Terauchi Masatake | |
|---|---|
寺内 正毅 | |
 | |
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 9 October 1916 – 29 September 1918 | |
| Monarch | Taishō |
| Preceded by | Ōkuma Shigenobu |
| Succeeded by | Hara Takashi |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 9 October – 16 December 1916 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Taketomi Tokitoshi |
| Succeeded by | Kazue Shōda |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
Acting | |
| In office 9 October – 21 November 1916 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Ishii Kikujirō |
| Succeeded by | Motono Ichirō |
| In office 14 July – 27 August 1908 | |
| Prime Minister | Katsura Tarō |
| Preceded by | Hayashi Tadasu |
| Succeeded by | Komura Jutarō |
| Governor-General of Korea | |
| In office 1 October 1910 – 9 October 1916 | |
| Monarchs | Meiji Taishō |
| Preceded by | Himself (asResident-General) |
| Succeeded by | Hasegawa Yoshimichi |
| Resident-General of Korea | |
| In office 30 May – 1 October 1910 | |
| Monarch | Meiji |
| Preceded by | Sone Arasuke |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as Governor-General) |
| Minister of the Army | |
| In office 27 March 1902 – 30 August 1911 | |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Kodama Gentarō |
| Succeeded by | Ishimoto Shinroku |
| Inspector-General of Military Training | |
| In office 14 January 1904 – 9 May 1905 | |
| Monarch | Meiji |
| Preceded by | Nozu Michitsura |
| Succeeded by | Nishi Kanjirō |
| In office 22 January 1898 – 25 April 1900 | |
| Monarch | Meiji |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Nozu Michitsura |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1852-02-05)5 February 1852 Yamaguchi, Chōshū Domain, Japan |
| Died | 3 November 1919(1919-11-03) (aged 67) Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Terauchi Tani (died 1890)Terauchi Taki (after 1890) |
| Children | Hisaichi Terauchi |
| Relatives | Hideo Kodama (son-in-law) |
| Awards | Order of the Rising Sun Order of the Golden Kite Order of the Bath |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Branch/service | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1871–1910 |
| Rank | Field Marshal (Gensui) |
| Battles/wars | Boshin War Satsuma Rebellion First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War |
Terauchi Masatake (Japanese:寺内 正毅),GCB (5 February 1852 – 3 November 1919), was a Japanese military officer and politician.[1] He was aGensui (orMarshal) in theImperial Japanese Army and theprime minister of Japan from 1916 to 1918.
Terauchi Masatake was born in Hirai Village,Suo Province (present-dayYamaguchi city,Yamaguchi Prefecture), and was the third son of Utada Masasuke, asamurai in the service ofChōshū Domain. He was later adopted by a relative on his mother's side of the family, Terauchi Kanuemon, and changed his family name to "Terauchi".
As a youth, he was a member of theKiheitai militia from 1864, and fought in theBoshin War against theTokugawa shogunate from 1867, most notably at theBattle of Hakodate. After the victory at Hakodate, he travelled toKyoto, where he joined theMinistry of War and was drilled by French instructors in Western weaponry and tactics. He became a member ofEmperor Meiji's personal guard in 1870 and travelled with the Emperor toTokyo. He left military service in 1871 to pursue language studies, but was recalled with the formation the fledglingImperial Japanese Army in 1871 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant after attending the Army's Toyama School. He was appointed to the staff of the newImperial Japanese Army Academy in 1873. He fought in theSatsuma Rebellion in 1877 and was injured and lost his right hand during theBattle of Tabaruzaka. Hisphysical disability did not prove to be an impediment to his future military and political career.
In 1882, he was sent to France asaide-de-camp toPrince Kan'in Kotohito and was appointed amilitary attaché the following year. He remained in France for studies until 1886. On his return to Japan, he was appointed deputy secretary to the Minister of the Army. In 1887, he became commandant of the Army Academy. In 1891, he was chief of staff to theIJA 1st Division and in 1892 was Chief of the First Bureau (Operations) of theImperial Japanese Army General Staff.
With the start of theFirst Sino-Japanese War in 1894, Terauchi was appointed Secretary of Transportation and Communication for theImperial General Headquarters, which made him responsible for all movement of troops and supplies during the war. In 1896, he was assigned command of the IJA 3rd Infantry Brigade. In 1898, he was promoted to become the firstInspector General of Military Training, which he made one of the three highest positions in the army. In 1900, he became Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, and went to China to personally oversee Japanese force during theBoxer Rebellion
Terauchi was appointed asMinister of the Army in 1901, during the firstKatsura administration. TheRusso-Japanese War (1904–1905) occurred during his term in office. After the Japanese victory in the war, he was ennobled with the title ofdanshaku (baron) in thekazoku peerage. He was also made a chairman of theSouth Manchurian Railway Company in 1906.In 1907, in recognition of the four wars he had served in, his peerage title was elevated to that ofshishaku (viscount),
He continued in office as Army Minister under the firstSaionji administration and the second Katsura administration from July 1908 to August 1911.
