々御能方鼓役を勤め,幕末の石高は50石弱。急進的な尊攘派で,文久2(1862)年寺田屋騒動に連座,謹慎。その後長州征討,戊辰戦争に参加した。その間,藩内の寺院整理や廃仏にかかわり,また山陵取り調べを命じられる。維新後は藩の会計奉行,都城地頭を務めた。明治4(1871)年東京府に出仕,権参事として銀座煉瓦街の建設を進めた。5年教部大丞となり,神道に基礎を置く国民教化を展開し,木戸孝允,島地黙雷らと対立した。7年12月酒田県令に転出,以後17年11月内務省土木局長に転じるまで,鶴岡,山形,福島,栃木の各県令を歴任。その間栗子隧道,会津三方道路などの大土木工事を推進し,東北地方の産業育成に努めて「土木県令」の異名をとった。その強引なやり方は住民の反発を招き,「鬼県令」とも称され,特に会津の道路建設では自由党員や県議会と対立して,福島事件(1882)の原因を作った。18年12月警視総監に就任,20年12月保安条例が施行されると民権運動の活動家570人を東京から追放した。19年7月臨時建築局副総裁を兼任,上州遷都を建議している。当時鹿鳴館で開催された仮装パーティーで後醍醐天皇に忠誠を尽くした南朝の武将児島高徳に扮したのは,いかにも彼らしい。<参考文献>平田元吉『三島通庸』,佐藤国男『三島通庸伝』,国立国会図書館編『三島通庸関係文書』,阪谷芳直『三代の系譜』

(新井登志雄)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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