Sennosuke Yokota

Japanese: 横田千之助 - よこた・せんのすけ

Year of death: February 5, 1925
Year of birth: 8/22/1870 (9/17/1870)
A political party politician of the Meiji and Taisho periods. Born to a large village headman in Ashikaga, Shimotsuke (Tochigi Prefecture), his family fell into poverty, but he set his sights on success and moved to Tokyo, where he studied hard and graduated from Tokyo Law School (Chuo University) while working as a clerk for Hoshi Toru, and became a lawyer. He saved up money while working as a lawyer, and in 1912 (Meiji 45), he ran for the House of Representatives as a member of the Rikken Seiyukai party and was elected. With his financial clout, agility, and the same bossy charm as his mentor Hoshi Toru, he expanded the Kanto faction of the Seiyukai party and became widely known in political circles. In 1918 (Taisho 7), he was appointed Director-General of the Legislative Bureau by Prime Minister Hara Takashi. He was acutely aware of the changes that followed World War I (1914-18), and compared the radical stance of the Liberal Party in the Meiji period with the response to the political changes in Europe symbolized by the rise of Mussolini, and advocated the protection of human rights and domestic reform. In the political world, he played a central role in splitting the Seiyukai party in 1913 and starting the second constitutional protection movement. He became the Minister of Justice in the three-party constitutional protection cabinet, but died the following year. <References> Tetsuo Endo (ed.), "The Strategy of the Great Master Yokota" Vol. 1; Hideto Ishida, "The Enlightened Young Man Yokota Sennosuke"; Takeyuki Araki, "The Theory of Yokota Sennosuke"

(Kitake Yoshiya)

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

Japanese:

没年：大正14.2.5(1925)
生年：明治3.8.22(1870.9.17)
明治大正期の政党政治家。下野(栃木県)足利の大庄屋の子に生まれたが家が零落,青雲の志を立て上京して苦学力行,星亨の書生をしながら東京法学院(中央大学)を卒業,弁護士となる。弁護士業のかたわら蓄財し,明治45(1912)年立憲政友会より衆院選に出馬し当選,その金力と敏捷な活動,師星亨のような親分肌的魅力によって政友会関東派を拡大し,政界に広くその名を売った。大正7(1918)年原敬首相の抜擢で法制局長官に就任。第1次大戦(1914～18)後の変化を敏感に感じとり,明治期自由党の急進的姿勢とムッソリーニの台頭に象徴される欧州の政治的変化への対応を重ね合わせ,人権擁護や国内改革などを主張。政界でも13年に政友会を分裂させ第2次護憲運動を開始するなど,中心的存在となった。護憲3派内閣では司法大臣となるが,翌年死去。<参考文献>遠藤哲男編『怪傑横田の論策』上,石田秀人『快男児横田千之助』,荒木武行『横田千之助論』

(季武嘉也)

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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