Kaneko Kentarō | |
|---|---|
金子 堅太郎 | |
 Kaneko Kentarō, photographed circa 1905 byMaruki Riyō | |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 19 October 1900 – 2 June 1901 | |
| Prime Minister | Itō Hirobumi |
| Preceded by | Kiyoura Keigo |
| Succeeded by | Kiyoura Keigo |
| Minister of Agriculture and Commerce | |
| In office 26 April 1898 – 30 June 1898 | |
| Prime Minister | Itō Hirobumi |
| Preceded by | Itō Miyoji |
| Succeeded by | Ōishi Masami |
| Member of thePrivy Council | |
| In office 9 January 1906 – 16 May 1942 | |
| Monarchs | Meiji Taishō Hirohito |
| Member of theHouse of Peers | |
| In office 18 April 1894 – 23 January 1906 Nominated by theEmperor | |
| In office 29 September 1890 – 17 November 1891 Nominated by theEmperor | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1853-02-04)4 February 1853 |
| Died | 16 May 1942(1942-05-16) (aged 89) |
| Party | Independent |
| Relatives | Dan Takuma (brother-in-law) |
| Education | Fukuoka Domain Shuyukan |
| Alma mater | Harvard University(LLB) |
| Nickname | Naotsugu (childhood name) |
CountKaneko Kentarō (金子 堅太郎; 4 February 1853 – 16 May 1942) was a statesman, diplomat, and legal scholar inMeiji periodJapan.
A graduate ofHarvard Law School, he drew on his connections in the American legal community over the course of his long career in Japanese government, particularly in his role helping to draft the newMeiji Constitution (Imperial Japanese Constitution).[1] During theRusso-Japanese War, he engaged in promotion activities in the United States and contributed to Japan's victory.
Kaneko was one of the most influential proponents of a Japanese-American alliance inImperial Japan. In his later years, he opposed and worked to avoid thePacific War, but his attempts failed.
He was the first person to translateEdmund Burke into Japanese and is considered the first Burkean conservative in Japan.
Kaneko was born into asamurai family ofFukuoka Domain (Chikuzen Province's Sawara district, present-dayChūō-ku, Fukuoka), being the son of Kaneko Naomichi (1821-1876), leader of the Ansei Expedition to the Philippines in 1855. At the age of 9, he began his studies at theShuyukanHan school.[2] At 19, he was selected as a student member of theIwakura Mission, and journeyed to the United States. He remained there while the rest of the mission continued on to Europe, with the instruction to obtain an education in any subject. At first, seeking a naval career, he planned to attend theUnited States Naval Academy inMaryland, but a doctor assessed his physical fortitude as insufficient and discouraged any military pursuit. Instead, Kaneko decided to seek a legal education, enrolling at Harvard University in 1876. He prepared for the challenging curriculum by seeking out the personal tutelage of future Supreme Court JusticeOliver Wendell Holmes Jr.[1] At Harvard, Kaneko shared lodgings with fellow Japanese student and future fellow-diplomatKomura Jutarō. He also developed a wide circle of contacts in America, including lawyers, scientists, journalists, and industrialists.
While at Harvard, Kaneko and Komura visited the home ofAlexander Graham Bell and spoke on an experimentaltelephone with a fellow Japanese student,Izawa Shunji. According to Bell, this was the first instance of any language besides English being spoken into the new invention.[3][4]
After graduating from Harvard in 1878, Kaneko returned to Japan as a lecturer at theUniversity of Tokyo.
In 1880, Kaneko was appointed as a secretary in theGenrōin, and in 1884 had joined the Office for Investigation of Institutions, the body organized by theGenrōin to study theconstitutions of various western nations with the aim of creating a western-style constitution for Japan. The Meiji Constitution that was the product of this was promulgated by the Emperor in 1889. Kaneko worked closely withItō Hirobumi,Inoue Kowashi andItō Miyoji, and became personal secretary to Itō Hirobumi when the latter became firstPrime Minister of Japan. Kaneko was appointed to theHouse of Peers of theDiet of Japan in 1890, becoming its first secretary. He was subsequently appointed as Vice Minister, then brieflyMinister of Agriculture and Commerce in 1898 in the third Itō administration. He was awarded anhonorary doctorate (LL.D.) by Harvard in 1899 for his work on theMeiji Constitution.
Perhaps influenced by his own experiences, Kaneko actively promoted the value and necessity of education. His childhood primary school, Shuyukan, having closed in 1871, Kaneko campaigned the Fukuoka regional government to reopen the school and raised funds in support. In 1885, it was reopened as an English vocational school, with all classes held in English.[2] In 1889, Kaneko became the first president of Nihon Law School (nowNihon University), a post he held until 1893.
In 1891, Kaneko was elected to the prestigiousInstitute of International Law, traveling to its general meeting in Geneva the next year as part of his campaigning to revise theunequal treaties Japan had signed during its forced "opening" in the late 1850s.[1]
In 1900, Kaneko was appointed asMinister of Justice under the fourth Itō administration and was madebaron (danshaku) in thekazoku peerage system in 1907.
In 1904, during theRusso-Japanese War, at the personal request of Itō Hirobumi, Kaneko returned to the United States as a special envoy from the Japanese government to enlist American diplomatic support in bringing the war to a speedy conclusion. Kaneko embarked on a public-relations blitz, publishing editorials in various periodicals and delivering speeches.[5] In April 1904, Kaneko addressed the Japan Club of Harvard University, delivering the tailored message that Japan was fighting to maintain the peace of Asia and to conserve the influence of Anglo-American civilization in the East.[6] While in the United States, Kaneko revived contacts withTheodore Roosevelt, with whom he had been contemporaneously at Harvard (though they did not meet until later, introduced byWilliam Sturgis Bigelow in 1889), and requested that Roosevelt help Japan mediate a peace treaty. When Kaneko met Roosevelt, the president asked for a book that would help explain the character of the Japanese people—what motivates them, their culture and spiritual education in Japan. Kaneko gave Roosevelt a copy of 'Bushido', and several months later, Roosevelt thanked Kaneko, remarking that it enlightened within him a deeper understanding of the Japanese culture and character. Thereafter, Roosevelt eagerly took on the task and presided over the subsequentTreaty of Portsmouth negotiations.
From 1906, Kaneko served as a member of thePrivy Council, and was elevated in title toviscount (shishaku) in 1907.
In his later years he was engaged in the compilation of a history of theImperial family and served as secretary general of the association for compiling historical materials about theMeiji Restoration. He completed an official biography ofEmperor Meiji in 1915. He was awarded the Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Rising Sun in 1928, and elevated tohakushaku (count) in 1930.
Kaneko was a strong proponent of good diplomatic relations with the United States all of his life. In 1900, he established the first American Friendship Society (米友協会,Beiyu Kyōkai).
According to the records of the America-Japan Society, Kaneko Kentaro founded that organization in Tokyo, in March 1917, and became its first president. In 1938, during a time of increasingly strident anti-American rhetoric from the Japanese government and press, he established the Japan-America Alliance Association (日米同志会,Nichibei Dōshikai), a political association calling for a "Japanese-American Alliance", together with future Prime MinisterTakeo Miki. He was one of the few senior statesmen in Japan to speak out strongly against war with the United States as late as 1941.
On his death in 1942, Kaneko was posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the SupremeOrder of the Chrysanthemum.
Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Rising Sun (April 1, 1906)
Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Paulownia Flowers (November 10, 1928)
Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Chrysanthemum (May 16, 1942; posthumous)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture & Commerce Apr 1898 – Jun 1898 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Justice Oct 1900 – Jun 1901 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