Following the assassination of formerPrime MinisterItō Hirobumi inHarbin by a Korean nationalist,An Jung-geun in October 1909, Terauchi was appointed to replaceSone Arasuke as the third and lastJapanese Resident-General of Korea in May 1910. As Resident-General, he executed theJapan–Korea Annexation Treaty in August of the same year, and he thus became the first JapaneseGovernor-General of Korea. In this position, he reported directly to the Emperor and asproconsul had wide-ranging powers ranging from legislative, administrative, and judicial to effect changes and reforms. The annexation of Korea by Japan and subsequent policies introduced by the new government was highly unpopular with the majority of the Korean population, and Terauchi (who concurrently maintained his position as Army Minister) employed military force to maintain control. However, he preferred to use the deep historical and cultural ties between Korea and Japan as justification for the eventual goal of complete assimilation of Korea into the Japanese mainstream. To this end, thousands of schools were built across Korea. Although this contributed greatly to an increase in literacy and the educational standard, the curriculum was centered onJapanese language andJapanese history, with the intent of assimilation of the populace into loyal subjects of theEmpire of Japan.
Other of Terauchi's policies also had noble goals butunforeseen consequences. For example,land reform was desperately needed in Korea. The Korean land ownership system was a complex system of absentee landlords, partial owner-tenants, and cultivators with traditional but without legal proof of ownership. Terauchi's new Land Survey Bureau conductedcadastral surveys that reestablished ownership by basis of written proof (deeds, titles, and similar documents). Ownership was denied to those who could not provide such written documentation (mostly lower class and partial owners, who had only traditional verbal "cultivator rights"). Although the plan succeeded in reforming land ownership/taxation structures, it added tremendously to Korean hostility, bitterness, and resentment towards Japanese administration by enabling a huge amount of Korean land (roughly 2/3 of all privately owned lands by some estimates) to be seized by the government and sold to Japanese developers.
In recognition of his work in Korea, his title was raised to that ofhakushaku (count) in 1911.
Isabel Anderson, who visited Korea and met Count Terauchi in 1912, wrote as follows:[2]
The Japanese Governor-General, Count Terauchi, is a very strong and able man, and under his administration many improvements have been made in Korea. This has not always been done without friction between the natives and their conquerors, it must be confessed, but the results are certainly astonishing. The government has been reorganized, courts have been established, the laws have been revised, trade conditions have been improved and commerce has increased. Agriculture has been encouraged by the opening of experiment stations, railroads have been constructed from the interior to the sea-coast, and harbours have been dredged and lighthouses erected. Japanese expenditures in Korea have amounted to twelve million dollars yearly.
— Isabel Anderson, The Spell of Japan, 1914
For reference, the $12 million figure in Anderson's book is roughly equivalent to $373.1 million in 2023.[3]
 Portrait byOkada Saburōsuke | |
| Premiership of Terauchi Masatake 9 October 1916 – 29 September 1918 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Taishō |
|---|---|
| Cabinet | Terauchi Cabinet |
| Party | Military (Army) |
| Election | 1917 |
| Seat | Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei |
 Emblem of the Government of Japan | |
In June 1916, Terauchi he received his promotion to the largely ceremonial rank ofGensui (orField Marshal). In October, he became Prime Minister, and concurrently held the cabinet posts ofForeign Minister andFinance Minister. His cabinet consisted solely of career bureaucrats as he distrusted career civilian politicians.
During his tenure, Terauchi pursued an aggressive foreign policy. He oversaw theNishihara Loans (made to support the Chinese warlordDuan Qirui in exchange for confirmation of Japanese claims to parts ofShandong Province and increased rights inManchuria) and theLansing–Ishii Agreement (recognizing Japan's special rights in China). Terauchi upheld Japan's obligations to theUnited Kingdom under theAnglo-Japanese Alliance inWorld War I, dispatching ships from theImperial Japanese Navy to theSouth Pacific,Indian Ocean andMediterranean, and seizing control of German colonies inQingdao and thePacific Ocean. After the war, Japan joined theAllies in theSiberian Intervention (whereby Japan sent troops intoSiberia in support ofWhite Russian forces against theBolshevikRed Army in theRussian Revolution).
In September 1918, Terauchi resigned his office, due to therice riots that had spread throughout Japan due toinflation; he died the following year.
His decorations included theOrder of the Rising Sun (1st class) andOrder of the Golden Kite (1st Class).
Thebilliken doll, which was aKewpie-like fad toy invented in 1908 and was very popular in Japan, lent its name to the Terauchi administration, partly due to the doll's uncanny resemblance to Count Terauchi's bald head.
Terauchi's eldest son,CountTerauchi Hisaichi, was the commander of the Imperial Japanese Army'sSouthern Expeditionary Army Group duringWorld War II. The 2nd Count Terauchi also held the rank ofGensui (orMarshal) like his father. Terauchi's eldest daughter married CountHideo Kodama, the son of GeneralKodama Gentaro.
From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class[6]
Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class
Order of the Golden Kite, 3rd class[7]
Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class[8]
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd class[9]
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun[10]Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class[11]
Order of the Golden Kite, 1st class[12]
Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers[13]
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (posthumous)
France -Legion of Honour, Chevalier[14]
France -Legion of Honour, Officier[15]
Ottoman Empire -Order of the Medjidie, Commandeur[16]
- Russia -Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st class[17]
France -Legion of Honour, Commandeur[18]
Annam -Order of the Dragon of Annam, Commander[20]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | War Minister March 1902 – August 1911 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs July 1908 – August 1908 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Resident General of Korea May 1910 – October 1910 | Succeeded by Himself asGovernor General of Korea |
| Preceded by Himself asResident General of Korea | Governor General of Korea October 1910 – October 1916 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs October 1916 – November 1916 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Finance Minister October 1916 – December 1916 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Japan October 1916 – September 1918 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by none | Inspector-General of Military Training January 1898 – April 1900 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Inspector-General of Military Training January 1904 – May 1905 | Succeeded by |
| Empire of Japan (1868–1947) |
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| Japan (1947–present) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
