Prime Minister of Japan from 1916 to 1918
Gensui
Count
Terauchi Masatake
(
Japanese
:
寺? 正毅
),
GCB
(5 February 1852 ? 3 November 1919), was a
Japanese
military officer and politician.
[1]
He was a
Gensui
(or
Marshal
) in the
Imperial Japanese Army
and the
Prime Minister of Japan
from 1916 to 1918.
Biography
[
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]
Military career
[
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]
Terauchi Masatake was born in Hirai Village,
Suo Province
(present-day
Yamaguchi city
,
Yamaguchi Prefecture
), and was the third son of Utada Masasuke, a
samurai
in the service of
Ch?sh? 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 the
Kiheitai
militia from 1864, and fought in the
Boshin War
against the
Tokugawa shogunate
from 1867, most notably at the
Battle of Hakodate
. After the victory at Hakodate, he travelled to
Kyoto
, where he joined the
Ministry of War
and was drilled by French instructors in Western weaponry and tactics. He became a member of
Emperor Meiji
's personal guard in 1870 and travelled with the Emperor to
Tokyo
. He left military service in 1871 to pursue language studies, but was recalled with the formation the fledgling
Imperial 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 new
Imperial Japanese Army Academy
in 1873. he fought in the
Satsuma Rebellion
in 1877 and was injured and lost his right hand during the
Battle of Tabaruzaka
. His
physical disability
did not prove to be an impediment to his future military and political career.
In 1882, he was sent to France as
aide-de-camp
to
Prince Kan'in Kotohito
and was appointed a
military attache
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 the
IJA 1st Division
and in 1892 was Chief of the First Bureau (Operations) of the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff
.
With the start of the
First Sino-Japanese War
in 1894, Terauchi was appointed Secretary of Transportation and Communication for the
Imperial 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 first
Inspector 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 the
Boxer Rebellion
Political career
[
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]
Terauchi was appointed as
Minister of the Army
in 1901, during the first
Katsura administration
. The
Russo-Japanese War
(1904?1905) occurred during his term in office. After the Japanese victory in the war, he was ennobled with the title of
danshaku
(
baron
) in the
kazoku
peerage. He was also made a chairman of the
South Manchurian Railway Company
in 1906.In 1907, in recognition of the four wars he had served in, his peerage title was elevated to that of
shishaku
(
viscount
),
He continued in office as Army Minister under the first
Saionji administration
and the second Katsura administration from July 1908 to August 1911.
Korean Resident-General
[
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]
Following the assassination of former
Prime Minister
It? Hirobumi
in
Harbin
by a Korean nationalist,
An Jung-geun
in October 1909, Terauchi was appointed to replace
Sone Arasuke
as the third and last
Japanese Resident-General of Korea
in May 1910. As Resident-General, he executed the
Japan?Korea Annexation Treaty
in August of the same year, and he thus became the first Japanese
Governor-General of Korea
. In this position, he reported directly to the Emperor and as
proconsul
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 on
Japanese language
and
Japanese history
, with the intent of assimilation of the populace into loyal subjects of the
Japanese Empire
.
Other of Terauchi's policies also had noble goals but
unforeseen 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 conducted
cadastral 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 of
hakushaku
(
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]
As Prime Minister
[
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]
In June 1916, Terauchi he received his promotion to the largely ceremonial rank of
Gensui
(or
Field Marshal
). In October, he became Prime Minister, and concurrently held the cabinet posts of
Foreign Minister
and
Finance 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 the
Nishihara Loans
(made to support the Chinese warlord
Duan Qirui
in exchange for confirmation of Japanese claims to parts of
Shandong Province
and increased rights in
Manchuria
) and the
Lansing?Ishii Agreement
(recognizing Japan's special rights in China). Terauchi upheld Japan's obligations to the
United Kingdom
under the
Anglo-Japanese Alliance
in
World War I
, dispatching ships from the
Imperial Japanese Navy
to the
South Pacific
,
Indian Ocean
and
Mediterranean
, and seizing control of German colonies in
Qingdao
and the
Pacific Ocean
. After the war, Japan joined the
Allies
in the
Siberian Intervention
(whereby Japan sent troops into
Siberia
in support of
White Russian
forces against the
Bolshevik
Red Army
in the
Russian Revolution
).
In September 1918, Terauchi resigned his office, due to the
rice riots
that had spread throughout Japan due to
inflation
; he died the following year.
His decorations included the
Order of the Rising Sun
(1st class) and
Order of the Golden Kite
(1st Class).
The
billiken
doll, which was a
Kewpie
-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.
Legacy
[
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]
Terauchi's eldest son,
Count
Terauchi Hisaichi
, was the commander of the Imperial Japanese Army's
Southern Expeditionary Army Group
during
World War II
. The 2nd Count Terauchi also held the rank of
Gensui
(or
Marshal
) like his father. Terauchi's eldest daughter married Count
Hideo Kodama
, the son of General
Kodama Gentaro
.
Honours
[
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]
From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
Peerages
[
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]
Japanese decorations
[
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]
Foreign decorations (partial list)
[
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]
Popular culture
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
Nussbaum, Louis-Frederic. (2005). "Terauchi Masatake" in
Japan Encyclopedia
, p. 964
, p. 964, at
Google Books
.
- ^
Isabel Anderson, "The Spell of Japan", Boston, 1914, p.15.
- ^
CPI Inflation Calculator.
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1913?amount=12000000
- ^
『官報』第7272?「授爵敍任及?令」September 23, 1907
- ^
『官報』第8347?「授爵??任及?令」April 22, 1911。
- ^
『官報』第2828?「?任及?令」November 30, 1892
- ^
『官報』第3644?「?任及?令」August 21, 1895
- ^
『官報』第3644?「?任及?令」August 21, 1895
- ^
『官報』第4754?「?任及?令」May 10, 1899
- ^
『官報』第2612?「?任及?令」April 19, 1921
- ^
『官報』第5487?「?任及?令」October 15, 1901
- ^
『官報』?外「?任及?令」January 28, 1907
- ^
『官報』?外「?任及?令」January 28, 1907
- ^
『官報』第779?「?任及?令」February 9, 1886
- ^
『官報』第2485?「?任及?令」October 9, 1891
- ^
『官報』第4192?「?任及?令」June 24, 1897
- ^
『官報』第4192?「?任及?令」June 24, 1891
- ^
『官報』第4192?「?任及?令」June 24, 1891
- ^
"No. 27913"
.
The London Gazette
. 15 May 1906. p. 3323.
- ^
『官報』第4192?「?任及?令」June 24, 1891
External links
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